IT staffing. What challenges do recruiters face while selecting tech specialists?

Recruitment is a complex service. IT recruitment is not just a complex, but also a specific service. It involves people with a special temperament, skills, requirements. So what are the difficulties of recruiting information technology specialists? Read in our article.

The Lucky Hunter team can boast of broad experience in the IT staffing. Under recruiters' belt, there are hundreds of filled job openings, thousands of interviews and reviewed resumes.

But what was this success worth? What difficulties and obstacles did specialists have to overcome in order to find the most talented candidates? Answering the question in the article.

Team. IT recruitment agency for recruiting technoloy specialists for companies hiring developers Lucky Hunter

Shortage of IT specialists

It is difficult to imagine a sphere in which computertechnology specialists are not required. According to data provided by Modis, the demand for IT specialists will have grown by 12% by 2024. This is two times higher than in any other field. At the same time, there is an acute shortage of qualified personnel. The reasons are different:

Poor quality of education;
Demographic crisis in the country;
The IT sphere is developing faster than people learn.

Anyway, in the IT industry demand exceeds supply. Therefore, IT specialties remain the the most in-demand professionals at the present day. Also read: The TOP 10 most in-demand technology jobs of 2019

A separate approach to IT professionals

Many IT specialists do not know how to write a good CV. That's a fact. If marketers, PR experts or specialists in the humanities are good at writing, then IT-specialists usually do not know how to sell themselves by dint of text. Therefore, it is essential to read between the lines. This problem is particularly relevant in IT employment. Recruiters understand this specifics of working with IT specialists and don't judge only by the resume. Durind the sourcing and selecting process recruiters consider all aspects.

Tech people differ from others in their way of life, thoughts. For example, they are rarely available from 9 a.m. to 18 p.m. because computer specialists work remotelyand have a flexible schedule. It is believed that IT specialists are mostly introverts. Therefore, they are not inclined to have long correspondence and come to the office for an interview.

A prerequisite for the IT staff selection: to notify about the call in advance, because tech people don't like unexpected calls. They value their private space.

Interestingly, in 90% of cases, an interview with a candidate scheduled for 9 a.m. (at the initiative of the candidate himself) is canceled or postponed. Therefore, in the case of the IT staffing, specific recruitment methods, such as online recruiting, are urgently needed.

IT professionals live isolatedly. This means that traditional search channels, such as job search portals, are not always suitable since IT professionals rarely post their resumes there. They find work through their own specific channels. These can be social networks, forums, personal acquaintances,code repositories, etc. About how IT recruiters manage to find the right specialists we've already written in the article devoted to recruiting methods.

A special job offer

IT specialists are not only interested in salary, but also in various bonuses offered by the company. They have a stake in a project itself and its technology stack, team. Flexible schedule, the possibility of remote employment, access to various paid resources are also perks which make a job more attractive.

An experienced IT recruiter knows how to create a correct offer so that the candidate accepts it. It should be noted that every good programmer has multiple offers simultaneously, which complicates the task.

Unrealistic customer expectations

There are no ideal candidates as well as an ideal job. Consequently, there is no such thing as an absolute match but it's quite realistic to meet the customer's expectations if recruiters and the customer sail in the same boat.

A flexible approach to sourcing specialists, following the recommendations of an experienced recruiter, the ability to consider recruiter's opinion and make corrections is the key to a successful selection of a specialist. Otherwise, there is a risk of missing a worthy candidate.

Chooses not only the client, but also the candidate

Successful recruitment rests on two complementary aspects: motivation and partnership. By motivation, we mean the conviction of the candidate in the perspectives of the proposed work. Indeed, in the IT sphere, the candidate is considering several offers simultaneously. By partnership, we mean that motivation should come not only from the recruiter but also from the customer. "Sale" of vacancy to the candidate effects by joint efforts.

Flexibility

In the recruiter's work, flexibility is one of the prerequisites, but at the same time, it is one of the main difficulties. Working with people involves unplanned postponementof meetings, cancellation of interviews, change of work schedule. A flexible approach also consists in the ability to adjust the candidate's profile during the selection process, since the requirements for a prospective employee may change more than once.

These difficulties for IT recruiters are routine. IT recruiters face them nearly every day because these are realities of the IT sphere. The world of information technology has its own rules, and to succeed you need to know how to play.

The team of our IT recruitment agency Lucky Hunter has been encountered these difficulties and has successfully overcome them.

Recruiters don't just accurately determine the demands made on the candidate, but study the specifics of the client company and, if necessary, conduct an intermediate status communication in order to understand at which of the stages of recruiting the problem occurs. We are always in touch with the client, and the principle of partnership is one of the fundamental principles of our agency.
Lucky Hunter has its own methods of working with candidates, its own recruitment stages. More detailed information about our specifics and stages is on our FAQ page.

If you need to find a cool IT specialist, contact us. We will be glad to help you!

Polina Barabanova

Content Manager at Lucky Hunter

Specializes in tech staff recruitment, startups, tech research, career, HR, and news topics. With her expertise, she provides valuable insights and practical advice to navigate the ever-evolving tech industry.