Recruit and Succeed in a Candidate-Short Market
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the worldwide digital transformation has taken on a frantic pace and, with it, the increase in demand for IT talent has grown exponentially, so that it is a challenge not only to find but to seduce and attract the right talent to a project and team.
New times bring new challenges, and without a doubt, the way to solve these challenges cannot be the same as in the past. At Lithium, we not only understand but also experience the difficulties that all companies face when it comes to finding the right talent in the IT sector. For this, we have the definitive guide for recruiting in a market in shortage and succeeding in the attempt.
In the latest report by Accelerance – the global outsourcing authority – for the United States alone, 1.2 million projected shortages are estimated for 2026!
The demand for IT profiles has an estimated and constant growth of 22% until 2029, while more than 60% of IT recruiters report that their biggest challenge during the past year was finding qualified developers.
In this difficult context, what can we do to differentiate ourselves and attract the right profiles to our projects?
Everything starts from the approach.
There are 3 main factors that we must work on in order to get the results we want:
1) How to recruit talents before other companies.
2) How to find candidates that no one else can get.
3) How to increase the engagement with the profiles so that they decide to work with us.
How to recruit talents before other companies
We have it very clear, that everything is a matter of time. It’s all about timing!
So how can we recruit top talent before others scoop them?
Work on 3 concepts:
1.Be Flexible.
We are in a candidate driven-market, which means the power is on their side, so the recruiting process must adapt to their reality and expectations. Most of your potential candidates surely have a job, so it is you who must adjust to their schedule.
Conclusion: Get used to short interviews during the middle of the day or after 5 PM.
2. Be quick to hire.
Create a customer journey designed exclusively for your future talents where you define:
– Number and type of interviews
– Response times for each stage
– Automate the processes using the right tech stack for every step of the journey.
More than 62% of candidates lose interest in a job position if they have no news within 2 two weeks after the initial interview.
3. Nurture your future talent.
It is no longer an industry issue, it’s a generational problem: Give feedback!
Keep regular contact with your candidates and let them know how the evolution of the process goes. Build lasting and loyal relationships with candidates so they always come to you first.
How to find candidates that no one else can get.
In a market dominated by shortages and oversupply, surely your candidates must be in the scoop of many recruiters. So it is valid to ask: How can we attract talent that others do not find?
Let’s also work on 3 new concepts:
1. It’s all about them: Consider what the candidates want.
Stop thinking about the requirements of the job and focus on what the candidates want. Take the time to ask yourself the following questions:
– What would convince them to start working on any project?
– What values are they looking for in their next employer?
– How can I help the candidate in his career path?
Be flexible but above all things, adapt. Be a people-first organization and candidates will notice it.
2. Innovate
Most recruiters focus their searches on traditional contact channels with the main focus on LinkedIn. So to find candidates, you have to think outside the box.
Innovate your strategy and use: Talent Pools, experiment with your boolean searches, and embrace new sourcing technology.
3. Make your website a talent magnet
Everything enters through the eyes, all attraction is visual, so work in detail on an intuitive website with a modern design so that your potential talents have, just by seeing the website, an immediate desire to work with you.
Keep it simple, create easy to follow step by step so that your talents have a real interest in knowing more. Simple processes with extraordinary results.
And, most importantly, develop a clear SEO strategy to position yourself in all searches in the sector.
How to increase the engagement with the profiles so that they decide to work with us.
To create a desire and a relationship, you have to connect. And to connect, you need to know who you’re talking to and what they want to hear.
So let’s work, again, on 3 fundamental concepts:
1. Create valuable content
For talents to connect with us, you have to offer something in return.
Create recurring content of value that helps them to evaluate, for example, how well they are being paid, or what new technologies they should consider to improve their productivity and salary. If we manage to attract their attention and make them come to us to answer any questions, at the slightest possibility of a new job, we will be the ones in their consideration.
2. Send job alerts
Set up job alerts that keep the candidate informed about new positions available. Thus, at the slightest interest, believe us that they will respond asking for more information. Have the alerts customized and make sure to segment your talent list so that you send your candidates only the relevant information.
3. Talent pool engagement
Keep in regular contact with the candidates not only to check if they are available but to add value with news that may be relevant to each of them. Update them in real-time and create synergy.
In conclusion, work in an updated and customized way so that your results can be scalable over time.
If you want to know in detail how we do it at Lithium, or would like to explore more about our available talent, please do not hesitate to contact us to talk more about it!
Keep it simple, but play smart.