How to compete in a Candidate-driven Market — Part Three

Part Three: The right person for the job

Unlocking tech talent stories

February 19, 2016

This is part three of “How to compete in a Candidate-driven Market”. Click to read part one, two, and four.

So you’re planning on hiring someone and you’ve got a killer employer brand. How do you know which moment is the right one to reach the best candidates?

In a Candidate-driven market, it is very important to identify the right moment and approach to reach the best candidates.

Now, there are two different types of candidates: passive and active. The more passive a tech talent is, the more effort it takes to hire them and get their attention. Oppositely, the more active a candidate is, the less effort it takes. Easy, right?

Looking at it as a whole, we’ve organised their different statuses, along with the best way of attracting them:

Passive

  • Away: 15% are completely satisfied with their current job and don’t want to change;
  • Thinking: 15% are not looking but are chatting with their close personal network about opportunities. Referrals and employer branding play a key-role at this stage in order to lure them into becoming more interested and active;
  • Gathering Information: 45% say they are not looking for a job, but are open to talking to recruiters about career opportunities. These candidates are the ones who go looking for information on different companies online, especially on social media. A candidate in this stage is more likely to loom around recruitment agencies to check out opportunities that are out there. They’re also open to engage in a direct approach with employers and recruiters, and start building a solid relationship.

Active

  • Applying: 25% are actively looking for opportunities for one reason or the other, so it takes less effort to hire them. They themselves seek job offers in recruitment marketplaces that are growing in the market, job boards, and possibly attend events to network and check out who needs who.
RProcess

So you’ve come up with a shortlist of potential candidates and now you want to know who’s the right (wo)man for the job. Here’s how.

Evaluating: simply the best

Companies are fighting for talent, so if you do get around to finding who you’re looking for, don’t waste time in hiring them. Do it.

Value individual evaluation and dismiss quick comparisons between candidates. Their tech skills are important, but their soft skills, their personality and ambitions, are also crucial to get to know to ensure a good fit.

Create a process to gather information from multiple sources:

  • Check the candidate’s online information, like their LinkedIn profile and portfolio.
  • Check with their referrers and ask why they’re so great and right for the job.
  • Among other of their most-feared questions, ask them why they want to work for you.
  • Test their skills with a challenge. All good professionals love a good challenge, otherwise they wouldn’t be feeling the need to change. Check to see if they’re open to adopting new skills, as knowledge loses value over time.
  • Interview with an Expert, just like Gustavo mentioned on an earlier post, “either you have someone in your team that is a specialist in the area or you should hire one to help you with the hiring process”. If you don’t know what to evaluate, how can you evaluate? A good tech professional loves talking with experts, so it’s definitely a win-win.

Click here to read Part Four of “How to compete in a Candidate-driven Market”, where we take a look at the last step of the ideal recruitment process: engaging your candidate before finally signing on the dotted line.

READ PART FOUR

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