“Tech Connects Podcast,” Dice’s podcast, digs into the tech hiring, recruiting, and career topics that matter to you. Subscribe on ACast, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and more! 

The next episode of the Tech Connects podcast is here! Every month, we’ll have great guests who will share their expertise about the current state of the tech careers world, from the hottest tech skills to the state of the tech hiring market to what companies are doing to retain and attract top talent. 

Our latest guest is Katrina Collier, who wears many hats: she’s an author, speaker, mentor, and facilitator who specializes in the human side of talent acquisition. Her passion is ensuring that recruiters and companies deliver a great candidate experience. She’s also the author of "The Robot-Proof Recruiter,” the second edition of which rolled out at the end of August; it’s full of useful info about recruiting the right people and crafting the ideal candidate journey.  

We’re going to talk about "The Robot-Proof Recruiter" and a bunch of other interesting stuff, from why transparency and authenticity matter so much in recruiting, to how recruiters can effectively approach the current crunch for tech talent. Here we go! 

One big thing to call out from this episode of the podcast: There’s a lot of conversation (and some controversy) over the use of automation in recruiting. But as Collier emphasizes, the human element is ultimately what matters most when it comes to finding, recruiting, and retaining top talent. For recruiters, empathetic listening is key: listen and understand a candidate’s wants, desires, and abilities.  

This ‘empathetic listening’ also extends to companies. Recruiters should ask hiring managers, company executives, and whoever else is doing the hiring about the company’s mission and goals. Once a recruiter understands those, they can more effectively engage with the right candidates. 

Companies should focus on retaining and upskilling their people. In the end, that will be more time- and cost-effective than going out onto the market for talent, especially in a market where tech unemployment is notably low. Workers also really want training and education; they’ll have more affinity for a company that offers them opportunities to boost their skills. 

Thank you for tuning into the Tech Connects podcast! We’ll be back with new episodes each month. And as always, if you have suggestions for what we cover on the show or you’d like to be a future guest, send us a note.