5 Tips for Hiring the Right I.T. Employee
The IT employment market has been tight for years and shows no signs of easing as the tech skills gap continues to widen. Hiring the right employees is a challenge – but it is critical for success. Use these tips to enhance your hiring process and hire the right IT employees.
Craft Accurate Job Descriptions
Attracting the right candidates starts with having an accurate job description. Don’t just take the current job description and post it. Sit down with the supervisor and go over any changes in responsibilities, skills and requirements, and talk about the personal success attributes they need in a new hire.
Look for Matches in Your Passive Network
Passive candidates are often the best candidates. Before casting a wide net, go through your pipeline of passive talent to see if anyone in your network fits the bill, and strike up a conversation about the opportunity. Passive candidates can lead to a shorter time to hire and a more accurate match.
Prescreen Candidates
A little bit of effort in prescreening can save a lot of time and money down the road. A candidate may look good on paper, but could give off a completely different vibe when you speak to them. Schedule prescreen interviews with every candidate you are interested in to get a better sense of whether they could truly be a match.
Ask the Right Questions in the Interview
The right questions help you identify desirable candidates and eliminate those who might not be the best match for the role and the team. In addition to technical questions, include behavioral questions and questions that can help you determine whether the candidate is a cultural match.
Conduct Thorough Reference Checks and Background Screens
Don’t just verify employment when conducting reference checks. Spend a few minutes with past supervisors and colleagues to verify the candidate’s work ethic, contributions, achievements and personality traits. When you identify one or more candidates worthy of an offer, conduct thorough background screens, as well. It has never been more important in tech to hire people who are ethically sound.
Bonus Tip: Work with a Professional IT Recruiter
Overhauling your hiring process is never easy, but there is a simple way to access a wide network of passive and active talent, attract the right people to your jobs, conduct thorough interviews and background checks and ultimately, hire the right IT employees.
Working with professional IT recruiter puts an expert team in your corner. They can relieve stress, save time, shorten time to hire and improve the quality of your tech hires.
At PEAK Technical Consulting, we have a proven track record of helping employers overcome some of their biggest IT hiring challenges, and we invite you to contact us today to learn more about the ways we can help you find the skilled professionals you need.