posted 30th November 2021
As a specialist IT recruitment agency operating within Managed Service, IT VAR, Systems Integrator, and related technologies, we wanted to share with firms and candidates some of the IT recruiting and hiring trends that we are seeing in the current market.
When the UK first encountered COVID-19 and we entered lockdown in March 2020, many of us in the IT recruitment space were apprehensive about how the future job market would develop and the impacts after restrictions were lifted. Serious fears of increased unemployment, a downward pressure on wages, a reduction of the number of job vacancies loomed while a downturn or even a recession seemed possible, if not probable.
The good news is that the IT jobs in our sector is very strong. Many of these types of IT companies are growing quickly, largely due to the overall move to remote working, increased demand for IT support services, and IT security issues in general. The demand for these IT services has never been bigger so the companies delivering these solutions need to grow their teams to keep up with demand.
In addition to company growth, there has been a loss of qualified IT professionals in the sector who have changed careers or moved due to the pandemic or Brexit. On top of this shortage of qualified IT professionals, there has been the additional challenges and difficulties of training new people in the remote working environment in place over the last 20 months. All of this has created the perfect storm for an IT skills shortage leading to wage inflation and a really hot jobs market.
Currently, specialist IT recruitment agencies such as ours are confronted by a long list of vacancies and a decreased pool of candidates. The current IT recruiting environment has challenges such as increasing wage levels, the number of counter offers being made by existing employers, and multiple opportunities available for qualified candidates. Therefore, specialist IT recruiters must keep companies up to date with wage levels, the state of the market, and ensuring the best candidates see the best companies. Understanding clients' markets and the recruitment process has never been more important for IT recruitment agencies to successfully help their clients grow.
For IT companies, the best way to effectively and efficiently find the new staff needed to help your team grow include the following:
1. Find one or two IT recruitment agencies that you trust, are fully engaged with you, and listen to your hiring needs.
2. Choose a team member within your organisation who enjoys the recruitment process and is happy to talk to potential job candidates.
3. Get this team member to have lots of 15-to-20-minute conversations with a wide range of candidates not focusing on CVs or job specs but concentrating on speaking to talented people.
4. When you find candidates that you want to hire have a fast-moving, dynamic process that enables you to make your decision and offer to the candidate quickly should you choose to do so.
5. Make your best job offer to the candidate straight away. Doing this makes it clear that you value and respect the candidate.
It appears that this fast-paced, dynamic, and challenging job market is going to be here to stay for some time for IT firms and IT recruitment agencies. However, if you are an IT professional looking for a new role, make the most of things. It is a great time to be looking for your next career move.
If you are looking to grow your IT sales or technical team or are an experienced IT professional, get in touch with us today. We are committed to our clients' and candidates' success and will work tirelessly to help you.
Get in touch with us by emailing us on contact@tsrltd.co.uk or calling us on 020 3837 9180. We look forward to working with you!