Landing the Top Technology Talent

We’ve all been there. We find technology job seekers who check all of the boxes and who prove to be the best candidate for the role we’re looking to fill. They have the right skills and work experience. Great attitude and energy. They fit-in. And then we lose him/her to another organization. When this happens, do you ask yourself what went wrong? Was it:

1. Your office culture or the hiring manager?
2. An unrealistic compensation range or a failure to identify your business need?
3. Did the interview process not move quickly enough or did you neglect to follow-up to ensure they understand what the process looks like?

Any of these missteps can lead to losing the best technology candidates.

Plus, if you work for mid-size and smaller organizations, you also have to compete for landing the best talent with large corporations like Amazon and Google who have large recruiting teams on a constant look-out for that same talent.

We get it. Over the years we have seen organizations fail to land the best technology candidates many times. It’s a lot to manage and there’s no silver bullet. However, we’ve learned how to prevent your frustration and implement steps to land the best technology hires.

To help you land the best technology candidates, we put together key actions you can take to succeed.

We’ll review . . .

1. How do we define Top Talent? And what are they looking for in a new job?
   The qualities, personality traits and desires of the top talent
   • What they look for in a career
   • The importance of corporate culture
   • How they will support your organization
2. Challenges most recruiters face
   Typical challenges/reasons why organizations struggle to attract top talent.
3. Steps to overcome the challenges
   The steps it takes to land Top Tech Talent:
   • How to identify the “best” job seeker
   • How to make your organization attractive to the “best” job seeker
   • How to go above and beyond to make the “best” job seeker believe they can’t not take the job
   • Trends that impress the “best” job seeker

How We Define Top Tech Talent

Top technology talent can vary company to company, but the recurring theme is someone with a proven track record of success or the recent graduate of a top tier STEM program. And when you realize it, you also realize that lots of other people are trying to hire them. Seeking to understand the job seeker’s motivation for exploring new roles helps you identify the best candidates. With tech job seekers, you want to remember that what the best candidates are looking for in a new role tends to revolve around:

1. Contributing to something that betters the world. They want to knowing their work has impact.
2. Solving problems and working with others. These candidates want work that is collaborative where they can learn from and/or teach others.
3. Engaging with cutting edge Tech. The work is about more than having a job, it’s about working on the latest and greatest Tech.

On the other hand, advertising compensation sets the wrong precedent with technology candidates. While everyone cares about money, it’s typically not their main focus.

Challenges to Landing the Top Technology Talent

The challenges to landing the top technology talent vary, but they focus primarily on the following:

1. Crafting an active recruiting strategy.
2. Keeping potential hires engaged throughout the interview process.
3. Coming up with competitive offers.

Overcoming the Challenges to Landing the Top Technology Talent

While the challenges may feel like a lot to take on, there are ways to overcome them.

Define Your Interview Process

You can start with having a well-defined, efficient and consistent interview process, which allows you to stay focused on not only keeping them engaged, but landing them. Make sure you are vetting candidates based on the technical skills required in the role and/or their ability to pick up new technology. Make sure your entire team is able to “sell” your opportunity and articulate why someone should join your company.

For more guidance, you may be interested in the following. . .

• How to Interview for Cultural Fit
• Crafting Interview Questions for Every Stage of the Job Interview Process

Final Thoughts

When it comes to landing the top technology talent, we see where recruiters find job seekers who check-off the technical skills, but fail to keep candidates engaged during the interview process.

This is where you can focus on making the interview process more efficient and more hands-on.

You can seek to understand their motivation to explore new roles and remember that technology job seekers want to do work that allows them solve problems, work with others, have an impact on the larger world and engage with cutting edge Tech.

You can also quickly provide feedback.

And like some of our clients, when you do land the top technology talent, you can provide ramp-up time for your hires to learn about both the technical and business sides of your organization.

Hirewell is Your Partner to Help You Make The Best Hires for Your Organization

We’re here to provide you with the guidance you need to land the top technology talent.

Want guides to other specialties? View our guides to landing the top Human Resources, Marketing and Sales hires, too.

Alex Zalewski