IT hiring

IT Recruitment Trends in 2023

May 5, 2023 by INNOVA People Leave a Comment

How companies adapt to the (likely continual) uncertain business climate in 2023 will vary. But talent teams must closely monitor recruiting trends as they arise to ensure they’re prepared to meet their org’s headcount and growth needs in the year ahead.

Here are some IT recruitment trends include to watch in 2023:

Retention: Companies of all sizes attempt to retain as much of their workforce as possible amid ongoing economic headwinds. They want to be prepared to pick up their growth efforts on the other side of a potential recession. That is a markedly more difficult goal to realize if they lay off many employees to tread water now and must hire replacement workers mere months from now.

2. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Companies prioritize DEI in their IT recruitment efforts. They are actively seeking candidates from diverse backgrounds, including women, underrepresented minorities, and individuals with different perspectives and experiences, to promote a more inclusive and diverse workforce in the IT industry. In addition, enhancing DEI initiatives help employers stand out.

3. Upskilling and Reskilling: Given the rapidly evolving nature of technology, employers are increasingly looking for candidates willing to learn and adapt. Upskilling and reskilling programs are being implemented to help IT professionals stay relevant and acquire new skills. Employers are looking for candidates with a growth mindset and a willingness to learn and develop continuously.

4. Bolstering Employer Branding: Companies are focusing on building a strong employer brand to attract top IT talent. This includes showcasing their company culture, values, and benefits and promoting their commitment to employee development and work-life balance. The recruitment actions a company takes continuously reinforce the employee brand.

5. The Great Resignation Return: A joblist report found that one in four professionals who quit their previous job regret their decision. Of those who found a new job after quitting, 42% say that their new job has not lived up to their expectations. This sentiment could lead to more job seekers.

6. Flexible Work Arrangements: Flexible working hours, part-time roles, and job-sharing are becoming more popular in IT recruitment. Employers recognize the importance of work-life balance and offer flexible options to attract and retain top IT talent.

7. Virtual Recruitment Events: Virtual career fairs, online coding challenges, and virtual interviews are becoming more prevalent in IT recruitment. These virtual recruitment events allow employers to connect with candidates from anywhere worldwide, making the hiring process more efficient and inclusive.

8. Data-Driven Recruitment: Data-driven decision-making is becoming a key trend in IT recruitment. Companies leverage data and analytics to identify trends, patterns, and insights to optimize recruitment strategies, improve candidate experience, and make informed hiring decisions.

9. Gig Economy and Freelance Work: The gig economy and freelance work are gaining traction in the IT industry. Employers are increasingly hiring IT professionals on a project basis or as freelancers to meet their immediate needs and tap into specialized skill sets.

Staying updated with these trends can help talent teams, and IT professionals navigate the dynamic landscape of IT recruitment effectively.

Dice Sentiment Report: Tech Pros Likely to Take Flight

November 22, 2022 by INNOVA People Leave a Comment

Despite concerns of a looming recession, layoffs, and hiring freezes at tech giants like Amazon, Twitter, and Meta, technologists might feel like hunkering down and holding onto their standing desks. But a new report shows tech pros are still open to changing jobs in the next 12 months.

Data released from Dice’s annual Tech Sentiment Report includes sentiment data from 950 technologists and historical trend analysis from previous sentiment and salary reports.

Here are the key takeaways that can help empower your career moves and support company leadership, HR pros, and hiring managers to build their 2023 tech talent acquisition and retention strategies.

More technologists are likely to change employers.

Technology professionals feel confident about their skills and market prospects to consider jumping employees, with 52% of respondents surveyed indicating they’re likely to switch jobs in the next year, up from 44 percent last year. The need for tech talent shows no signs of slowing, and this increase in openness to opportunity means recruiters are more likely to get a response from both active and passive candidates.

Fully remote work remains important to most technology professionals, surpassing interest in a hybrid working model.

Once seen as a temporary solution during the pandemic has remained the preferred work method in the tech world. Dice found that approximately 70% of employers plan for a hybrid future; however, only 30% of technologists prefer hybrid work. 60% of technologists surveyed ranked fully remote work as their most desired workplace setting — up from 53% in 2021. It’s hard to ignore those numbers.

Given the continuing demand for tech skills, technologists may find they have the leverage to negotiate with employers for the flexibility they want, including custom working hours and a fully remote or hybrid working model.

From an organizational standpoint — diving into why they prefer working remotely and what, if anything, would entice them to return to the office a few days a week could help retention before rolling out a return-to-the-office model. Employers will need to get creative on incentives beyond free meals and comfy office furniture to lure workers back to an office environment.

Brand, reputation, and company culture are driving factors in technology professionals’ decisions to join a new employer.

In the age of online conversation, the reputation of individuals and entities has become more critical than ever before. With the tech job market so competitive for companies seeking talent, technologists are becoming more discerning in how they view a company’s culture, reputation, and brand.

Nearly 90% of tech professionals feel an employer’s brand is essential when considering a new employer, and almost 8 in 10 said they would not apply for a higher-paying job at a company with a poor reputation. It will be challenging to attract top tech talent if you’re not investing in your brand and reputation as an employer and ensuring your company culture supports employee morale and creativity.

Time-to-hire could create more opportunities for technologists.

Dice found that most HR professionals surveyed indicated that their times-to-hire had been faster in 2022 than in 2021. That could be due to the need to fill roles, considering nearly 50% of respondents indicated that attrition rates for technology professionals in their organization are higher than in 2021.

That’s increasing pressure to find replacements and accelerating the time needed to fill roles. So technologists need to be ready not only with an updated resume and portfolio but also to consider an offer faster than seen in the past.

Salary and merit increases

Technologists know they are in demand, and they’re learning more skills than ever to increase their value at organizations and maximize their compensation packages.

While the job market for new hires rewards these skills and competes to attract talent, organizations aren’t necessarily keeping pace regarding their current employees’ salaries. In the report, Dice’s research shows that technologists received an average merit increase of only 4.8% this year versus an expected growth of 5.2%.

This salary gap could contribute to the growing openness of changing employers.

If your organization is struggling to keep up with inflation — as most companies are — offer other incentives or compensation like additional paid time off, remote and flexible work options, or training and education opportunities — all of which were ranked as important to tech professionals in the Dice 2022 Tech Salary Report.

Let our talent acquisition professionals help you elevate your career. Work with INNOVA People today.

Interview Process for IT & Tech Jobs 2024

September 29, 2022 by INNOVA People Leave a Comment

There’s a universal truth that resonates with tech job candidates: the process seems to take forever.

Researchers from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph team found that tech jobs top the list in hiring time. Engineering positions take an average of 49 days for candidates to submit their job applications and start their first day on the job. Technical positions in research, finance, and information technology (IT) follow closely behind, taking 48, 46, and 44 days on average to fill.

But why?

Regardless of how critical they need to be filled, some tech jobs can require rigorous requirements. Companies are willing to wait for the right candidate and move them through an exhaustive hiring process to find the right fit. As employers widen their talent pool to recruit more women and people of color, it can also lead to a longer hiring time.

Understanding how tech job hiring works can help curb frustration during the (sometimes lengthy) process.

The Hiring Process in Tech

The Phone Screen

Some sought-after tech jobs can attract hundreds of applications. Even if only half of those are qualified by meeting the basic requirements, hiring managers still have to screen them, which takes time.

The phone screen is the first step in the hiring funnel. This stage consists of an informal phone call with a company representative that can take 15 to 30 minutes. They want to determine if the candidate has the right skills, gauge interest level, and look for any red flags.

Work with a recruiter like Innova People, who can submit your resume to increase your chances of getting to this stage.

Technical Testing & Screening

Once you pass the phone screen, you are rewarded with, guess what, another phone call! Bonus!

This call is, however, more of a technical call. When you said that you knew Python, hiring managers were willing to take you at your word during the first phone screen. But now, your skills will be put to a basic skill test.

Typically, the technical call is more of a technical screen and can take 30 to 60 minutes, so be prepared. You may be asked to work through several coding exercises, asked how you’d analyze a batch of scientific data, or asked to design an experiment.

Your Innova Recruiter can help prepare you for the types of questions you may face so you can feel confident heading into this stage.

Interview(s)

Congrats on making it to the interview stage! In this third and final interview stage, you’ll be invited on-site and spend most of the day conducting in-person interviews with various other company members.

The potential employer will take care of your travel needs if travel is required.

This stage is the most involved and usually is at the end of the hiring pipeline. While on-site, look to understand the work environment and the employees’ happiness. Remember, you are interviewing the employer as much as you are being interviewed.

Hiring managers will then contact your recruiter to check on your references, so make sure your references are current and are aware of your interest in the position. The last thing you want is a reference to be caught off-guard when contacting you looking for a new role.

Make the Offer for the Right Candidate

Once the hiring manager and recruiter discuss the results of the reference checks, an offer letter will be drafted and shared with you! Candidates not selected will be notified by email or phone.

Each stage of the tech job hiring process can take weeks. Be patient and check in with your Innova Recruiter for updates and feedback as you work towards a great offer.

Time to hire – How long is the tech Interview process?

Some tech jobs’ myriad technical and program-specific requirements can increase the hiring time. In addition, the hiring process for government and government contractors often moves more slowly.

Requirements and corporate inertia aside, multiple people often have to sign off on a candidate’s progress in the hiring process. Those people often have other demands on their time, meaning they can’t always respond as quickly as recruiters and candidates would like.

How To Interview Remotely

Most job interviews, especially in the early stages, are handled remotely. These discussions can have multiple queries, so be prepared: you could jump from technical talk in one interview to fielding questions from an HR representative about how you may fit culturally.

Review the application materials before sitting down for the interview and ensure you can articulate everything in your past, including previous jobs, projects, and skills. Practicing in the mirror can help you frame your best responses while monitoring your body language.

Faced with so many required qualifications and customer-specific “wants,” there’s a high likelihood that you won’t know everything that a hiring manager or a potential teammate asks you..and that’s okay! Being open to learning is critical; admitting a shortcoming in your knowledge while expressing interest in learning can score valuable points. Where you lack knowledge or experience, let the team know you are eager to dive into the discipline.