How to Find and Hire the Best Tech Talent in 2023

The pandemic has changed businesses forever. More and more businesses and industry sectors are embracing technology. Business processes have been reengineered technologically. So, the demand for high-quality tech talent has gone up exponentially.

The tech job market has, in turn, become very competitive. Demand far exceeds supply in this market. McKinsey polled 1500 executives and has reported that 87 percent of the respondents believe that their companies are not equipped well enough to bridge the shortage of quality manpower in the tech space. 61 percent of HR managers, polled by McKinsey in another research, have said that a key area of challenge faced by them is with regard to hiring developers.

As a result of this growing demand, CXOs and boards of companies have prioritized hiring quality tech talent. Companies are focused on fine tuning their recruitment strategies and sharpening the skills of their HR managers to rise up to this challenge.

Big tech is the biggest gainer

Compared to startups and small tech companies, the bigger players in the technology space are able to attract the best candidates. Also, those who have the best tech skill sets are being choosy. They are picking only meaty roles and accepting only high pay packets. Therefore recruiters must work harder than ever before to seek out talented professionals in the tech space and convince them to join their companies. Simply, it is not enough if recruiters are in the job market looking for talent. They must make an impact and offer candidates a lucrative role and package. They have to ensure that their offers exceed what big tech players are offering candidates.

Here are a few ways in which recruiters can find and hire the best tech talent in 2023.

Make campus recruitment a priority

It is not enough if a company is on campus to make recruitments. They must be there on Day Zero. Which means the company must be high on a campus’s list of potential recruiters. This, in turn, means that the company must have networked well with the placement committee of the campus or educational institution; they must have made an impact. This involves companies having a continuous engagement model with campuses.  

Showcase hybrid and remote working opportunities

In March 2021, Microsoft released its Work Trend Index. This study reported that 66 percent of employers across the world are offering hybrid and remote working opportunities. The IT industry has become the best example for encouraging remote working.

Talented tech professionals are seeking a better quality of life. Therefore, they are unwilling to settle for long working hours at offices. They are negotiating hard with employers and demanding remote working or hybrid work models. In the hybrid work model, an employee comes to work in the office only on a need basis, on specific days of the week.

So, if you are a recruiter and you want to find and hire the best tech talent available in the market out there, make sure your company not just supports but also promotes and champions remote working opportunities.

Network in industry forums

If you are looking to connect with talented technology professionals then you must hang out where they meet and connect with each other. Industry forums are great places to network with them. You will find several updates on social media on local area events that technology professionals and enthusiasts are organizing. Make it a point to register for them. And attend these events. Network with the other delegates there. Soon, you will find yourself surrounded by a pool of high-quality talent. It will then be possible for you to start conversations around recruitment or simply present your company to these professionals.

Look for IT pros in emerging industry markets

Many countries are now joining the IT bandwagon. Countries in Africa are now offering great IT infrastructure; this has led to talent blossoming in that region. Countries in central Europe too have a large population of IT professionals. In Asia too, several countries are serving as new talent pools. So, as a recruiter, cast your net wide. Go to these emerging industry markets looking for IT pros. You will find some great talent there.

Keep your recruitment process simple and swift

Coming from a fast-moving industry, IT professionals are not very patient with bureaucracy. So, if your hiring process is slow and your top management sits on hiring decisions for a long time, then, think again about being able to attract top draw professionals. They may end up choosing your nimble-footed competitor even if the package they get is lower than what you are willing to offer.

Make your recruitment process swift, efficient and transparent. Keep the number of interviews to less than four and shrink the entire recruitment time window, from first ping to final decision, to less than three weeks.

The old adage is apt in this context. The early bird catches the worm. In fact, in IT, only the early bird (always) catches the worm.  

Distributed work is the future

Distributing work across a geographically-diverse, multi-talented, team is a new way of working. This is different from remote working. In a distributed work environment, collaboration happens between IT professionals who are based in different locations or geographies. Each of them brings a specific, specialized, skillset to the project. The collaboration happens in a unique, distributed, way. IT professionals love this arrangement. Some of them thrive in it. This helps companies get a higher quality of output in an efficient, seamless, manner.

Champion the core idea

The new crop of talent in IT is constantly seeking to understand why they are doing what they are being asked to do. So, champion the core idea behind the kind of work your company does. Or talk about why the project, that this candidate is being invited to join or lead, is important. When people understand why they are being told to do something, they always deliver better results.

In conclusion

As a recruiter, your life is pretty challenging. But working smart is always a better idea than just working hard. To find and hire the best IT talent, think and work like them. Think smart. Think fast.  

Visit Xpheno, our website, to find job opportunities in IT Staffing. We are a staffing firm that aims to organize opportunities for skilled and unskilled Indian talent. We have been aiding the scaling journey of high-growth sectors like Fintech, Agritech, Edtech, Logistics, Pharma and D2C in India.