Beat Your Competition with These New Year’s Hiring Resolutions
If you want to improve your hiring process in the year ahead, make these resolutions. Be more thoughtful about which candidates you’re recruiting and offer better interview training to your managers. Make sure that candidates have a clear understanding of the position they’re interviewing for and then ask them challenging questions to see how they will do in the role. Finally, be transparent with what other companies are paying for this position—it will give candidates a realistic idea of what they can expect if hired.
- Jeff Bussgang, founder of Silicon Valley-based executive search firm Gendell Bussgang
What are the top hiring trends for 2015?
These days, technology is changing the way we do business. With more people working remotely and owning smartphones and tablets than desktops, employers are experiencing a great deal of difficulty in getting the right candidates to their office. This trend is expected to continue and expand in the year ahead.
- Diane Greene, Google's Executive Vice President of Technology and Operations
The number of openings for IT professionals in 2015 will be substantially lower than last year. Why? Because most companies are raising their expectations for candidates. They are seeking more experienced talent and candidates with a wider variety of skills. As a result, it will be harder for companies to fill the open positions in their IT departments.
- Andrew Josuweit, CEO of CareerBuilder
Find out about the four things you can do right now to attract millennials and retain them by downloading our free ebook, The Essential Guide to Hiring Millennials .
- Marc Cenedella, CEO of Ladders
There is definitely some degree of concern that we have in hiring because there's still a lot of underemployed graduates right now who are coming out into the workforce. So it's very difficult to say whether or not they're going to come back after school. And it's also very hard to say whether or not they're going to be able to pay student loans. In the last few years, we have noticed that tuition is increasing but wages aren't going up and student loans are higher, so it's a Catch 22.
- Andrew Bunch, technical recruiter at Hire Management Services in Denver
The most important trend in 2015 is that employers should have realistic questions and expectations throughout the hiring process. Instead of asking candidates if they are flexible, ask them if they have time to learn new things. Don't ask candidates what their weaknesses are; instead, challenge them with a problem and let them work out their solutions.
- The Employer Handbook, a recruiting and employment firm
CareerBuilder's research shows that employers who offer a salary range for their open positions at the beginning of the interview process and explain it to candidates are 28% more likely to fill their positions.
- Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder
If you're hiring entry level or recent college graduates, I'd suggest being very transparent about the compensation you're offering and be intentional about explaining the roles you're looking to fill. If you can give them a clear picture of what they'll be doing in their role, it will make interviewing easier.
- Laura Brinker, Vice President of User Experience at CareerBuilder
If you're looking for an IT professional, ask candidates where they want to be in five years and what they see themselves doing. If a candidate is unwilling to share those goals, they aren't motivated enough to be in IT.
- Dan Weedin, consultant at iChangeV2
When hiring entry level workers, we advise employers to focus on the "soft skills" that make employees successful such as problem-solving, teamwork and communication. These are the qualities that really contribute to business results.
- The Employer Handbook
Candidates want to know if a company has a history of promoting from within or if it's just a stepping stone. They want to know if the company values integrity and honesty. They want to know if they will be able to advance within the company.
- Laura Brinker, Vice President of User Experience at CareerBuilder
For all positions, including entry level IT jobs, employers who are transparent about their compensation policies have higher success rates with hiring. For example, if a candidate is told upfront that their salary is negotiable and that there is no minimum salary requirement, they're more likely to ask for a raise when they get hired and more likely to stay with the company over time.
- Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder
Know your hiring goals and ensure you have the best candidates for each position. Track your progress through the process and don't be afraid to adjust your strategy as your needs change.
- Andrew Josuweit, CEO of CareerBuilder
When it comes to hiring entry level IT workers, you should focus more on technical skills and personality than compensation. Entry level candidates will not leave as quickly if they feel like they're valued and getting paid fair market value for their skills.
- Dan Weedin, consultant at iChangeV2
It is critical for employers to understand that recruiters are much more efficient when communicating with candidates whose jobs are already filled. When a recruiter communicates with an active candidate, they can get useful information that may not be obvious to the recruiter. This can include scheduling or team building questions, feedback on performance or even questions about recommendations and references.
- The Employer Handbook
Outsourcing IT services can save your company money without sacrificing quality. In fact, there's evidence that lower-cost outsourcing companies offer better service than those that charge more. And when you outsource services with Experis , you get access to a network of more than 200 technology partners worldwide with whom you can work collaboratively to find the perfect fit for your organization.
- Travis Miller, director of research at Experis
For small businesses and startups, we think the most important trend for 2015 is the flexibility that IT services provide. Small businesses and startups can take advantage of affordable IT infrastructure that's scalable to meet rapidly changing technology needs. And they can customize their solutions so they're right for them in terms of security, data protection, networking capacity and other things.
- Kevin Siskar at Experis
In an increasingly digital age, we will see a dramatic increase in social media usage across all age groups and industries over the next five years. Social media will become a key component of how companies connect and engage with partners, customers, employees and the general public.
- Travis Miller, director of research at Experis
Companies will increasingly use IT outsourcing as a way to build greater business agility. They'll need to be able to develop new products or services quickly and easily on a global scale, and they'll rely on the expertise of their outsourced partners when it comes to implementing new technologies in an agile environment.
- Kevin Siskar at Experis
Smart companies are using strategic sourcing to take advantage of competitive global markets for labor and services. For example, they might sign maintenance contracts with overseas providers that allow them to save money on hardware or software maintenance costs.
Conclusion
If you want to attract and retain the best IT talent, you need to know what they want in their jobs. Competition for great employees is so fierce that you can't afford to hire based on anything other than talent. IT pros are increasingly looking beyond salary and benefits, and they want to be engaged by companies that offer challenging work, opportunities for advancement and a healthy workplace culture.
- Travis Miller, director of research at Experis
Businesses need the flexibility to quickly add or modify staffing as market conditions change. They also need access to different types of expertise — including areas such as risk management, application development and data analysis — without requiring them to build an in-house team of highly specialized engineers.