Exposing hidden talent: 7 tech recruiting best practices you didn't know you had.

In today's economy, finding tech talent is one of the biggest challenges companies face. As we mentioned in our last article "Shortage of IT specialists: The cost of an unfilled position", there is currently a shortage of 137,000 IT professionals. There is an ever-increasing need for IT experts, but the supply cannot keep up with the demand. That's why companies need to find new and creative ways to attract and retain tech talent for the long term. For example, we organise the Meetup "HIRE" together with 12min.me, where 3 speakers always talk about topics related to recruiting and attracting specialists and managers in the digital age.

This article presents 7 unconventional methods to recruit and retain tech talent.

Organisation of hackathons and meetups

Hackathons and meetups are great ways to find and attract tech talent. These events bring together people who are interested in specific technologies or projects. By hosting their own hackathons or meetups, companies can attract the attention of tech talent and identify potential employees.

A hackathon is an event where programmers and developers come together to work on a specific project over a limited period of time (usually a weekend). Such events can help companies identify talented developers who are interested in new projects and challenges.

For example, we launched our own Minecraft server together with our community at such an event over 2 years ago.

Meetups are events where people get together to share common interests and hobbies. Companies can host their own Meetups or participate in existing Meetups to connect with potential candidates. By participating in such events, companies can increase their reach and position themselves as an attractive employer for tech talent.

For example, we organise the Meetup "HIRE" together with 12min.me, where 3 speakers always talk about topics related to recruiting and attracting specialists and managers in the digital age.

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Collaboration with universities and coding bootcamps

Working with universities is a great way to identify and recruit young tech talent early on. Companies can build partnerships with unis, polytechnics and coding bootcamps to offer internship or graduate programmes. Internships give companies the opportunity to identify talent and train and build them over time.

Further, it also allows organisations to assess the potential of students and graduates. These educational institutions often offer the opportunity to develop projects or participate in competitions, while giving them an idea of what students and graduates can achieve.

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Targeted social media recruiting

Social media is an important part of the recruiting process these days. Companies can use social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter or GitHub to directly address potential candidates. In doing so, companies should focus on their target audience and focus on the platforms they spend the most time on.

LinkedIn is the most obvious platform for recruiting tech talent. Here, companies can view the profiles of potential candidates and contact them directly. Companies should also use LinkedIn to strengthen their own presence by improving their employer brand and sharing interesting content.

Twitter can also be an excellent platform for recruiting tech talent. Companies can use hashtags to find relevant candidates and interact directly with them - this real-time interaction is a key advantage. This is why Twitter is also suitable for building relationships with tech talent, as it offers an informal way of communicating. Furthermore, it is also possible here (similar to LinkedIn) to view people's contacts and connections to discover potential new talent.

GitHub is THE platform used by most developers to host and share their projects. Companies can use GitHub to find talent to work on open source projects or create their own projects. By identifying talented software developers on GitHub, companies may be able to identify potential employees who cannot be found on traditional job boards.

Our colleagues at CareerTeam have taken an in-depth look at the topic of social media recruiting – you can find the full article here "Social Media Recruiting: The Future of Talent Acquisition" .

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Remote work options

In today's working world, remote work is an attractive option for many tech talents. At the same time, companies can expand their reach and talent pool globally. Companies can also diversify their employee base by offering remote work opportunities for candidates from other regions or countries.

However, organisations need to ensure they have the right tools and technology in place to effectively manage and support remote work opportunities.

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Employee referrals and Peer Recruiting

Employee recommendations are nothing new, but we have found that they are often underestimated as a means of recruiting and retaining talent. That is why we would like to emphasise this opportunity here. By offering incentives to their employees, organisations can increase referrals and their employees will be more motivated to propose qualified candidates.

Through referrals, organisations can also improve employee retention. If employees feel that their recommendations are valued and that their colleagues are successful in the company, they are likely to stay longer and be more engaged. This goes so far in so-called peer recruiting that employees are involved in the selection process and interviews.

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Curated websites

Another way to recruit specialised tech talent is to create special so-called curated sites for tech talent recruiting. These sites are designed to search for qualified candidates in specifically defined areas of technical expertise. This helps companies to target the best-qualified candidates who are best suited to their specific needs.

These sites can be created in a number of ways. One approach is to create a platform that focuses on specific technologies or skills. For example, a site can be created for developers who specialise in the Java programming language, or for data scientists who focus on machine learning.

Another option is to create dedicated job boards for tech talent. These job boards can focus on specific industries or specific professions within the tech industry. For example, companies can create a site that specialises in finding talented IT professionals for the healthcare industry.

Another option is to build a community for tech talent that focuses on specific technologies or skills. Such a community can take the form of an online meetup or tribe, as well as Discord or Slack channels. By participating in these communities, companies can identify talent and also build a relationship with them.

The advantage of specialised curated sites for tech recruiting is that companies are able to target candidates with the required skills and experience. These sites also allow companies to position themselves as an attractive employer in their specific niche.

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Mentoring programmes

To put it in the words of LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky: "Your next best employee is most likely your current employee". By establishing mentoring programmes, companies can (and must) support and nurture their current tech talent. This correspondingly increases retention with their employees and motivates them to stay with the company for the long term.

Mentoring programmes are also a great way to share skills and knowledge within the company. When experienced employees share their knowledge and experience with younger employees, they can learn and grow faster. Through mentoring programmes, organisations make their employees feel supported and valued.

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IT skills shortage and the future

Finding tech talent will remain a perennial challenge for organisations, especially in times of skills shortages and growing competition. Companies must therefore use unconventional methods and strategies to find and retain talent. The seven methods presented in this article are just a few examples of ways companies can increase their reach and expand their talent pools.

In our role as an IT recruitment consultancy, we look closely at this issue and have written several articles to support and encourage you to tackle the challenges of this shortage head on. We have addressed these topics:

What makes an IT job attractive?

Anatomy of a successful hiring process

ChatGPT: Application scenarios for tech recruiting

You can find these and more topics in our alphacoders Insights section.

Companies should focus on the needs and interests of their target group and make sure that their corporate brand and recruiting process are attractive to potential candidates. By using these methods, companies can increase their chances of finding and retaining talented tech employees in the long term.

Recruiting IT professionals can still be a challenging task for your company. alphacoders provides an all-encompassing recruitment service to help you identify the ideal candidates. Our service identifies suitable experts who will give your organisation a technological advantage. Learn more about us and seize the opportunity to fill open positions effectively.

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