The previous balance between the stages of the hiring process has been significantly disrupted. Difficulty in hiring has arisen over the past few years, most notably since the middle of 2020 with the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic. In the tech industry, that’s even more true. Recruiting good tech talent became increasingly harder for recruiters and hiring managers.
Why is it so difficult?
Here are three main reasons bringing on tech talent has gotten harder:
- The number of passive candidates increased.
As the ratio of tech professionals to available jobs has widened over the years., they now have the ability to decide where they want to work, and, sometimes, they can leverage other things since they become in demand. However, many potential candidates are passive. This means they aren’t specifically looking for another job. Recruiters can still use that passiveness to convince those professionals to consider employment elsewhere. Offering higher salaries, flexible schedules, and other incentives could be useful to convert them to active candidates.
- Job descriptions don’t reflect current skillsets, tools, or tasks.
Large companies occasionally struggle with tailoring job descriptions. Because they are so big and have things dividing their attention, they generalize the descriptions of their job postings. This can extend to repeating postings on different sites or the same sites over a period of time. The biggest issue with this is that technology and tasks associated with employment evolve. Technology has become instrumental in every industry. Out-of-date job descriptions which don’t keep up with technology used at the time are a big red flag. It demonstrates that the description wasn’t reviewed before being posted, the company doesn’t incorporate the most relevant software or other similar issues. Candidates aren’t likely to apply for postings like this, especially since the speed of technological advancements has skyrocketed.
- Recruiters don’t know the industry they’re hiring in.
An obvious requirement for being a recruiter is to understand the industry they work in. Unfortunately, it has been an issue where recruiters were hiring without knowledge of what they were hiring for. Terminology, what experience indicates, understanding necessary skills, and more are some of the things recruiters should be aware of. Not having that knowledge could lead to mis-hires, which can cost companies money, time, and resources. Many industries have specific skills or terminology needed to complete sometimes even basic tasks, hence the importance of understanding the industry.
Final Thoughts
The overall recruiting process naturally evolves like everything else. However, the use of technology has invaded every industry, sending the world into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of industries, the most used tools, and in-demand skills or experiences are necessary things good recruiters continue evaluating. They would ensure they keep up with how the industry they work in changes as well as whether their clients are the same way. On the chance clients are ‘behind the times’, recruiters might have more obstacles to face in order to bring in the right tech talent. But, being in the revolving door of the hiring community should give them the know-how to get around that.
