How do the IT recruitment agencies work?

As a rule, almost everyone has this question at the initial stages. In fact, everything is purely individual and depends specifically on your situation. Below we have mentioned several main reasons why it is sometimes worth considering the option of cooperation with an agency:

One of the main advantages of IT recruitment agencies is the ability to fill a job opening quickly, which is especially important if the company has several urgent positions. So, we at Lucky Hunter often joke that we fill job openings faster than the superhero Flash, who is famous for his speed :) As a rule, IT recruiters use several recruiting services at once, as well as their own database of candidates — this helps to significantly speed up processes and find an IT specialist of the right profile in a short time.

In addition, due to the fact that the agency's recruiters search for candidates and hold the initial interview, the working processes of the inhouse HRs are optimized. It also has a positive impact on the speed of filling job openings — they already receive relevant CVs of interested and motivated candidates who can be promptly conducted through the funnel.

Often, a company may have problems at the hiring stage — for example, rejections of job offers, loss of candidates. IT recruitment agencies regularly communicate with both employers and candidates, so they have a full understanding of the key trends of the IT market at the moment: they will help identify bottlenecks in the selection (for example, reduce the number of selection stages so that candidates do not have time to lose interest in the vacancy and can be quickly guided through the funnel without risking to lose due to a long wait for a feedback or a big test task), as well as to make a strong offer that will attract experienced IT specialists and help you to remain competitive in the hiring market

For example, you need to find an IT specialist for a top-management position that requires a rich professional background, or you need a candidate with a non-standard technology stack.

Yes, some agencies are engaged not only in the selection of IT personnel, but also offer other services, including large-scale research on almost any issues related to the IT market. How can such research be useful for business? The results can be used to get answers to a variety of questions relevant to your company at a particular time: from choosing a country to open a new office to conducting salary and compensation analytics. So you can decide on the vector of further development, strengthen the HR brand of the company or indexate the salaries of full-time employees so that they meet the IT market realities at the moment.

Often, a company simply does not have the resources (for example, time resources) to conduct a full-scale study, in addition, it is of great importance that analysts of IT recruiting agencies communicate on a regular basis with both candidates and companies, so they are experts in the specifics of the market, changes and key trends.

Usually, most IT recruitment agencies work according to a similar scheme — of course, everything may be slightly different in each case, but, as a rule, there are still several main stages:

After receiving your inquiry, a representative of the recruitment agency contacts you to schedule the call. Such video meetings are necessary not only to clarify all the important details of a particular position and make a competent portrait of the ideal candidate, but also to get to get acquainted and know each other better. Why does it matter so much? The IT recruitment agency and the company pursue a common goal — to hire suitable candidates quickly and efficiently, and to achieve this goal, it is vital to understand whether the communication will be comfortable and productive for both parties. We never tire of repeating how important the principle of partnership is in recruiting — over several years of work, we have had the opportunity to see from our own experience that the ability to listen and hear each other, conduct an open dialogue and build adequate communication can make any interaction effective.

Therefore, do not underestimate this stage — make sure that there is mutual understanding between you and the contractor and a willingness to look in the same direction. Do not be upset if suddenly for some reason "chemistry" has not happened — your ideal IT recruiting agency is definitely waiting for you and is also looking for you!

Once you have discussed the job opening, the agency's IT recruiters begin searching for candidates, conduct a series of interviews and accompany IT specialists at all stages. We understand that IT recruiting likes speed, so we show the first candidates to the customer within 4 working days.

At this stage, the IT recruitment agency coordinates the interview dates with the finalists, gives feedback, and helps to form a job offer.

When a candidate accepts an offer, believe us, IT recruiters are happy no less than you :) If suddenly, for some reason, a refusal occurs, then the IT agency, together with the customer, works out possible reasons, changes schemes and methods of motivation, and continues to search for a candidate with whom the company will have a perfect match.

In most cases, IT recruitment agencies work without prepayment — the customer pays for their services only when the candidate starts working. If everything ends successfully at the previous stage and the candidate accepts the job offer, the IT recruitment agency makes an invoice and the service is considered provided when the specialist begins their work.

Another question that may arise is what to do if, for some reason, the candidate got a job at the company and quit? We are all human beings and such situations really take place, so almost every IT recruitment agency tries to predict such moments in their work and offer guarantees to their clients. In this case, guarantees are an obligation to replace the candidate if they have not worked the duration specified in the contract between the IT agency and the customer.