3 Top Tips to Beat the Skills Shortage When Hiring for Software Developers

Beating the Shortage of Skilled Software Developers

If you work in engineering, the shortage of skilled software developers is not breaking news to you. Last year, it was reported there were over 700,000 unfilled tech jobs in the US. Finding skilled software developers presents a challenge. However, it’s not impossible.

In this article, we cover some great recruitment tactics that can help you source talent for your vacant software engineer jobs.

Recruiting Talent During a Skills Shortage

The Gartner Emerging Risks survey found that 63% of senior executives believe the talent shortage is a key concern for their business. If you are worried that the lack of staff talent in your company will slow production, innovation, and growth, here are some tips to help you recruit talented software engineers to your team.

·      Reduce Your Time-to-Hire

In the US, the time-to-hire for software engineers is an average of 35 days. In this time, the most talented are likely to receive multiple offers. If you don’t speed up your time-to-hire, by the time you get around to offering a candidate the job they may already have committed themselves to your competition.

Some quick and effective ways to reduce your time-to-hire include:

  • Having a structured hiring process: Put in place a process for hiring. Don’t start from scratch every time you need a new software developer. Make sure everyone in your company is on the same page and create a process for everyone to follow.
  • Building your talent pipeline: Having a network of qualified candidates on your speed-dial can reduce time-to-hire.
  • Not having too many decision-makers involved: Too many decision-makers slows down the process. By the time everyone signs off on a candidate, the candidate has signed elsewhere.
  • Building a careers page on your website: Candidates will typically visit your careers page during the hiring process. It should sell the benefits of working for your company. If it doesn’t, top talent will drop off immediately.

·      Build a Technology-Focused Brand

It is important to build yourself as a brand synonymous with technology.

A lot of the top talent want to work for big companies. However, there is an anomaly. Software developers want to work on creative and innovative projects. They want to work with current technologies that will keep their skills sharp and give them the opportunity to grow. Once you create a brand that is known for working in tech, then candidates will automatically assume that they will be working with the most up-to-date technologies available. This makes your vacant role more appealing.

·      Use a Coding Assessment in Your Process

If you find yourself inundated with applicants for software developer jobs, but that most don’t meet the requirements for the job, consider screening with an assessment.

Using a coding assessment will slow the flow of underqualified applicants. This process will automatically eliminate any candidates who don’t meet your requirements, and therefore reduce the time your team needs to spend on reviewing applications.

·      Involve Your Team in the Hiring Process

Involve your current software engineers in the creation of assessments and the interviewing of candidates.

They will help you determine the skills necessary to take on the role. A tailored assessment will help to ensure that qualified candidates are offered the opportunity to prove themselves. Allowing your team to meet candidates will help to ensure you hire a candidate who will fit in and boost team dynamics.

To Sum Up

The skills shortage is making it harder than ever to recruit talented software developers. However, there are some effective tactics you can put in place to help you attract top talent.

Focus on what you can do for candidates and how you can make your organization more appealing. Build your brand to be synonymous with tech. Create a hiring process that is smooth and fast, building a good first impression with candidates. To make sure you only spend time on candidates who have the skills you need, screen candidates with coding assessments. Finally, involve your team to ensure that the candidate you hire will hit the ground running by fitting in with your culture.

If it sounds like a lot of hard work, you’re right. Hiring top talent requires experience and effort. For the hiring help you need, contact Loyal Source today.

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