Do you think you can use a general recruitment process for Tech hiring? 

Be it software developers, UX/UI designers, or digital marketers, Tech talents have their own preferences and specialities. Using a cookie-cutter approach to recruit Tech talents is not going to give you a good response rate. And in the lucky case that it did? It is likely not quality candidates you would get. 

For effective Tech hiring, these 4 things are what you should be prepared for :

• Know what you want & the tech you need
• Know the market
• Know how to attract Tech talents
• Know how to test Tech talents

Know What You Want & the Tech You Need

First off, you should be clear about what you want. This is knowing exactly what the business purpose of hiring this position is and what results you expect to accomplish. Here are some useful questions suggested by RolocateMe: 

• What is the tech stack the candidate will work on?
• How is the code tested? (is it a Unit, Integration, Regression, or A/B testing, or others?)
• What are the key details of the project? (What problems does the app solve? What are the project’s short- and long-term goals?)
• How much is development vs. maintenance?
• What skills are required and what are just nice to have?
• Is this a replacement or a new role? What problems are you trying to solve by filling this position? (If it is a new post, why did it open? Is there a new team being formed, or a new customer needing some special features in your product? If it is a replacement, why did the previous candidate leave?)
• Is there anything else I should know that did not come up in the discussion so far?

Once you know that, you can proceed to list out the seniority, languages, experience, and skills required to perform well in such a position, and come up with the kinds of projects that your candidates should have handled before as well. Skill-wise you should identify not only the hard skills but also the soft skills to ensure that person works well with others and is able to navigate the office jungle on top of just doing the job well. Some ideas of valuable soft skills are available in our 7 Must-Have Soft Skills for Software Developers blog post. 

The next step is to equip yourself with the basics of tech knowledge. You might begin with exploring what certain programs, languages, or tools can do. Talking to the hiring manager in addition to just consulting the IT department is crucial, as it makes you know exactly what the project/job will really entail. Learning some tech jargons could be helpful too, as they help you connect with and understand your Tech candidates better. You may want to check our blog for Top Programming Languages to Learn in 2019.

Know the Market

Devskiller reported that the top 5 tech skills most companies are looking for in developers are JavaScript (70%), SQL (57%), Java (48%), HTML/CSS (46%), and .NET/C# (41%).

You know you have to compete for skilled Tech candidates, so it is logical to do your homework about the market. Look up popular skills so you know which skills are rare or in demand. Make sure you separate must-have skills from good-to-have ones, and don’t forget to research the salary range. (Curious about the range in SEA? Why not take a look at GetLinks Salary Report?

Combining both of these with the info of what skills other companies are looking for, you can strategize better and be flexible when negotiating the benefits and pay to commensurate with the candidate’s skills and knowledge. For example, if a skill is so rare and there are only few candidates with the right levels of skills, then you may need to sweeten the deal by offering a very competitive package or some benefits to entice them — or risk losing a good catch to your rivals. 

How to Attract Tech Talents

Hard to deny that money motivates most talents. But what if you don’t want to draw Tech talents chiefly through a monetary motivator (because you don’t want to motivate based on money alone, or are financially tight), what can you do?

Training is a very practical choice. More than half of the Tech pros don’t get this benefit even though it ranks among the top benefits they prefer. Not only will attracting them with training and skill development satisfy potential employees, but it will also pay off in the form of retention and improved competencies for the company.

Your company culture and values are also some of the factors that matter. Creating a good work environment will help entice Tech talents to want to join you through referrals. Having a high-performing team, effective tools, and flexitime are plus points. 

Another powerful part of talent acquisition strategy is employer branding, which helps you attract, engage, and retain top Tech talents. See our Use Your Employer Brand to Attract the Right Tech Talent guidebook to find out more.

According to Dice’s Ideal Employer Report, the top 10 drivers required to attract top Tech talents are as follows:

How to Test Tech Talents

Now that you have interested candidates, it is time to put them to test and see who fits your requirements best. Always do a coding test or other kinds of practical tests because it turns out that many candidates perform well on theory tests but do much worse in practice. Going one step further, you can ask them to solve real business problems or perform actual tasks they will face in your company.  

Wondering what tools might be handy? You can browse through coding questions from the libraries of HackerRank, Codility, and TechGig and even create customized coding tests from there.

Although Tech talents don’t mind completing programming or skill tests, you should strive to make their experience a pleasant one. How? By keeping it as short and relevant as possible. Besides saving their time, it helps you shorten your recruiting process while focusing on the essential skills too.  

Giving feedback on completed tests will be worth your while, the benefits can be twofold: First, you impress them by standing out from the crowd. Most companies don’t give feedback to candidates. In fact, if candidates don’t make it to the next stage, it is very likely they will never hear from the company again. Second, you portray your company as an employer who values transparent communication and career development. Candidates very much appreciate being told whether or not they cut it and why. Doing this will definitely distinguish yourself as an employer, especially if you give candidates constructive feedback.  

One last thing to ensure the effectiveness is timing: you should send the test invite out earlier in the week. Tuesday is the best because it tends to get the fastest response. Surveys also show that it takes developers at least 2 up to more than 3 days to complete the test and that they prefer to do it on weekdays so that they can do their own projects on weekends.

Extra Tip: Where to Find Tech Talents  

If you find it hard to find skilled Tech candidates, ask yourself if you have given these alternative sources a try: Where to Find Tech Talent in SEA: Smart Hiring Ideas.

Hire with Confidence  

Going through all these tips, we hope you can thoroughly plan and confidently execute your Tech hiring. Should you need a helping hand in Tech hiring, do reach out to our team at GetLinks. Happy hunting, recruiters and hiring managers!

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