A Look Inside Tech Recruitment in India

“As a recruiter, you have to think like a marketer, 
Act as a hunter, but be human at the end of the day”

The above quote by Sarang Brahme, senior recruiting manager Capgemini, captures the true spirit of a recruiter in the modern era. With the advancement of time, there is a change in recruitment strategies as well, the way recruiters are trying to deal with vulnerabilities in terms of sourcing and drop-offs are completely different from what it was 5 years ago. Being a recruiter, especially a tech recruiter is no easy job. Good talent is busy, distracted or prefers companies that offer much more than just a job. Employing software developers, programmers or any tech role requires recruiters to attract the talent within a limited time period. As per a recent report, a huge talent shortage can be expected by the year 2021. With the condition getting worse with the decline of good candidates in the tech market, it creates pressure on you as a tech recruiter.

To overcome the challenges in tech recruitment space, it’s important to know what the challenges are. Hiring a software developer is completely different from hiring for any non-tech role. It is not just about ‘posting a requirement’, it’s about hunting for a candidate who is a great fit for your organization. In this candidate-centric world, recruiters are expected to adopt more creative ways to attract top tech talent. Be it personalized emails, fancy job descriptions or posting aggressively on social media platforms. To make your tech hiring easy, we have tried to give you a peek into some aspects of tech recruitment.

1. Know your target audience: 

To market your job to the right candidates, it’s important to know who they are. There are two types of tech candidates; active and passive candidates. Active candidates are those who are actively looking for a job and passive candidates are those who are not actively looking for a job but are open to new opportunities. Magniloquent job descriptions will not help, if you don’t know on what grounds do a candidate makes his decision.

• Learning Factor: Candidates consider growth as an important factor before signing the employment letter. Growth should not only be restricted to salary but it should also present the candidate with opportunities that will help them to challenge their technical skills.

• Clear JDs: Follow the policy of clarity. Make everything clear to the candidate, what you are expecting from this hire and what the company can provide. Don’t make murky Job descriptions to grab the attention of random candidates. Just put in clearly & attract the right candidate. But half of the candidates don’t even read job descriptions & add your email in spam. BigShyft — a platform for tech candidates and recruiters, position your company & brand better and attract the right talent in this madness of opportunities.

2. How good is the company: More than the company size, candidates consider the product before joining any company. Make sure to focus on the product you are hiring for. Include details about;

• What the product is about.

• What was the need to launch the product in the market?

• How will others be benefited from it?

• Who all are sponsors.

• Who will be the target group?

3. Are you making any significant change in their career: Candidates do not join any company for the sake of working. There are many companies in the country which provide decent profiles. But nowadays candidates are more focused on quality jobs. They look for long-term commitments. They are more attracted to the profiles which will satiate their hunger for challenges. Tech candidates are very specific on which role they are looking for. So, try to focus on one type of target group who will be the best fit for the role rather than focusing on all.

4. Drop-Offs: Another challenge in tech recruitment is drop-offs pre-interview & post-selection. Good candidates are juggling between multiple companies, which leads to more no-shows. Brands are competing for the workforce. It’s important to showcase your company in an employee-friendly light. What you can do;

• Present your company culture in a way that motivates its employees. Maintain a brand positive image on social media and within the company as well.

• Communicate swiftly with candidates. They hate following up with recruiters or waiting for your call. Update everything in due time.

5. Right Platforms: With the ever-increasing job portals like LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, it has become easier for recruiters to post and market their jobs. But is it the same in the case of tech recruitment? Definitely Not, that’s what Tech Hiring & Technology Adoption 2019 report says. According to the report, more than 40% of companies face a challenge while sourcing quality tech candidates. You may follow these methods to save yourself from the hassle of screening multitude of CVs;

• Post your requirement on tech-oriented sites like; Github, Stackflow, BigShyft.

• Engage in Tech-based companies. You may get any referral for your position.

6. Employee Retention: Candidate joining your organization is not an achievement. Candidate spending enough time with your company is a success. Around half of the candidates leave the company within 6 months. Retaining a qualified and skilled employee is one of the most difficult tasks especially when the Indian economy is short of skilled engineers. You may follow these methods to earn the trust of employees;

• Boarding & Orientation: Every new hire should be treated with the utmost respect. Make changes in your orientation program, if you think there are any loopholes. The boarding & orientation may be a part of your job but these are the crucial days for new employees. Try to give a glimpse of your company in a way that will make an impact on the employee’s mind. Orientation is the best way to present the company’s clear picture.

• Mentorship Activities: Learning is a lifelong process. Every individual want to brush their skills & would love to learn new things. Try to partner new candidates with a mentor, not specifically their reporting managers to boost a spirit of learning in them.

• Work-Life Balance: Apart from compensation, bonus, recognition, rewards & appreciation, what every employee expects and should get is a healthy work-life balance. Understand their personal problems & extend help if need any. Flexible work hours, work from home policies are some basic things which you do to improve employees’ experience. Most of the companies are now offering ‘4 days work week’ to boost productivity. Recently, Microsoft-one of the biggest tech giants implemented ‘4 days work week.’

7. Reinvent your Strategies: Adopt a recruitment process that is, time and cost-effective. Get away from the traditional method of hiring by screening CVs, then conducting the technical test and finally the offer. With BigShyft you can get the premium pre-accessed candidates for your company which unburdens you in many ways.

We hope that these small but effective ways will surely help you in the future. Wishing you success in your next hire. Register with BigShyft and make your job easy.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Which are the best tech-oriented sites?

Github, Stackflow, BigShyft

How can BigShyft help me in hiring quality candidates?

BigShyft promotes your job to the most matched candidates. Manage and coordinate from start to end, till the candidate joins. Know more.