The War for Software Engineering Talent Across the Nation

Posted by Tech Connection on March 10, 2016

In 2015, it’s hard for me to think of a business that at some point doesn’t need the help of a Software Engineer. Businesses, more than ever, are finding new ways to connect with their customers by creating mobile and web apps. As I continue to talk to more recruiters and CEOs it is clear, everyone wants a Software Engineer, but three things always happen when they are trying to recruit them.

No response from candidates. Your recruiting team writes a long and thoughtful message hoping to grab the attention of a Software Engineer but there is no response. Your team is left wondering “Did the email go to the candidate’s spam folder? Did the candidate even read the message? Should I just send another email and follow up?”

Difficulty finding the right type of technical talent. The resume that the candidate submitted lists all of the right technical skills but, during the interview process you find out the HTML/CSS/JavaScript work the candidate wrote on their resume was actually a class project completed in college several years ago.

Poor culture fit. When the candidate comes onsite for an interview the person on the phone is slightly different than the person sitting in front of your team.

Early on in my career, I was fortunate enough to work for a little Fortune 500 company called Google. I had the pleasure of getting to know thousands of Software Engineers from across the nation. I had the same troubles listed above when I was first starting out. I would message thousands of candidates for only a small percentage to respond. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. So in March 2015, my team and I set out to interview Software Engineers and ask them about how they evaluate a job opportunity.

What I learned was contrary to popular belief. As a recruiter, I thought that compensation and the team culture were the biggest selling points to a candidate. Those are certainly important, but in a field where less than 2% of Software Engineers are unemployed, making your company stand out becomes more difficult. Candidates are starting to pay keen attention to your recruitment process and using the interaction as a way to assess how an employer would treat them as an employee.

Could your recruitment process be turning people away? How does your recruitment strategy make a new candidate feel? Recruiting is an age old process that every company and candidate must go through. However, for many employers, the recruiting process simply goes on autopilot and is never changed. We are living in a new age economy and it calls for new tactics.

On Wednesday, November 11th at 12pm EST and Tuesday, Nov 17th at 1pm EST I will be hosting “ What Your Software Engineering Candidates Won’t Tell You!”, a class on how to improve your Software Engineering recruitment process. The engineers were candid in their responses and had a lot say. If you think your recruitment process could use a little TLC then this class is for you! To sign up click the button here.