Challenges in IT recruitment
In an era where technology drives the global economy, the demand for top-tier IT talent has reached unprecedented levels. However, the recruitment process for IT positions is often plagued by various challenges and difficulties. Let’s explore the problems faced by hiring managers and recruiters in IT to understand more deeply how demanding and difficult this process is.
The first step would be reaching the candidates - nothing easier, right?
But crafting job postings, sorting through applications, and conducting multiple rounds of interviews can easily become a considerable drain on your resources.
The IT industry faces a severe shortage of qualified candidates - as technology continues to advance rapidly, the demand for skilled professionals exceeds the supply. This means that the competition for talent on the market is becoming stronger and stronger.
For the candidate, this means the possibility of professional development and promotion. Kodilla's research has shown that over the last 25 years, the average experience required to be promoted to the position of senior programmer has shortened from 11 years to just 4!
But for the organisations it becomes a considerable obstacle in recruiting IT talents.
First of all, the abundance of IT job vacancies demands a rethink in the way job descriptions are crafted. To attract the right candidates, recruiters should review and refine job descriptions, focusing on essential skills.
IT professionals are often motivated by challenging work and opportunities for innovation. Emphasising these aspects in job advertisements may attract candidates seeking a stimulating environment, while small businesses can offer an advantage by providing employees with a broad range of responsibilities and opportunities for growth.
Yet, even if we have a perfect job offer no one is applying? Why?
Well, many proficient IT experts are not actively seeking new job opportunities. To tap into this talent pool, recruiters need to adopt a more nuanced and targeted approach. This involves understanding where tech professionals gather, learning their preferences, and building relationships through personalised interactions.
Experienced recruiter knows that specialist forums, discussion groups, and networking sites can be valuable sources for identifying potential candidates. Broad recruiting platforms may not encompass all areas where tech specialists are active.
That is why the most demanded skill in the world of recruitment is direct search, also known as sourcing or headhunting. It involves actively approaching potential candidates who may not be actively seeking new job opportunities. This approach allows recruiters to tap into the pool of passive candidates who may possess the desired skills and experience. It requires a comprehensive understanding of the industry and the ability to engage candidates effectively.
But in a world brimming with sourcing technology, it's easy to become overwhelmed by the options. It’s essential to keep in mind that effective talent acquisition requires a methodical approach. Rather than using all tools available, it’s best to adopt a detective-like mindset to identify the most suitable candidates and narrow their search as much as possible.
Ok, so you’ve got your perfect candidate - what dangers are waiting next?
Firstly, focus on candidate experience, which refers to the overall perception and satisfaction of candidates during the recruitment process. In the IT industry, where the competition for talent is fierce, providing a positive candidate experience becomes crucial and beneficial in the future.
Leaving a negative impression can significantly impact the employer's brand and result in a reduced pool of qualified applicants.
What are the most common “red flags” and main blockers from the candidates’ perspective?
- Unrealistic job descriptions that do not match the actual responsibilities and requirements - it only leads to wasting time and feeling misled.
- Conducting unstructured or unprofessional interviews (including being late, unprepared, or exhibiting rude behaviour).
- Requiring candidates to complete long and irrelevant technical tests without any feedback.
- Making candidates wait for information without proper explanations or updates, as well as not clarifying stages and timelines of the whole process.
- Failing to provide constructive feedback or a final decision after the process leaves candidates in limbo, unsure of their status or how to improve.
It is worth remembering that each candidate, even if not hired, may be a potential customer or business partner in the future. Therefore, it is important to ensure a positive candidate experience, even if the recruitment process is unsuccessful.
As you can see, it takes a lot of time, resources, and engagement to provide a candidate with a quality process, and still, doesn’t guarantee triumph, because here another issue arrives!
Ghosting - a phenomenon where candidates suddenly disappear or stop responding during the recruitment process, has become a most common and discussed concern. It can be frustrating and time-consuming for recruiters to invest effort into screening, interviewing, and shortlisting candidates, only to have them vanish without any explanation. Ghosting not only wastes valuable resources but also hampers the efficiency of the whole process.
What could be the answer to the question: "why do candidates 'disappear' from processes at various levels of advancement?" – they simply participate in several recruitment processes at the same time.
Many processes equals many temptations…
Highly-skilled IT professionals often demand higher salaries due to the shortage of talent in the market. Low compensation levels can deter qualified candidates from considering a job opportunity, leading to a limited candidate pool. While throwing money at the problem is not a sustainable solution, offering competitive compensation is necessary to attract the right talent. It’s also wise to consider other benefits such as additional time off, flexible schedules, and other affordable perks to supplement salary.
What else do employees in this sector hope for? Work-life balance, which means not only flexible working time but above all the possibility of remote work. And although the specific nature and expectations of the employer do not always make it possible to meet these demands, the nature of work in IT favours such solutions.
Moreover, the best specialists choose companies that ideologically suit them and do not take into account only the perks and the salary. According to the Global Brand Health 2019 report, almost half of employees dealing with technology on a daily basis said that they would not accept a job offer if they were not interested in the product, and 43 percent would reject it if the company had a bad reputation (and that leads us directly to the importance of candidate experience).
The truth is that the best candidates can choose from offers almost freely. But the fact that they pay great attention to every detail of a proposition, makes recruiters’ work extremely difficult, as many times, maintaining a balance between employers’ requirements and candidate expectations, is like balancing on a tightrope.
As we established above, one of the most significant challenges in IT recruitment is finding candidates (hard) with the right skills for the job (even harder!). Of course, technical skills are essential, but organisations often struggle to find people who possess the required expertise. This skills mismatch can be attributed to the rapid advancement of technology, making it difficult for educational institutions to keep up with the industry's demands. Additionally, the evolving nature of IT roles and responsibilities compounds the challenge of finding qualified candidates.
While technical skills are paramount in IT recruitment, soft skills are equally vital. Communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities, complement technical expertise and contribute to a candidate's overall effectiveness in an IT role. Employers often overlook the significance of soft skills, focusing solely on stack proficiency. However, a candidate's ability to work well in a team, effectively communicate ideas, and adapt to changing circumstances is crucial in a dynamic IT environment.
Sometimes recruiters and tech professionals have different communication styles. To bridge this divide, it’s good to involve IT team members in the recruitment process, especially during the early stages. Their expertise is helpful in accurately assessing candidates' technical abilities and “team-fit”.
As you can see, a qualitative recruitment process aimed at finding the most suitable candidate requires the involvement of many people across the company and putting a lot of effort and resources into a process that does not always end with a placement.
The sources of unsuccessful recruitment can be found at every stage of the process of hiring a new employee. However, most often we encounter two scenarios that appear alternately in most companies. A newly employed IT specialist, with high hopes, resigns from his position after the trial period, claiming that the work does not meet his expectations. The source of this state of affairs is usually the inappropriate transfer of the scope of work and responsibilities that the programmer or IT specialist will deal with.
The second scenario - the employee who is satisfied with taking up the position is not competent enough to continue working with him. The reason for such unsuccessful recruitment is the lack of verification of the candidate's knowledge and skills in the process.
What are the consequences of unsuccessful recruitment?
It is true that most employees are not aware of the costs of employing them in positions that require specialised knowledge. Recruitment that ends in failure after 3 months means for the company:
- Waste of time
- Waste of money
The employer devotes time to preparing the recruitment process and delegates it to HR department employees with the participation of the team leader or technical person. After determining the conditions, the employee is introduced to the position and a series of training sessions is carried out. In the vast majority of IT companies, training is a very important part of introducing the candidate, which sometimes lasts up to a month. In total, unsuccessful recruitment can cost the employer up to several hundred man-hours.
On the other hand, recruiting an employee and introducing him to work is also a large financial investment. The cost, of course, depends on the specific nature of the company, the importance of the position, and its specialisation but it’s always painful to see that weeks or months of hard work are not bringing the expected results.
That is why partnering with recruitment specialists for IT recruitment streamlines the hiring process, provides access to a broader talent pool, and leverages the expertise of professionals who specialise in matching the right candidates with the right companies. It can ultimately lead to better hires, cost savings, and a more efficient hiring process for your organisation.
In conclusion, the obstacles in IT recruitment are undeniable, but with the right partner, these hurdles become stepping stones to success!
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