Technical recruiting is at an all-time high. This is not really surprising, though. Companies are looking for growth, and technical innovation is one of the major steps in achieving this growth.
Even though this is true, and it looks as though there is a lot of technical talent out there somewhere, finding the perfect fit for a technical requirement is not as easy as it seems. So when we talk about innovation in literally everything we do, it’s high time we bring innovation in technical recruiting, too.
12 innovative recruiting strategies for technical positions
Several companies have already realized the importance of executing out-of-the-box recruiting strategies for tech roles. Just posting a job requirement is no longer enough to attract the right talent. And that’s the reason even top companies like Google never shy from bringing innovation to recruitment.
So, without further ado, here are some techniques you can employ to make your next recruitment a major success!
1. Hackathons are always a great idea!
Hackathons are becoming increasingly popular for technical recruiting. When tech candidates from diverse backgrounds come together to come up with a solution for a tech need or problem, it is a great opportunity for recruiters to spot the right talent.
This is a great way to assess problem-solving skills, collaboration, time-management, and people management along with technical skills. Also, organizing or sponsoring hackathons is good branding for technical companies.
2. Bring Virtual Reality into recruitment
Virtual Reality (VR) has already created quite a buzz in the last few years and it is definitely set to go places in the coming future. Using VR in technical recruiting can prove to be a valuable strategy. VR can provide an immersive and interactive experience for candidates to understand more about the company and the technical roles within it.
VR can give candidates deep insights into the company culture and the vision. It can also simulate the on-the-job experience for candidates which can be extremely helpful to understand the technical requirement. And of course, using technology like VR can give a boost to the company’s image as a technical innovator.
3. Get texting
It is no secret that everybody uses a smartphone and texting comes naturally to most. So how about texting the candidates during the early stages of technical recruiting? It can even be a more convenient way to shortlist the candidates.
When leading recruiting agency Aegis Worldwide started using text interviews, several companies followed suit. Going one step forward, it would also make sense to program chatbots to collect information and engage with candidates during the earlier stages of recruitment. It also conveys to the candidates that the company is inclined towards technological innovation.
4. Build your employer brand
Employee branding is not really making tall or false claims about how good your company is. It is rather aligning the company’s offering with what aspiring candidates are looking for. It is a sum of the perception of the company from the point of view of the current employees and potential employees.
Employee branding is a long-term strategy with long-term benefits. It defines and improves the reputation of the company to attract the right talent. Here are some ways to enhance the employer brand.
- Identify the ideal candidate persona and understand the candidate’s goals. Align your branding strategy to meet these goals.
- Define the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). This includes employee benefits, work culture, opportunities for career growth, and compensation.
- Work towards improving employee satisfaction scores for current employees. Word-of-mouth branding is more effective than other methods.
- Have a good employee retention policy in place.
- Do something as a company that benefits a cause. This will establish what causes the company stands for.
- Develop a strong content strategy.
- Be present and active on social media platforms where potential candidates are most likely to notice you.
Employer branding through storytelling is a great way to reach out to your target talent pool. Stories are always interesting and grab attention. Stories can be from employees on what they like about the company or from new joiners on why they chose the company. These stories can also be used as video content and shared on the website, social media, and branding collateral.
5. Offer more than just a job, offer the right cultural fit
Ever hired a great candidate that was perfect for the technical requirement but couldn’t work well with your team and you had to let them go? A bad cultural fit can spell trouble. Assessing candidates’ aspirations and goals and assessing how they can fit in with the company values and vision thus becomes an important strategy.
Tech talent is in huge demand, especially people who excel at what they do. However, they are not just looking for a job – in all probability, they already have one. So, how about interesting them with some benefits?
What benefits you can offer depends on the company policy. However, there seems to be a trend to offer above and beyond the regular benefits. For instance, companies like General Electric, Virgin Group, and Netflix are offering employees virtually unlimited off-days. The policy basically states that employees can take as many days off as they need as long as they ensure work gets done.
6. Explore untapped talent
One of the things that the pandemic has made amply clear is that remote working is possible for most tech roles. This is good news for tech recruiters. There is a wide range of tech talent globally that you probably haven’t been able to tap into due to location constraints. Now is the time to explore this talent.
Not just geographically, you can also look for untapped talent where you haven’t looked before.
7. Lead with the vision
Everyone works for money; that’s too commonplace. But what if you can highlight a better goal than money?
Techies today want to know how their work is going to make a difference. They want to know how what they do is going to impact the industry or even the world. So fill them in on the company’s vision. Let them know where they fit in in the larger scheme of things.
8. Advertise on TV
We cannot argue with the fact that TV still has a great reach. You cannot really put up job posts on TV. However, TV can be a great platform for branding. Of course, TV is not where active job seekers are looking to find jobs. But it’s a good strategy to put your brand out there for even the non-active job seekers.
General Electric runs TV ads and so does Accenture and several others. It improves the brand identity and lets candidates know you are a top player in the industry.
9. Post jobs where you normally wouldn't
Have you ever thought of putting a job post on a dating site? Well, Amazon did that. They created profiles on the dating site Tinder and swiped right on people who they thought fit the bill! Okay, I am not saying you definitely should be posting jobs on dating sites because that would be weird. What I mean is to look for platforms other than just LinkedIn to post the jobs.
The real question is – where are your target candidates? Posting a job where they are can get you the right attention. And why just Amazon? Goldman Sachs too created quite a buzz when they tried to recruit on Spotify. What’s next? Jobs on Netflix? You decide! Even Cisco has used Snapchat to reach out to the millennials and promote their brand and work culture.
10. Look for talent in the competitor companies
This might seem like a bold step in recruiting and it definitely is! But it is also immensely effective. Hiring top tech talent from competitors can make your company stronger, and them, weaker. Also, there is a very good chance that these candidates are the right fit for the job.
A few years ago, Facebook offered people who worked at Google significant salary hikes to come work for them. And last year, TikTok did a lot of hiring from among candidates who were working for Facebook and Google.
11. Be a data-driven recruiter
Using a data-backed approach for technical recruiting can help make the process more efficient, cost-effective, and fast. Creating internal pools and defining KPIs for technical requirements can help in data-driven recruiting.
Application Tracking Systems (ATS) can make the recruiting process easier. It can also help to get important data such as the average time to fill a position, the number of candidates in the pool for each position, etc. These powerful insights can make technical recruiting more streamlined.
▶️ Read more: The Definitive Guide to Data-Driven Recruiting
12. Choose the right day to put the word out
So you are ready to recruit technical talent, and you now want to post the job requirement on job portals, social media, etc. If you think this is best done on Friday so candidates can look over the requirement over the weekend, think again.
According to SmartRecruiters, the best time to post a job is Tuesday. So, use the weekend to get the requirement to make sure you haven’t missed any critical points. Then, post the job on Tuesday because that is when job seekers are most likely to search.
Technical Recruiting made easy at WeCP
At WeCP, we enable you with the best tools in technical recruiting. With advanced analytics and reporting features, we help streamline recruiting to reduce the time required for hiring the best tech talent.
With a data-driven approach, tech expertise, and customization according to your needs, technical recruitment is simplified.
Hire the best tech talent using advanced technical screening and automatic interview scheduling with us. For more information, get in touch.
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