Technical recruiting, or any part of the hiring process, can be very frustrating. It’s often stressful on both ends and may be overwhelming or experience miscommunication. A good technical recruiter knows how to tailor their process to the company they’re hiring for as well as to the desired candidates.
Here are 5 tips for technical recruiting in 2021:
- Begin the process with a technical assessment.
Tech assessments are designed to help eliminate unqualified candidates from the pool of applicants. They also assess the skillsets of those candidates to determine—based on the recruiter’s parameters—if he or she is a potentially good fit for the position. Placing one at the beginning of the hiring process will act as a filter, which decreases time and stress on both ends by giving clear-cut results. The most important thing about these tests is that they should be unbiased, relevant, and give candidates a chance to show they have the knowledge or skills needed for the job.
- Revamp the job description.
Recruiters tend to follow the same guidelines as everyone else, even with the job description. However, each description may read differently. Job descriptions should be clear, flow cohesively, outline the company’s purpose or goal, describe the job tasks, and so on. While they should include all the relevant information, boring descriptions are likely to turn candidates away or make them hesitant to apply. Before sending in any application, a candidate always reads the job description because it’s their first impression of the company.
- Go a little easier on the criteria.
The age of self-taught developers has arrived, making the purpose of listing educational requirements a bit controversial. Rapid advancements in technology and access to resources on the internet have allowed many developers to teach themselves how to code. It isn’t a requirement to leave those desired criteria out, but it may hinder the number of qualified candidates.
- Stay in touch through the whole process.
Previously, the main thought of recruiters was that developers were desperate for jobs so they would bend to the recruiter’s time. That’s not the case in modern times. Now, there are more developers than there are jobs, and the recruiter must hook highly qualified developers. The hiring process can be just as stressful for candidates as it is for recruiters. Therefore, maintaining clear communication with candidates will provide a better experience and give them a better impression of the company trying to hire them.
- Get off the beaten recruiting path.
LinkedIn used to be the primary way recruiters attracted candidates. However, it has become oversaturated with job postings and qualified individuals become sought after by everyone. Job postings themselves tend to follow the same basic setup—experience, previous work history, skills, and keywords. There have been other avenues such as niche job boards( for example Unicorn.io, Careers.sh, or WhoIsHiring.ch) that recruiters turn to, which provide more positive results than expected. Ultimately, in all aspects of the recruiting process, it’s important recruiters can identify the things that work on a personal and general level. The ability to do that will give them an advantage in the recruiting community.
