Present Blog – IT Thought Leadership

4-mistakes-to-avoid-for-successful-it-talent-recruitmentThe recruitment of certain categories of technical resources has greatly increased in complexity in recent years.

If you are responsible for hiring IT talent, you have no control over the problem of resource demand being stronger than supply.

However, you can simplify your task by avoiding certain mistakes:

 

1. Job postings that are overly complex

The mirage of an ideal candidate is often found in a job posting that lists a long inventory of competencies and skill prerequisites.

This type of offer is totally counterproductive for two reasons: first, it often pushes away the best people because they think the company does not know enough about the reality of the market. Second, it will attract the worst candidates as they think the company will have to revise their expectations downwards.

 

Correct this error

Specify 2-3 skills that are strictly required and 2-3 secondary skills that would be a plus. Build the rest of the ad around aptitudes and the work environment.

 

2. Not taking into account the specific characteristics of Millenials (Generation Y)

This generation has high expectations regarding the work environment. Millennials want to work for companies that see beyond profit, who develop their talent and have a positive impact on society.

Even if one believes that this generation leans toward idealism, the reality is that Millennials place great importance on these factors, very early on in their choice of career.

 

Correct this error

Be prepared to communicate your company's mission and the role that the candidates will have to play, both in your ads and in interviews.  

 

3. Selling the job too much

In the race for IT resources, many companies are actually launching into a sales pitch to the candidates they want to hire.

The purpose of an interview must always be to validate if the candidate has the skills to be successful in the position you are offering and if they are a good fit in terms of values and culture of the company.

Of course, candidates who accept face to face interviews have an interest in working for your company, but this interest can fade quickly if they feel that you are selling the position too much. They become suspicious and wonder why you need to insist so much in the hiring process.

 

Correct this error

Transparency is key to hiring IT talent. Simply explain what the company has to offer and share your vision with the candidate on how the company can help them achieve their objectives.

 

4. Stretching out the decision process

This error can be very costly; your selection path that led you to the finish line with several candidates took a lot of time.

Waiting for a consensus among different leaders will stretch the decision, as will the expectation of a better candidate.

 

Correct this error

If the hiring decision must be done by group, prepare a scorecard at the beginning of the process and use it to reach a consensus.

You can also inform the candidates of a date when you will contact them to give them an answer, this way, you will keep your commitment to them. 

 

Conclusion

At each stage of the recruitment process for Information Technology resources, it is important to avoid these specific errors, because each contributes to reducing your chances of hiring high-value resources.

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