What are the possible recruitment mistakes while hiring tech specialists and how to avoid them?
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Blog
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Introduction
- It's no longer a secret talent shortages have now resulted in a candidate driven tech market. For those who seek tech talents, the main challenge is not where to find them, but how to convince them to come to the company. At the time of the offer, as a rule, the candidate already has two-three or even more offers which makes it easy to lose the candidate because of the minor mistakes.
How to win in this fight for a candidate?
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Shift in the attitude towards work
Let’s firstly get a bigger picture of the modern attitude of the tech candidates towards their work.
One of the issues that hinders the communication with techies in the recruitment process is the outdated attitude towards the interview process. Unfortunately, a vast number of employers still follow these two misconceptions:
One of the issues that hinders the communication with techies in the recruitment process is the outdated attitude towards the interview process. Unfortunately, a vast number of employers still follow these two misconceptions:
they reckon that the decision whether the candidate joins the company relies solely on the company;
they put the quantity of the interviews above the quality.
- In the XXI century business world, equal relations between the employer and future employee are not simply a trend, but are completely a new reality. An interview is not an interrogation, but rather a conversation between two grown-ups who are willing to give and receive value from each other. The companies are searching for a right fit in any sense, however, employees do exactly the same.
Candidates seek for human interaction
It is an inevitable fact that people make decisions not only rationally, but also emotionally, and we always will. Therefore, organizations finally began to alter their attitude in communication with candidates and started to interact at the interviews not purely as an employer-candidate, but as a person-to-person.A well-performed effective interview now is an interview built on simple direct communication when interviewers are not trying to show more than they really are, but when there is a sincere conversation going on with the best outcome for both parties.
- It must always be remembered that we will all be candidates someday, and we all want openness and honest answers. If your company has bureaucracy and strict policies, the candidate should know about it. If some business operations the future candidate will deal with are not well organized, name them (it may also give you a picture of the candidate). Hindering part in an interview begins when candidates are told something that is then not true in order to quickly lure the candidate. We have to admit that once it used to be a working scheme, but not anymore. If hiring is based on embellishment or concealment, recruitment will not be effective, and you should not wonder why people quit after a few months or have no motivation to work.
At GitMax, before starting the recruitment process, we conduct a thorough interview with our clients regarding the corporate culture, management style and any other peculiarities in order to provide with the candidates that fully suit their future companies.
- The approach towards choosing a workplace through “feelings” has only recently begun to come up on stage. Only in the last few years people have begun to express their opinions more freely and operate not only with logic, but also with feelings, namely, rationalizing less and more trusting the emotional part of the decisions.
In the last century, a job was just a place where people simply worked and earned money for a living. That is why the generation born in the 70s and 80s often does not understand the thesis that work can and should bring joy and you can choose it; because the world they grew up in used to be industrial, and not digital. It was more a world of factories in which a man was a functioning part of production.
With the rapid development of technologies, the reality has drastically changed and affected the attitude towards how candidates choose their future place of work.
Flexible hours, remote work, opportunities for self-development within the company, “family” relations, benefits, etc. - it is just a zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. New generation of techies has learned to speak their minds freely, voice their desires and say “no”. And if they approach work and life in this way, the main challenge for the companies is to adapt. The best talents will always choose a company where they would also feel emotionally comfortable.
Flexible hours, remote work, opportunities for self-development within the company, “family” relations, benefits, etc. - it is just a zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. New generation of techies has learned to speak their minds freely, voice their desires and say “no”. And if they approach work and life in this way, the main challenge for the companies is to adapt. The best talents will always choose a company where they would also feel emotionally comfortable.
So, with the shift in the attitude of tech candidates towards choosing a workplace there is also a shift in the approach towards reaching them out while recruiting them. A professional tech specialist in demand can receive several offers per month which makes it easy to miss him even because of a non-critical recruiting mistake. Let’s go through the four main stages of interacting with the potential candidates and see what possible mistakes can be made while finding out how you can avoid them.
- Overusing descriptive tools
- Missing vital information for the candidate
- Studying CV without diligence
- Lacking essential information
- Missing the real objectives
- Relying purely on numbers
- Not sending a rejection letter
- Neglecting pre onboarding
- Overloading with information
- Leave it to a chance
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Conclusion
- It is important to understand that these are only some of the mistakes that can be made on a steep path of hiring tech specialists, especially with the limited experience. Therefore, a win-win option when searching for such talents is to use the services of a recruiting agency like GitMax. Our well-established search processes and extensive experience in communicating with candidates will save your time and bring you tech talents with relevant experience for your projects who share values of your company.
Overusing descriptive tools
If it seems to you that the first message you send to a candidate is too boring or dry, it only feels like that. In fact, candidates do not expect creativity, witty jokes, or exceptional text style from you. All they need is topical information that would help to make a decision and start a conversation with you.
Such descriptions as “a cozy office”, “friendly team” and “cookies” are counted as mauvais ton in recruitment, regardless of the field. List truly substantial bonuses that make your company stand out from the competitors and mention them at the end of the letter.
In addition, leave the fancy descriptive words behind as they are also uninformative. Instead of writing "market leaders", mention what organizations already use your company's product, and describe what unique technologies or approaches are used in the project the candidate is going to work on rather than mentioning a blank “interesting project”.
Missing vital information for the candidate
There are several specific criteria for the tech specialists which are crucial when they choose a potential employer. These points should become the guideline for your initial message when you reach out to a candidate.
For example:
If it seems to you that the first message you send to a candidate is too boring or dry, it only feels like that. In fact, candidates do not expect creativity, witty jokes, or exceptional text style from you. All they need is topical information that would help to make a decision and start a conversation with you.
Such descriptions as “a cozy office”, “friendly team” and “cookies” are counted as mauvais ton in recruitment, regardless of the field. List truly substantial bonuses that make your company stand out from the competitors and mention them at the end of the letter.
In addition, leave the fancy descriptive words behind as they are also uninformative. Instead of writing "market leaders", mention what organizations already use your company's product, and describe what unique technologies or approaches are used in the project the candidate is going to work on rather than mentioning a blank “interesting project”.
Missing vital information for the candidate
There are several specific criteria for the tech specialists which are crucial when they choose a potential employer. These points should become the guideline for your initial message when you reach out to a candidate.
For example:
- Brief project description. What is the company’s business about.
- Technology stack. Mention only those which are actually in use.
- Salary range and significant benefits.
- Overtime policy. If it is common - list the compensation. If not, mention that there is no such practice.
- Working conditions. Flexible hours, remote work, etc.
Studying CV without diligence
If you proceed to the interviewing stage, carefully study the candidate's CV beforehand. There is no need to ask him to retell all of his/her previous work experience if it was already described in the resume. Write down the questions about the duties in a particular company that you are interested in and get down to them. It makes no sense to ask questions that you already have the answers to.
Lacking essential information
As obvious as it can be, however, it is not only applicants who need to prepare for the interview. The recruiter or a hiring manager is not required to have a profound knowledge of all the technical issues, but it is necessary to have an idea of what the candidate will do in the future position. There are a few basic questions that you should have the answers for:
Missing the real objectives
The main goal of the interview stage is to check the skills the candidate has listed in the resume and get a picture of whether he/she is a real “match”.
In most cases, hard skills will be checked at the next stage called a technical interview. While at the first one, it is important to understand whether a person is suitable for the company, whether he/she will fit into the team, or whether he/she shares the same values.
Make a list of essential soft skills that you need to understand by the end of the interview. And create questions that will lead to the answers you need. In most cases, direct questions are barely helpful. It is certainly almost impossible to get a “No” answer to the “Do you know how to take responsibility?” question, however, asking the candidate about the biggest fail at work and how he/she handled the situation will definitely provide you with important details about the candidate’s skills.
If you proceed to the interviewing stage, carefully study the candidate's CV beforehand. There is no need to ask him to retell all of his/her previous work experience if it was already described in the resume. Write down the questions about the duties in a particular company that you are interested in and get down to them. It makes no sense to ask questions that you already have the answers to.
Lacking essential information
As obvious as it can be, however, it is not only applicants who need to prepare for the interview. The recruiter or a hiring manager is not required to have a profound knowledge of all the technical issues, but it is necessary to have an idea of what the candidate will do in the future position. There are a few basic questions that you should have the answers for:
- What tasks will the specialist perform?
- What is the project stack?
- Will the candidate work independently or as part of a team?
- How is the development process organized? What methodologies are used?
- Who is the future team leader? and so on.
Missing the real objectives
The main goal of the interview stage is to check the skills the candidate has listed in the resume and get a picture of whether he/she is a real “match”.
In most cases, hard skills will be checked at the next stage called a technical interview. While at the first one, it is important to understand whether a person is suitable for the company, whether he/she will fit into the team, or whether he/she shares the same values.
Make a list of essential soft skills that you need to understand by the end of the interview. And create questions that will lead to the answers you need. In most cases, direct questions are barely helpful. It is certainly almost impossible to get a “No” answer to the “Do you know how to take responsibility?” question, however, asking the candidate about the biggest fail at work and how he/she handled the situation will definitely provide you with important details about the candidate’s skills.
Relying purely on numbers
Firstly, an offer should not be seen as a piece of paper with numbers. For each candidate, an offer is an opportunity to qualitatively change his or her life, hopefully for the best. It may, of course, be an increase in income, but it is unlikely that someone will put the difference in salaries in a jar and praise that money like Scrooge McDuck. An increase in income always translates into something more concrete, like buying an apartment, sending a child to a private school, or taking a trip to places he or she couldn't afford before. In other words, it is not money, as such, but what can be afforded with this money.
For some, a new job is an opportunity to do meaningful things together with cool developers, to become a lead, an architect, to be among those who share their principles and views. Pride is one of those traits that drives us, as we always want to share our successes with others. For example, to show what a convenient and beautiful application they made. These factors should be taken into account when submitting an offer.
Not sending a rejection letter
If you eventually find the candidate is not the best suit for the company, be sure to write to him about it. If you can specify the reasons for the refusal, that would be perfect. In this case, there is a real chance that the candidate will try to apply to you after some time, after he hones his skills, or refers to a more suitable candidate. Besides, it will positively impact your employer brand.
Firstly, an offer should not be seen as a piece of paper with numbers. For each candidate, an offer is an opportunity to qualitatively change his or her life, hopefully for the best. It may, of course, be an increase in income, but it is unlikely that someone will put the difference in salaries in a jar and praise that money like Scrooge McDuck. An increase in income always translates into something more concrete, like buying an apartment, sending a child to a private school, or taking a trip to places he or she couldn't afford before. In other words, it is not money, as such, but what can be afforded with this money.
For some, a new job is an opportunity to do meaningful things together with cool developers, to become a lead, an architect, to be among those who share their principles and views. Pride is one of those traits that drives us, as we always want to share our successes with others. For example, to show what a convenient and beautiful application they made. These factors should be taken into account when submitting an offer.
Not sending a rejection letter
If you eventually find the candidate is not the best suit for the company, be sure to write to him about it. If you can specify the reasons for the refusal, that would be perfect. In this case, there is a real chance that the candidate will try to apply to you after some time, after he hones his skills, or refers to a more suitable candidate. Besides, it will positively impact your employer brand.
Neglecting pre onboarding
Start onboarding before the candidate has joined your company: clarify his/her preferences in the hardware, create work email and accounts on the necessary platforms, configure the necessary accesses, and share links to the rules and vital principles of working in the company.
Before creating accounts, it would be also good to clarify the preferred transliteration of the person's first and last name.
Overloading with information
Don’t try to give the candidate as much information as possible on the first day as it will be tiring and overwhelming. That is why it is better to divide the onboarding process into several days and let the specialist smoothly slide into the work. Do not forget to make a schedule of meetings and activities for the first week.
Leave it to a chance
Don't disappear and leave the candidate alone once you've provided the necessary information. Ask if there are any difficulties, wishes, if you can help with something. First weeks are crucial in blending in the new environment so make sure with the HR department that the candidate will feel welcome and not lost.
Start onboarding before the candidate has joined your company: clarify his/her preferences in the hardware, create work email and accounts on the necessary platforms, configure the necessary accesses, and share links to the rules and vital principles of working in the company.
Before creating accounts, it would be also good to clarify the preferred transliteration of the person's first and last name.
Overloading with information
Don’t try to give the candidate as much information as possible on the first day as it will be tiring and overwhelming. That is why it is better to divide the onboarding process into several days and let the specialist smoothly slide into the work. Do not forget to make a schedule of meetings and activities for the first week.
Leave it to a chance
Don't disappear and leave the candidate alone once you've provided the necessary information. Ask if there are any difficulties, wishes, if you can help with something. First weeks are crucial in blending in the new environment so make sure with the HR department that the candidate will feel welcome and not lost.
Let's work together!
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Experienced team of recruiters: Technical interviews + cultural fit check
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Natalie Peter
Writer / Tech Enthusiast / Wordsmith
