Recruiting candidates for regular job positions can be quite challenging, but talent sourcing for technical candidates is truly a challenge on another level. It takes more than just posting an ad for an open job role and hoping for responses to come flooding in. In 2021, there is a small chance that top tech talent will pay attention to your job listings unless your company is a tech giant, like Google or Facebook.

Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean you can’t attract information technology professionals who will push your company towards success. With a smart recruiting approach and a good talent sourcing strategy, you can compete for top tech candidates.

According to multiple research studies, it is almost impossible to fill IT positions due to the scarcity of candidates. But, on a positive note, recruiters are now seeing 16% growth of candidates looking for jobs, while 75% of talent is looking for better opportunities. So, how can you get this IT talent to notice your company? Let’s find out.

Ready to start? Contact CIBR Warriors for the fastest way to qualified employees!

Sourcing Techniques

There are seven powerful steps you can take to attract technical talent that will make your organization stand out from the rest on the market. These are:

1. Establishing a Company Presence and Reputation on the Job Market

A study from Stack Overflow suggests that most developers come across prospect companies through their content and media, such as news, blogs, and videos, during their job search. This is why your company needs to be visible in order to increase your reach, and one of the best ways to do so is to collaborate with your marketing department.

This tactic benefits your company in two ways – you are attracting and hiring top tech talent as well as developing your company identity and image in general. If you have good quality content, you can also improve your company’s brand visibility and reputation in the job market, and if you combine it with events, you will get an even bigger reach. Here is what you need to do:

• Produce content specific to your company’s business – Talk about your expertise, the company culture, and the interesting projects you are involved in. Stay clear from overly promotional content and focus on providing real value to the readers.
• Participate in regular and online events and conferences – You can join existing events and create your own, like hackathons or presentations, which can attract plenty of talent.
• Give paid advertising a chance – While it is not advisable to use paid advertising in your social media posts all the time, it can still help you broaden your talent search.

2. Using Employee’s Network

Aside from posting jobs through your usual channels, it is also smart to ask your employees to reshare those posts on their social media profiles. Never underestimate the power of your employee’s connections; you would be surprised at how much interest simple resharing can generate. This method has several advantages:

• It can give the candidate more trust and assurance of the job position;
• Since your employees already know potential candidates, they may work well together; and
• Your employees can first filter out the candidates before they move to the next step.

3. Supporting Remote Work

Long before Coronavirus, more and more organizational processes and operations have been digitized. Nowadays, activities that pertain to information technology and data often don’t require physical meetings since almost everything happens virtually. Furthermore, top IT talent can be found globally, so there is no need to be geographically bound to one location when recruiting. Now with modern communication and meeting technology, managing a remote team can be quite easy. This also helps you attract those candidates who are looking for more flexibility in their work.

4. Promoting Continuous Learning and Skill Development

We live in times of constant innovation, where you can’t allow yourself to stop learning. Three out of four IT professionals state that what they need in a job is an opportunity to learn new skills and technology. Leading a company that cares about the self-development of its employees can get you a lot of points in the eyes of potential candidates. 

5. Offering Attractive Career Paths

If you want to attract the best talent, then you need to offer an interesting career path. IT professionals want to grow in their careers, so you need to help them achieve their goals. Your job doesn’t stop once you’ve attracted the talent you wish to because now you need to retain them. Here is what you can do once the desired candidates are onboarded:

• Have a conversation and get feedback – Performance feedback is very important for employees’ development. Talking with employees can help you identify their goals, aspirations, and scope for improvement. Listen to them and provide meaningful advice and guidance.
• Personalize employee experience – Based on these conversations, you can design a personalized plan that includes training, learning, and mentoring to succession planning.

6. Providing Benefits and Perks That Matter

Before Coronavirus, it was common for tech companies to offer unique perks like ‘happy hour’ or ‘pet friendly office’ to their employees. But now, with the ‘new normal,’ it is unlikely that this can be enough. Think of benefits and perks that matter to people. Get creative and include this new situation in the overall picture. For instance, you can offer:

• Work-from-home budget, where you can set a budget for employees to buy what they need for their home office so they can stay healthy and motivated;
• Flexible working hours, where you can let your employees choose to work at their preferred hours; and
• Time-off for personal development, where your employees can dedicate one day each week to learn new skills.

7. Committing to Diversity and Inclusion

Recruiting a diverse and inclusive team is not just the right thing to do, but it can also greatly benefit your business. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy has become important in both recruits’ and candidates’ decision-making. According to one survey, 48% of employees would consider changing their job for another company with a built-out DEI strategy.

Additionally, since most tech candidates don’t advertise themselves on typical job-searching sites, you should widen your search options. Start talent sourcing on tech community websites, forums, events, and marketplaces. For example, check GitHub, a perfect site for coders and developers to store their projects, and LinkedIn, the most popular talent sourcing channel. Don’t miss out on Stack Overflow, a great place for coders and developers to ask relevant questions and where you can see their expertise. There is also AngelList, a great site for startup job opportunities, especially for tech positions.

One thing to avoid is careless communication. Once you start talking with potential candidates, you should treat them with respect, even those who you deem as an ill fit. Timely reply to emails and messages, be always on time for calls and meetings, provide feedback, and always be polite. If a candidate has a bad experience with your company, they will share it publicly, which will naturally harm your brand’s reputation.

Why Should You Recruit Talent Through Events?

Although digital platforms can help greatly in finding the right talent, nothing beats face-to-face interactions. Career fests, hackathons, and meet-ups are the best way to meet potential candidates, show them your company, and learn more about their capabilities.

At such events, use the opportunity to introduce your existing employees and their finished projects using new technology to attract top technical talent. If you cannot organize live events, you can always set up global tech events, like webinars, to make a good impression.

Conclusion

Attracting the best IT talent is not easy, but it can be done. To succeed, you must know what potential candidates want and value from companies in their industry. Provide learning opportunities, flexibility, and benefits that matter to candidates. Build your presence and brand in the field and invest in the proper talent sourcing strategy. All of these can help you win in the IT talent sourcing race.

Hundreds of new candidates are looking for job openings every day, and CIBR Warriors are there to help you find the right one for you. For more help on advancing your career or finding a perfect candidate in IT and Cybersecurity, contact us. We’d be happy to answer your questions and provide you with the best advice for getting started.