Recruiting IT professionals requires understanding the community, job descriptions, and required skill sets, as well as reviewing quantified accomplishments on resumes. Building relationships with IT managers and understanding candidate expectations is also crucial for success.
Recruiting for any employee role involves following a variety of general recommendations to attract top talent, conduct careful screening and initial interviews, or increase the quality of candidates. IT recruiting, in this sense, is no different. In addition to general recommendations, however, there are some tips to consider when recruiting IT professionals. These tips include understanding the IT community, clearly understanding job descriptions and the associated skill sets required, as well as reviewing resumes for accomplishments that are legitimately quantified.
Competition for professional achievement is fierce in the IT community. The pursuit of achievement can often raise IT professionals’ expectations of the challenges, work environment, and autonomy offered by a specific employer. The laws of supply versus demand can greatly influence a particular professional’s expectations of an employer, especially if the candidate has specialized certifications that are in high demand.
Existing IT staff members have valuable information about candidates and the public perception of an employer; therefore, relationships with these team members must be developed. Understanding the value that a particular company provides to potential candidates also helps recruiters meet expectations and network within the IT community. Between fostering connections in the IT industry and understanding candidate expectations, IT recruiting professionals are more likely to attract the best candidates.
In addition to community connections and understandings, job descriptions are also essential to successful IT recruiting. Knowing exactly what a specific job entails and the skills needed helps hiring managers and recruiters attract the right candidates and evaluate resumes. As such, IT recruiting should also involve building a relationship and conducting needs assessments with IT managers. After all, the IT manager knows best exactly what kind of candidate he needs in terms of skills, past experience and accomplishments, as well as any formal education or certification required.
In addition to specific job-related IT skills or industry certifications, candidates considered for IT recruitment must possess a core skill set and professional traits. The ability to coordinate multidisciplinary groups and projects is essential. Project management and leadership skills are needed to foster and ultimately achieve the ongoing collective success of an IT team or department. Additionally, the need for companies and organizations to analyze large volumes of data across multiple platforms makes critical thinking skills a must for any IT candidate. Equally important is an innovative nature, as technical innovations can save an organization costs, offer a unique new selling proposition, or improve organizational performance.
Finally, professional accomplishments are a big part of an IT professional’s resume. Quantified achievements, however, are easier to measure. For example, a candidate who claims he knows a specific system is one thing, but a candidate who can claim he used a specific system to cut an employer’s operating expenses by 15% is another. Likewise, accomplishments such as managing a large software integration project must be quantified with details on maintaining monetary budgets and time commitments.
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