Win Over Your Top IT Candidate
When a candidate is in high demand, a recruiter’s job is to sell the position and close the deal. This is especially true in the IT world, where there are way more jobs than candidates. Finding a developer in a specific programming niche or a cybersecurity expert takes patience, persistence, and some selling skills. How can a company win over a candidate? What are the top IT candidates looking for in your business?
Attracting Top Talent to Your Business
It’s not just you; there are about one million more IT jobs out there than there are candidates, even during the recession. Every tech candidate has options—and they know it. Recruiters can be kept humble by knowing one fact; in technology, the candidate interviews you as much as you interview them. So, how can you build the relationship to the point where they want to come work for your team?
First, sell to the culture. In IT, after you’re sure the credentials are a fit, it’s time to talk about what it’s like to work in the company.
Company culture isn’t a buzzword; 36% of IT workers say they’ve left companies where it’s not a cultural fit. Millennials say it’s the most important job criteria that come even before a salary; will they fit the culture? What is culture, anyway?
A company culture consists of the organizational norms that govern how people behave. For IT candidates, it’s about more than catered meals or dressing down. How do developer teams collaborate? How curious is the culture about innovation? What kind of work environment will they experience? If you can’t answer these questions, find out, and then share it with your candidates. The chances are high your competitors may miss this crucial step, and you will win.
Second, take the time to get to know your candidate beyond their credentials. What are their needs, wants, and priorities? What did they like about working in their last job? What kind of people do they hate to work with? If they say they do well in a flexible work environment, how does the job fit this need?
Third, always do what you say you will do. Many recruiters miss calls, fail to return calls, or lose the candidate simply because their follow up was bad. Take each connection seriously, communicate often, and take care of the person you’re representing. These traits will help the candidate rely on and trust you when everyone else doesn’t give it their all.
Finally, it’s okay to be passionate about the job. It’s okay to try to inspire the candidate with the company mission. What kind of cool tech project will they be working on? What is the team like that they will be working with? Is the team laid-back or energetic go-getters in pursuit of the perfect line of code or a project completion under budget and on time? If you don’t know these things, find them out. Get yourself inspired and then share that with the candidate. Many recruiters are very cautious in their approach and fail to genuinely connect with their candidate. If you approach each IT candidate as a genuine connection, you’ll close the deal every time. The Custom Group of Companies wants to inspire your hiring process. Find out why we’re different. Call us today.
