Rethink Your Hiring Strategy to Attract Tech Professionals

Marcianne Kuethen

February 1, 2016

Is your HR staff having trouble finding the software engineers and computer programmers you need on your team? The good news is, the talent shortage that’s been causing this hardship has decreased in a few cities: Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis, Seattle, Austin, and Salt Lake City. Hurray!

On the flip side, however, a recent report published by Indeed.com reveals that, in the U.S., there are predominantly four major cities where these tech professionals want to work: San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, and Austin. If your organization doesn’t have a presence in one of these tech hubs, you may need to rethink your hiring strategy to attract tech professionals.

“But wait,” you might say. “Shouldn’t candidates come to where we are?” If it were an employer’s market, that would make sense. “Now that talent has taken the driver’s seat,” says Indeed, whose data derives from where tech job searches are most prevalent, “candidates’ interests are the greater force in the labor market. Attracting tech talent will increasingly rely on job seekers’ preferences, including being in the locations that appeal to them most. This may mean setting up a physical presence in these locations but could also mean that employers recruit in popular hubs despite their company’s base elsewhere, solving the talent gap by offering candidates the chance to work remotely.”

One solution to recruiting tech professionals is to lower your expectations. A recent survey by Dice shows that 78% of hiring managers anticipate more hiring in the first half of 2066 compared with the last half of 2015. Because everyone is competing for tech candidates, Dice found, 27% of hiring managers plan to hire entry-level candidates, and 62% are looking for candidates with 2-5 years experience. This is likely because the average technology salary in the U.S. rose 7.7% to $96,370 annually.

Another suggestion is to come up with more creative ways to attract tech professionals to your location. Susan Harker, vice president of global talent acquisition, told Indeed that, in light of the competition for talent, employers “really have to appeal to what candidates want to do…really understanding the particular strengths of the person and their motivations and matching them well—really doing a great job of understanding them and what they’re good at and placing them very well in a role.” (For Indeed’s full report which includes tech salary trends, search statistics for various programming languages, and more, click here.)

So what’s the bottom line, employers? In this talent-driven economy, you may need to rethink your hiring strategy to attract tech professionals. Setting up an actual presence in the four tech hubs may be out of the question, but at least consider directly recruiting in them. Also, begin developing flexible working arrangements that allow talent to partially work remotely if you want to attract and retain the high-skill, in-demand workers you’re seeking.

Amtec’s experienced recruiters are here to help, offering a vast network of resources. If you wish to request an employee or have a workforce management issue you’d like to discuss, click here or call (714) 993-1900.