In January, the tech industry\u2019s unemployment rate sank to 2.4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; that\u2019s about half the national rate of 4.9 percent. Such numbers reiterate what recruiters already know: Words like \u201cchallenging\u201d barely begin to describe the task of attracting skilled tech candidates at all levels. Even new graduates have become a tough catch for employers. Companies have to make personal and detailed pitches if they want to land the best young candidates. If your game plan includes only booths at college jobs fairs and postings in their career centers, you may as well stay home. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be really bad not to get a job in this market,\u201d and candidates know it, said Tom Borgerding, president and CEO of Campus Media, a Minneapolis-based recruitment-marketing agency that focuses on the college market. Graduating students have numerous options to choose from when it comes to both internships and full-time jobs, he added. In fact, some of his clients have gone so far as to hire STEM grads even if they don\u2019t have a specific role for them. \u201cMy guess is they\u2019re holding onto them so they can have a pipeline to fill positions as older workers move on,\u201d Borgerding said. This may not be a pretty picture for tech employers, but it is a manageable one\u2014so long as they\u2019re willing to engage candidates with more personal contact and a more detailed look at their opportunities, all based on an understanding of how students operate today and what they expect to get out of their first job. As you plot your recruitment strategy, here are some things to consider: <\/p>\n
In Borgerding\u2019s experience, the most successful campus-recruiting efforts involve employees with two to four years of experience. While recruiters open the door, \u201cthe peer becomes the key contact,\u201d he explained. This is especially important at a time when candidates are asking more questions about companies and their culture as well as the technical stack and every business\u2019s long-term technology plans. Recruiters say such conversations are more satisfactory when they take place between candidates and peer technologists rather than candidates and recruiters or HR. <\/p>\n
Because \u201cthese students have grown up in a way that lets them smell marketing,\u201d authenticity is vital, Borgerding said. During interviews, presentations or any type of communication with candidates, companies should be honest about any negatives in their story rather than ignore them. For example, an organization might rely on older technology, something that might dissuade certain tech pros from coming aboard. That downside can be countered by a commitment to give candidates exposure to new tools. (It goes without saying that you have to keep those promises if you want to maintain your reputation.) Every company has its foibles, such as a cumbersome bureaucracy or a decision-making process that is the antithesis of agile. Don\u2019t sweep those things under the rug. Rather, demonstrate how the energy of teams, the long-term vision of managers and the excitement of customers collectively overcome any frustrations that current employees may experience from time to time. Here again, candidates tend to listen more carefully when they hear the message from their peers. <\/p>\n
To truly engage with candidates, you have to be present where they are, suggested Will Kelly, the Dallas recruiting director for Modis: \u201cThe serious people are at user groups, or participating in online communities like GitHub and Stack Overflow. They\u2019re at conferences covering things like AngularJS or JavaScript.\u201d Don\u2019t just haunt such venues, he advises, but participate<\/em> in them in a meaningful way. In addition, you have to be on campus, building relationships with professors, career center staffs and student groups. \u201cDon\u2019t wait for a job order to go out and meet candidates,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cGet out there in the community, talk to kids and share advice.\u201d <\/p>\n Today\u2019s young candidates \u201cgrill you,\u201d observed Kelly. \u201cPeople coming out of college are much more in control than they were 10 years ago.\u201d Rather than fight that dynamic, embrace it. \u201cInvest in understanding what the kids want to do,\u201d advised Borgerding. \u201cAsk questions about what they want to do rather than tell them what the company does.\u201d Kelly notes that both employers and candidates are emphasizing code prowess over academic credentials nowadays. \u201cPedigree is still important, but it\u2019s not as important as it once was,\u201d he said. One hiring manager he knows recently focused on \u201cgraduates who had middling GPAs because they skipped some classes to build something.\u201d If a student has good code to show, \u201cit will get them in the door.\u201d And candidates like that. \u201cEmployers who get this are the ones getting the kids\u2019 attention,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cFocus on their code in your outreach.\u201d Kelly believes recruiters should always how enthused young candidates are about technology today. \u201cA new grad\u2019s first job is like letting a dog off the chain,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re excited because they\u2019re getting paid<\/em> to code.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In January, the tech industry\u2019s unemployment rate sank to 2.4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; that\u2019s about half the national rate of 4.9 percent. Such numbers reiterate what recruiters already know: Words like \u201cchallenging\u201d barely begin to describe the task of attracting skilled tech candidates at all levels. Even new graduates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":766909110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2155,2154],"class_list":["post-999881519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hiring-candidates","category-sourcing-candidates"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMake It About the Candidates\u2014and Their Code<\/h3>\n