In the technology industry it is notoriously difficult to find and retain talent. Unfortunately, it’s only getting more difficult. In the US, the number of tech jobs advertised jumped by 81% between 2019 and 2021. Despite rising vacancies, the average number of applications per role fell by 19% in the same time period. Whether you’re in the tech industry, or simply need to hire for tech roles, times are difficult right now. 

A challenging hiring market means you need to think outside the box. Adopting a new approach might just help you to find, and keep, that ideal technology professional. We’ve partnered with one of Scout Talent’s amazing tech clients, Granify, to offer new insights that will help you in your search for tech talent. 

Real-world experience is equally as valuable as education

In the world of recruitment, it has been the norm to require a third-level qualification for most white-collar roles. However, research suggests that’s changing: According to Indeed, 59% of employers are considering eliminating college degree requirements for hiring. In a report published by Cengage, 47% of technology employers say that skills training credentials are most important when considering a candidate for an entry-level job. Only 26% say college degrees are impactful. As such, you can considerably widen your talent pool by accepting applications from those without a formal education in technology.

Regardless of educational background, don’t hesitate to complete pre-employment testing, to ensure that your candidate has the technical know-how. Mark Ly, Granify’s VP of Product and Technology, strongly suggests: “Vet your candidate’s skillset thoroughly. There is nothing worst than unqualified people writing code.”

To learn more about how you should be assessing technical knowledge during the interview process, read Scout Talent’s article Eliminate the Guesswork When Hiring Using Pre-Employment Testing.

 

Technology professionals need soft skills too

In an industry where technical knowledge is paramount, a candidate’s soft skills can be overlooked during the interview process. 

According to a study by LinkedIn, 89% of bad hires often lack basic soft skills such as collaboration, teamwork, creativity, adaptability, persuasion, and time management. Don’t let the struggle to attract talent lead you to overlook these essential skills.

Check out our article: 3 Crucial Soft Skills: What They Are and How to Hire for Them for more information on assessing candidates’ soft skills. 

Candidates are not flexible when it comes to flexibility

In a global report by Adobe, 51% of respondents stated that they would prefer completely flexible working hours. Flexibility is particularly important to younger generations, with 73 percent of Millenials saying that they would switch jobs to another with greater flexibility if their salary and job description stayed the same.

The same level of flexibility is expected when it comes to where employees are working. Noise and interruptions are particularly grating for technology workers, especially that writing code. If working from home isn’t part of your corporate policy, try to accommodate your employees with a variety of quiet areas in your office for focused work. 

To date, Granify has hired five Software Developers using Scout Talent’s solutions and is in the process of hiring several more. Granify’s VP of Product and Technology, Mark Ly,  confirmed that the option to work remotely, as well as compensation, are the two main priorities for applicants to their roles. 

Concerned about engaging in salary wars? Get tips from our article ‘How to Use Employer Branding and L&D to Win the Salary Wars’.

Continue to impress, even after they’re hired

If your team has gone through the process of attracting and hiring the perfect candidate, you don’t want to risk losing them. Your induction process can make a huge difference, especially considering that organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82 per cent.

There is so much that you can do to ensure that your new technology expert is properly onboarded. Learn more in our article 11 secrets for a successful onboarding process. 

Scout Talent’s :Onboard software, digitally creates contracts and makes onboarding new employees quick and effortless. Use :Onboard to create, issue, and accept responses to contracts and letters of offer, as well as keep track of other onboarding activities digitally – reducing your paper trail. Learn more about how :Onboard can help your organization streamline its induction process here. 

Consider title inflation to attract candidates

An interesting trend in the world of recruitment is ‘title inflation’, where recruiters add a more senior title to a mid or lower seniority job in order to attract more applicants. According to recent research, there has been an increase in job postings including the word ‘senior’ and much fewer jobs advertised as ‘junior’. This strategy is an interesting way to attract employees looking to boost their resume with a more impressive job title, without necessarily paying the salary of a more experienced employee. 

The technology you use matters

Tech workers are naturally going to want to work with innovative technologies. It’s the technology itself that enables them to create new solutions. Therefore, the technology that your organization uses may be deterring applicants. 

It’s much less likely that a technology professional will accept an offer for an organization that is using outdated technology. In fact, according to a recent study in the US, 21% of tech workers would leave a job if they were working with outdated technology. 

Want to attract the best of the best in the technology industry? Prioritize keeping up to date with what internal technologies you use. 

Organizations in the technology industry have been using Scout Talent’s software and services to hire for difficult-to-fill positions. Read more about our experience in the tech industry here.