Checklist: Top Recruiter Tips
We hope you enjoyed reading through our 2023 Tech Sentiment Report, and that you can use this data to attract and win the tech talent your organization needs.
If you’re pressed for time and need actionable insights right away, no need to worry: We’ve put together some core recruiting advice based on our data and research from this year, all in one place.
Flexibility and Remote Work
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Look for opportunities where you can have flexibility, even if you can’t offer as many remote options as your competition. Look at flexibility in working hours, vacation or other policies. In addition, consider offering coworking stipends for remote positions (this can be an add-on or in lieu of transportation stipends). Tech professionals place tremendous value on flexibility, both in terms of where and when they work. If your organization or your client’s organization asks tech professionals to be in the office on a full-time basis, you may be at a disadvantage in recruiting or retaining them.
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Only use the term “remote” on your job postings if the position is truly remote. If the position requires coming into the office at any point, it will look like a bait and switch to the candidate, and you’re likely to not only lose that candidate, but risk them talking to others about the annoyance.
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Keep remote work’s key benefits (cost-effectiveness, productivity and flexibility) visible and top-of-mind for candidates. Although remote work remains a key benefit in and of itself, remember that you’re painting a more complete picture of what it’s like to work in these organizations, and you can do that more effectively with the opportunities remote and hybrid work open up for candidates. You can attract candidates with organizational investments that cultivate community, such as employee engagement initiatives, mentoring programs and strong communication.
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Be attentive to different career and life needs. Work closely with professionals to see if a hybrid model or fully remote one suits them best. It’s especially important to heed the greater preference among younger and less experienced tech professionals for in-person connection and career development opportunities.
Compensation, Work Lives and the Economy
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Disclose accurate salary information early on in the process. Adding salary ranges to job postings is the most obvious avenue to do this, and there are also many other ways you can be proactive in being up-front with candidates on compensation. In addition to showing up as an employer who has a candidate-first mentality, salary ranges also help narrow application flows to more relevant candidates.
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Highlight your organization’s communication boundaries, flexible work arrangements and vacation/PTO policies. Doing so will demonstrate a suitable work-life balance commitment to candidates, allowing you to establish an instant bond with many tech professionals.
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Prioritize retention strategies, especially as far more tech professionals are likely to change employers. Keys to retention include work-life balance components, upskilling, mentoring, great company culture and clearer career paths. A company that has established these benefits can also enjoy an uptick in employee referrals while reducing future recruiting costs.
Employer Brand and Reputation
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Pinpoint what your organization does to create and sustain a compelling culture and strengthen your employer brand appeal to tech professionals. For instance, all employees will be focused on salary and health insurance, but many tech professionals will be very interested in your tech stack. Focusing on examples of the projects they will be working on can help give tech professionals a sense of not only the types of work they’ll be doing, but also the level of impact they can make on the company. For a deeper dive into fine tuning elements of your employer brand to appeal to tech professionals, check out our Guide to Employer Branding.
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Seek out tech candidate alignment on mission and values. It’s a key differentiator for organizational success. It’s worth noting that tech professionals place particular emphasis and importance on an employer’s approach to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB).
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Evaluate each candidate’s values alignment. This entails considering your organization or your client’s organization’s values and seeing if a candidate has mirrored those through their previous experiences. For example, if you’re looking for employees who are committed to an inclusive and collaborative culture, listen to how candidates approach team communication and working with peers.
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Keep your candidate evaluations holistic, with time devoted to cultural fit and other important considerations. Tech professionals don’t want you to focus solely on skills assessments. However, most tech professionals are open to skills assessments and think they’re effective, advantageous and unbiased.
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Highlight benefits such as remote schedule opportunities and work-from-home stipends. Doing so will help you attract a significant number of flexibility-minded tech professionals.