We emerged from a global pandemic that saw a tech job market on the upswing. Seemingly to be in the clear, the tech job market is facing uncertainty and both companies and tech professionals are caught up in the midst of it, layoffs looming. Yet the job data tells a different story, illustrating high demand for tech talent and open jobs – at least for now. This trend continues to give candidates some job selection flexibility, and hiring companies take note to place value on a candidate’s perspective. Therefore, the way to win over future employees rests upon the hiring process style and creating a memorable candidate experience.
In order to successfully recruit high-quality talent, employers must be equally as engaged as job seekers. Through prioritizing, listening and compromising hiring managers have the power to make job hunts less challenging.
Prioritize those interested in your company
According to Harvard Business Review in the aftermath of the pandemic, individuals across America were looking for three things “stability, pay and predictability.” Recent surveys suggest this sentiment has not changed much, but with the added component of “flexibility” – in that 30% of tech workers could quit if remote work was taken away.
Hiring companies are still focusing on the candidate experience. In order to do this, one priority is having a concrete interview process. Interviewers must be accountable to schedules to call back all candidates and invest in constructive feedback.
Avoid canceling interviews and set reminders to ensure the ball is constantly moving to make candidates —people who are investing time in your company— feel valued. Bill Stauffer, author of Forbes article, highlights this by stating that the interview process is a “glimpse into what it’s like to work for you,” therefore respecting both parties’ time is essential.
Listening enriches the candidate experience
In a 2021 article, Harvard Business Review states that job seekers are not speaking the same language as employers, the leading cause: lack of listening. Although the job search process is hectic, companies should be listening to candidate’s necessities: income and flexibility. For instance, in some cases, a candidate might prefer more flexibility rather than a higher salary. It is situations like these where listening to what the other party wants allows companies to showcase the rewards people are looking for.
And while not tech-specific, the “ghosting” phenomena increased over 200% since prior to the pandemic with candidate’s not hearing back from potential employers after initial contact or, worse yet, after spending time interviewing and negotiating, only to never receive a final decision.
This is less likely to happen when questions are addressed from the beginning of the process: including salary, bonuses, and benefits on job description, causing communication between employee and employer to significantly improves because there is a time investment.
Compromising
Traditionally, discussing numbers in the first stages of the hiring process was unheard of from talent leaders. But in this new work world, the money question should be addressed as soon as possible. Show people what can be offered instead of hiding the wages and hours. This increases the chances of accepting an offer, as employees appreciate an employer where they know there is transparency and expectations. Plus, with new laws and regulations being introduced in various states, salary transparency has since become a legal requirement so it will become part of many initial conversations.
Companies can speed up negotiations by putting the best offer on the table. This tactic makes it clear to the candidate that they are getting a top offer and decreases the possibility of continuing the job hunt, saving hiring companies dollars in the long run for a lengthy recruiting process.
By working with a staffing firm like Matlen Silver, candidates have access to top recruiters who will consider their expectations and find job opportunities that meet them. With relationships with hiring managers that value their workforces, our consultants are consistently placed in positions that will help them be successful. It is a testament to our core values, where we intend to do what is right in every engagement, be present, be genuine and be the difference.
