Employers Update: Technical Talent Hiring Trends 2019

Becoming a mainstay in today’s emerging market, the rise of the digital revolution is a sign of upcoming higher demands of skilled software developers. Technology has revolutionised workplaces and more companies are looking for talented individuals to handle and maintain tech projects within an organisation.

The bad news is that this trend is not accompanied by sufficient tech talents as 2019 is the year when companies are facing difficulties in filling their tech positions. Forrester reported that the search for tech talents will get harder and more costly in 2019. Tech employment growth will go slowly to 1.7 percent in 2019 before recovering to 2.4 percent in 2020, with wages growth and sharing system become the reasons behind scarce technical talents. In addition, the causes of hiring difficulty are not only due to slow growth. There are other factors which come from within an organisation such as hiring standard and technical support.

See also: Reasons Why You Struggle in Hiring Technical Data Talents

So, how are companies supposed to get the right tech candidates? Worry no more, here are hiring trends that will help create greater pool for your tech talents hunting. Happy hiring!

1.   Culture and company’s vision alignment

One of the greatest barriers a recruiter often face is aligning company’s vision on skills and client’s expectations. Especially when hiring technical talents, recruiters might get a harder time to fulfil their client’s expectations because hiring tech roles could be more complex than hiring for other roles. And in order to hire the right candidates, recruiters must have at least a broad knowledge on the position offered. For instance, employers should understand the difference between a full-stack developer, a back-end or front-end developer, what they do and what skills they should possess, as well as what it will require to learn such skills.

Therefore, there should be continuous coordination from managers and recruiters when filling vacant tech positions in the company.

2.   Employer brand and work culture

Strong employer brand and flexible work culture are needed to cut through organisational hierarchy and bureaucracy. To achieve this, however, there should be a strong talent brand. Having a strong talent, especially technical talent brand is one of the ways to attract IT talents. Therefore, you should not underrate this strategy and start building a brand to enable more organic hires and build up a reputation.

3.   Look beyond degree and certification

Albeit higher degree and certification are a great proof of better skills, employers must acknowledge that the best talents are the right talents for the position and are able to operate system needed. Besides, portfolio is no longer a good measurement of whether a candidate will be successful on a job. Therefore, any other factors such as work experience, demonstrate ability and personal projects should be sent off.

Global Technical Hiring & Skills Report 2019 suggested that smart employers should avoid unreliable whiteboard test, bug-hunting exercises, and other random programming questions, and instead, simulate the first day at work experience using dedicated skill screening software. It clearly implies that the right coding test becomes a lean and effective method for confirming skills of technical candidates rather than a bunch of degree and certification. 

Next read: 6 Categories of Technology Employers Should Have and Use