Recruitment can be a long and expensive prospect but any business with growth ambitions must go through the process at some point. With the UK currently facing a skills shortage and a decrease in the pool of talent, businesses are struggling to get enough qualified or skilled candidates through the door.
The tech sector, in particular, is grappling to entice quality tech talent, into one of the country’s fastest-growing industries.
The lack of available talent has turned technology recruitment into a candidate-driven market, and businesses are now the ones having to work harder to stand out from the crowd.
At the same time, candidate motivations have changed, attitudes have evolved and needs have altered, so what can be done to attract the right tech talent?
Well, to help you on your recruitment journey, below are a few top tips, so sit back, relax and take note…
1. Understand your candidate
This might seem a bit obvious, but you’d be surprised how often understanding your candidate is misinterpreted. As the recruiter, you must know what skills and experience your ideal candidate will need. Do they need to have a degree or be able to use Photoshop?
Once you’ve made the desired skills and experience clear, the next step is to figure out who that candidate is as a person.
Ask yourself, will they fit in culturally to the business? Do they have the personality that will gel with other employees? If the answer is no, you’re not doing anyone any favors by carrying on.
Experience comes with time, and you can always develop an individual’s skillset, but things like personality and culture fit cannot be taught so bringing a candidate into a business they won’t fit into is a waste of everyone’s time and money.
2. Looking in the right places
The UK tech job market can be like a game of Where’s Waldo. Like Waldo, as a business, you’re competing to be noticed in an overcrowded market. Much of the tech talent you’re looking for won’t be found on a traditional job board. In fact tech forums, chat rooms, social networks, and online platforms are where tech talent is most likely to be found.
3. Make your business sound desirable
Recruitment isn’t just about businesses reviewing candidates, it’s about candidates reviewing the business.
The pool of tech talent might be getting shallower, but a number of tech jobs is increasing all the time, and businesses face a tougher time convincing the best talent to come and work for them.
If you’re offering the usual ‘chance to work on an exciting new project’ or a company Nando’s here and there, you’ll find it difficult to tempt candidates because everyone else is promising the same thing.
Your business culture should be at the heart of your organization so make sure candidates know about it. Shout about your organization’s working environment, the opportunity for career development and training prospects. These are all things that the 21st-century candidate craves.
4. Recruit and upskill to fill talent gaps
If you’ve been looking for an external candidate for a while but are struggling to fill vacancies, it could be that you need to look inside your business and see if there is anyone who could fill the gap with a bit of upskilling.
This might take a bit longer to develop the desired skills, but on the other hand, if you have someone you know fits into the business, developing their current abilities could be the best answer.
Promoting from within shows your workforce that progression opportunities are available. You may even find it easier to recruit for more junior positions as your current workforce progresses.
5. Develop a network
The technology sector is an enormous economic entity, but a relatively small community. It is therefore important to immerse yourself in the community and get to know the tech talent of today. Be proactive because the better and bigger your network, the easier it will be to find new tech talent.
So, there you have it, a few top tips to nab the best tech talent and hopefully keep them (fingers crossed).
About the author: Carl Sautereau is the Co-founder and COO of Talent Deck, he handles the overall growth strategy of the talent recruitment start-up, through operational, marketing and sales development planning and execution.
