At SkyWater Search Partners, we specialize in recruiting for multiple disciplines, each led by industry experts. including the fast-paced, constantly changing IT sector. Here’s our take on current trends affecting the IT sector and our advice to hiring managers seeking top talent in 2024:
Unemployment rates are low which means hiring (and retaining) talent must be a priority.
Hiring managers may claim they want to attract the best candidates to their brand, yet they are stifled in their ability to do so by what we call ‘internal equity’. This problem typically occurs when the hiring manager fails to hire an outstanding candidate because they can’t meet their salary expectations of $120k as the equivalent manager in the next department is only earning $100k. The result is that the employer makes an unsatisfactory offer to the candidate their business desperately needs. The candidate turns the offer down and is swiftly employed by a competitor willing to meet their salary expectations.
“There just aren’t any great candidates out there right now.” I hear it all the time, usually from battle-weary hiring managers. They’ve taken the time to craft a solid job posting, only to watch a handful of not-quite-right resumes trickle into the system. While it’s true that, depending on your industry and the role you’re attempting to fill, talent is still painfully scarce. But before you blame the lack of candidates, I have a question for you to consider:
Have you checked your own perceptions of "Military Skills" lately?
Recently, I read a report for CBS News by Norah O’Donnell and Olivia Rinaldi highlighting an issue that has confounded me for years: the underemployment of military veterans. Even today, as so many employers struggle to attract, hire, and retain talent, these extraordinarily qualified individuals continue to be overlooked.
There’s a Hidden Talent Market Out There
Here’s How to Find, Recruit, and Hire Today’s Top Candidates
Far from being the buzzword du jour, empathy is the transformative – but often undervalued - force that influences your ability to recruit, retain, and yes, revolutionize talented teams.
When Star Tribune business reporter, Catherine Roberts recently wrote about the Star Tribune’s 2023 Top Workplaces, she mentioned the dramatic challenges and changes that employers have undergone since the pandemic. She then noted that, based on the survey answers received this year, the companies on the 2023 list “are likely to be more successful adapting to the new reality...”
And How to Make Sure Never Make Them
Let’s face it. Rock-star employees are always tough to find. But in a candidate’s market (like the one we’re in right now), a superior candidate pool can seem as elusive as a herd of unicorns. At times like these, hiring managers often ask me for tips and tactics that can help them compete in a battleground market like this one.
My answer: keep the employees you have – and keep them happy.
Companies often turn to recruiters when looking to find the top talent in their market. However, choosing the best executive recruiter to work with can often prove to be a challenge. There is undoubtedly a wide choice of good recruiters, but today’s employers have high expectations. How exactly can an under-pressure hiring manager differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘great’?
Reveal a Job Candidate’s True Capabilities
The answer is in the consultative approach.
Have you ever wondered what an executive recruiting firm is for, or why a company would choose to engage with an external firm to conduct its search? Growing numbers of organizations are turning to executive recruiters to help them source the best available talent rather than advertise their vacancies on job boards. It's true that working with a specialist recruiter can help you gain access to that hidden candidate (meaning, gainfully employed people who may be open to a change, but haven't started looking yet) and save you a LOT of time (most clients say their recruiter saved them several weeks of time in sourcing, screening, and interviewing candidates for important roles). In this article, we will review our advice for hiring managers working with a recruiter, and some ways to tell the difference between a good recruiter and a great recruiter.
