Technical Recruitment Trends for 2016

As 2016 unfolds, we’re taking a look at what businesses in the technical industries can expect in the coming months. This will be a great year for the technology sector. 2016 is expected to bring more private sector, consumer and government business to the sector. How will this affect your recruiting? Will the technical recruitment trends for 2016 make it harder to find top talent for your open positions?

The good news is that you will probably have more business. The challenging news is that so will a lot of your competitors, and they will be looking for many of the same people to hire that you need. We have not seen this in quite a while, but now that the economy is getting better, we are starting to see a shortage of available skilled technical candidates.  

Now, more than in the recent past, it is imperative that you are able to attract and keep the best qualified candidates. As I have discussed in previous blogs, there are a few different ways of doing that. However, I think now that we are starting to see a shortage of truly well-qualified candidates (as a result of many technology companies doing more hiring), it is important to be proactive. The more passive ways of recruiting - like job boards and in-house recruiters - that have worked over the past few years may not be enough in this new hiring environment. Outside recruiting firms that specialize in your field may be the best way to go in order to ensure that you - and not one of your competitors - get the best candidates.  

At this point in considering technical recruitment trends for 2016, you are probably saying “Just when I have been able to stop using outside recruiting firms and do the work in-house to save some money, you are suggesting that I go back to using outside firms which can cost more?!”

Don’t worry - it is not as bad as it sounds. Of course the worst thing you can do is be unable to find those skilled people you need and then, as a result of not having the right people to get the job done, not be able to deliver for your customers. Of course this is the last thing that you want to happen. The trick is to try to balance the cost of that hiring with the needs of providing goods to your customers. I am not suggesting that you have to completely give up on using in-house recruiters or posting on job boards. I am suggesting however that you may need to supplement these recruiting methods with an outside recruiter, especially if you are having trouble finding the right person using the other methods. This economy has produced more business, which is great - but also means more competition for skilled technical labor. The pool is smaller and more companies are hiring. As a result of course, it will be much harder and could take much longer to find the top candidates that you need for your business to be successful.  

When choosing an outside recruiting firm to help fill your most critical open positions, make sure they specialize in your field. If you are hiring engineers then a firm that recruits lawyers is probably not the best choice.

Anderson Sterling Associates has specialized in technical recruiting for more than 25 years. We are a well-established recruiting agency that successfully meets the needs of our clients and has a solid understanding of what technical recruitment trends for 2016 we will see in the coming months. Anderson Sterling Associates will give you your own recruiter who works exclusively on your search so it gets done quickly and exactly how you want it to - for a fraction of the cost of traditional search firms. Find out how today.