Need IT Staff? Look for the Employed
Looking to hire information technology workers? Your best bet may be to hire those who are already employed.
Here are several reasons it usually makes sense for tech recruiters to hire the candidate who is employed over the one who isn’t.
Passive Candidates
In the fast-paced world of IT employment, there’s a shortage of skilled talent. As a result, the best candidates need to be up to speed on current technologies. They also need business acumen, project management and communication skills, along with up-to-date certifications. Often, a passive job seeker, defined as someone who is currently employed, makes the best candidate for your open tech position.
Why? The adage that it’s easier to find a job when you have a job rings true here. Often, your best tech talent is not even actively looking for a job. And because it’s difficult to know how a candidate will perform on the job, hiring managers realize that a passive job seeker shows stability and that her company values her work enough to continue to employ her.
The employed candidate is fully engaged in current technology and using skills every day that you’ll need for your open position. Finding these passive candidates requires tech recruiters to be more active in their pursuit, but it’s worth the effort.
Active Candidates
Too often, the pitfalls in hiring an active job seeker, or unemployed candidate, is they were let go from their IT position. They may have been terminated because their job function was going away, or their work site was closing. Or they may have been a bad employee. No matter what the reason, they aren’t employed now.
There are risks to hiring an unemployed candidate. If they are in a rush to find a new position, they may not be an ideal fit. If they have been out of the workplace for an extended period, they may take a position that isn’t the best fit for them, which in turn may not be the best for you.
To mitigate the risks in hiring an active candidate, make sure to thoroughly check their references and test them on the technology and software skills they’ll need on the job.
As these examples show, in tech recruiting it’s often best to hire those who are already employed. To learn how HR professionals can engage passive tech candidates, visit the Nesco Resource website.