Hiring Tech Talent: A Guide for 2024

In fact, the technology industry has developed exponentially in recent years. Due to this rapid technological development, the market is now highly competitive. As a result, the demand for technical talent in software development, UX design and data analysis has grown at an all-time high. Today, companies hire tech recruiters to make technical hires and find the best possible candidate for their growth and development.

Additionally, recruiters look for candidates with the appropriate technical skills to drive creative innovation and growth in technology companies. This includes positions such as IT professionals, data scientists, software developers, engineers, etc. But wait! What is technical recruiting or tech recruiting? Let's understand this.

What is technical recruiting?

Technical recruiting - also known as technical recruiting - is a process of searching, selecting, evaluating, hiring and recruiting candidates suitable for a technical role. Typically, companies outsource this process and hire a technical recruiter to carry out a technical recruiting process. But how do technical recruiters conduct technical recruiting? Now let us understand the role of technical recruiters in recruiting technical talent.

Challenges of technical recruiting for companies

Technology has become an integral part of people's lives. People rely on technology in almost every area, from communicating with loved ones to running businesses and everything in between. This has resulted in the technology industry being the fastest growing industry in the world.

In order to survive in the cut-throat competition in technology development, companies are under great pressure to find the best talent. According to LinkedIn, 53% of hiring managers in the tech industry have difficulty finding qualified candidates who have the technical skills necessary to solve technical problems. Below are some of the major problems recruiters face when hiring technical employees.

First, high-quality applicants are passive. So you are not actively looking for a job change. Therefore, it is difficult for recruiters to convince them. The process of persuading these candidates is lengthy and time-consuming and requires a lot of effort from the recruiters.

On the other hand, the recruiters do not want active candidates as most of them are newbies and do not have the right skills for the open position. Additionally, there is limited local talent. Companies are having a hard time finding qualified applicants as technology changes and evolves rapidly, meaning fewer people have the right skills to work with the new technology. As a result, companies must devote much of their resources and time to finding, hiring and training candidates.

Second, communication gaps and poorly written job ads are the biggest barriers between technical talent and technical recruiters. Both are different types of people who speak different languages. Often recruiters are confident, talk about non-technical topics and would like to start a conversation, while technical people are more reserved and would like to talk about technology-related topics.

Additionally, sometimes recruiters are not fully aware of their lack of knowledge about technical tasks. Therefore, the job description they write will be of poor quality and may not include key details important to the open position, resulting in less engagement and less reach. These types of problems can be addressed and mitigated through strategic planning and technical tools mentioned below.

The best tech recruiting solutions for 2024

Engage in local and online communities to find talent

Recruiters need to leverage local and online platforms and communities to find the best candidates for technology jobs. Therefore, recruiters and employers need to increase their visibility locally and in the online community. You need to interact with the candidates frequently to build a good relationship with the users.

Program developers spend a large portion of their time on platforms like GitHub. Therefore, tech recruiters must use such a platform to search for qualified candidates here. According to the StackOverflow survey, more than 90% of developers use GitHub and agree that it is an incredibly important tool for developers.

Learn the specific terms

Hiring managers need to understand the jargon of the specific role they are recruiting for. You must at least know the specific, essential terms and the difference between the terms. This way they can develop an understanding of two different terms.

For example, the two words "memory" and "computer memory" are often perceived as one and the same word. However, there is a difference between these two terms. RAM is a computer component that stores data for short periods of time. In contrast, computer memory allows data to be stored for longer periods of time. This type of simple understanding is necessary when hiring managers are filling positions for coding or computer-related technical tasks. Therefore, HR managers can first use online glossaries to learn and understand various technical terms.

The career site needs to be tech-savvy

The website is crucial for a tech-focused company as it attracts potential job seekers and valuable customers. From a marketing perspective, it is therefore incredibly important to design the company website precisely.

Additionally, nowadays applicants first search for a company profile online to check its reputation. Basically, visiting a career site is the most popular way to find out and learn about the company. Applicants learn about the value, work culture and reviews of the company's current employees. Therefore, it is crucial to design a compelling tech website to attract technical candidates.

Marketing requires an understanding of the tasks in the technical area

The hiring team or recruiters need to clearly understand the technical roles they are hiring for. This helps them hire the most qualified talent for the job. It allows them to convey the crucial details of the open position, such as: The three most important skills and the daily tasks required to work efficiently. This information will also help them write and prepare an accurate job description.

Therefore, technical knowledge and a brief understanding of modern technologies and trends are important to get in touch with technical applicants. The hiring team can read trade magazines and trade publications and exchange information to expand their technology-related knowledge.

Hire a tech recruiter

Today, companies want to hire the best technical talent for product improvement to survive in the highly competitive market. Therefore, they hire an external recruiter who has relevant work experience, solid technical understanding, strong interpersonal skills and good diplomatic skills to find, engage and hire the technical candidates in the company. In most cases, a top freelance website can help you get the job done and find the perfect candidate in just a few steps.

IT or tech recruiters work to acquire technical talent for a company. Therefore, they have a good understanding of technical products and brief technical knowledge. They also refer to a particular company's employee handbook to understand the company's technical requirements and communicate those requirements to candidates.

Therefore, companies need to think outside the box to effectively recruit and retain technical talent. Therefore, it would make sense to invest in a good recruiter who knows how to recruit for niche and specialized roles. Ultimately, this would also be of great benefit to the company.

A job posting must be specific to the technical role

When creating a job description, the hiring team needs to know what role they want to play for the company. Establish a realistic and clear requirement for the open position. The job title must also reflect the position as best as possible.

List the required key skills, qualifications and day-to-day tasks of the technical role. Mention the compensation, benefits, and differentiators the applicants will receive. It would also be a good idea to mention the technology they will be working with!

Technology can help recruiters create a perfect job description for every role. For example, Skillate offers an AI-powered job description assistant that can take your job descriptions to the next level!

Set up a successful employee referral program

Employee referrals are a great way to find and hire the best talent in your company. According to Linkedin, companies can expand their talent pool 10x when they recruit through their employees' networks.

It's true that capable people know capable people. So, companies need to set up a referral program because finding potential candidates from outside is a slow task. Additionally, it is becoming increasingly difficult for recruiters to find qualified professionals as the market heats up.

This is why many tech companies offer great referral programs. They clearly explain the requirements of the open position, mention the monetary and non-monetary benefits and make the recommendation process transparent. Recruiters use online software like ATS to effectively manage the placement of professionals, analyze the process and gain further experience.

Leveraging the company's alumni network would also be the best option, where the company asks its former employees to recommend the tech talents from their network and receive money in return.

Tech recruiters can be creative and ask their current employees to publish a post asking for referrals and mentioning the benefits these people will receive. Additionally, recruiters can run mass email campaigns where they send cold emails for job recommendations. It is very helpful for recruiters to reach out to many people to ask for a technical recommendation.

Online technical skills assessment tools are a lifesaver

Study skills are incredibly important for knowing whether you have truly learned a particular skill or topic. And what better way to assess an applicant's skills than through tests for technical and non-technical parameters such as communication skills, behavioral skills and situational judgment?

Conducting video interviews to evaluate candidates

In this phase, recruiters and HR managers can use remote interview tools to quickly, objectively and efficiently shortlist candidates. Such a software feature also automatically records and sends feedback to the candidates. This increases engagement and improves the candidate experience.

Hiring managers can also conduct one-way video interviews in which they provide a series of questions and require applicants to record themselves answering those questions. This allows HR managers to evaluate the responses whenever they want.

Salary negotiation and offering additional benefits and perks

The demand for talent in the technical field is very high. Therefore, hiring managers must be prepared to offer excellent benefits and perks to increase acceptance rates. Additionally, the recruiter must be willing to pay suitable candidates a salary that is in line with industry standards.

Final Thoughts on Technical Recruitment

In summary, technical recruiting today represents a major challenge for companies and HR managers. However, companies can take the help of technical recruiters and experienced recruiters to avoid making bad hiring decisions. Technology can also be a lifesaver for any recruiter when it comes to automating the technical hiring workflow by eliminating manual tasks through AI-based software and online tools.

Investing in robust recruitment strategies and leveraging technology like IceHrm can help companies thrive in the competitive tech landscape.