handshakeUnemployment in certain sectors is never out of the news, but there are a few groups of skilled professionals who don’t seem to be having any trouble finding work.

Unemployment among tech professionals is amongst some of lowest in the country, around 4%, and seems to be constantly on the decline.  This is great news for job seekers but poses something of a challenge for employers who are on the hunt for the right new addition to their team.

IT is a skilled, niche market, which means rather than casting a wide net and opening the flood gates, you have to think small.

5 Tips for Recruiting Top Tech Talent

By tailoring your recruitment to a specific group of individuals you can save your HR department countless hours of pre-screening applicants who have no aptitude for the job. Utilizing the services of specialist recruitment agencies can help you seek out the most talented individuals with ease. The hard part is finding the applicants with the right skill set, the right experience and a passion for the job, so how do you get their resumes through your door?

1. Be Specific From The Start

There’s no room for vagueness in the job listing. If you want to avoid a deluge of resumes from the wrong kind of candidate then huge, all-encompassing job listing boards are something to avoid. Get specific with your job listings, identify the areas where the IT community congregates and take the search to them. Share your job listings within your own channels and networks in order to find the most qualified candidates; after all, the most dedicated job seekers will likely to be frequenting the same places as you to find new opportunities.

2. Be Quick Off the Mark

As we’ve said before, the tech industry is the job seeker’s market, which means if you take too long to make a firm decision about a candidate, a competitor will likely swoop in and offer them a job. If you feel good about a candidate, avoid dangling the job in front of them and take the plunge to avoid losing them to a rival organisation.

3. Play the Salesman 

While it’s important to be honest with your potential new candidates about your organization, it’s also important to sell it. If they have multiple offers coming at them from competing organisations, you need to make sure yours is the best; be open with them about upcoming projects within your organization that your new recruit could be a part of, and make sure they are well aware of the benefits they can expect when working with you. The interview is as much about you impressing them as it is about them impressing you, so make sure you do your part.

4. Be Flexible 

If you find your perfect candidate, be willing to work with them. If your ideal candidate comes from far afield then be willing to fly them in and make accommodations for their interview and for when they start their new position. Be generous when it comes to bonuses, benefits and corporate housing if you can.

5. Treat Them as Individuals

The important thing to remember when recruiting staff is that they are people, not resources. Emphasize the community spirit within your organisation and let them know that your staff are not interchangeable. When a job seeker is inundated with offers, the culture within an office can often make or break the decision, so it’s important to let them know your organization is a great place to be.

This post was written by Emma Smith in partnership with Regional Recruitment; a specialist recruitment service with years of experience working to find companies dedicated IT professionals and streamlining the process of tech recruitment.