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MenuWhat resources should I utilize when finding tech recruiters and HR personnel?
I am working on an idea to help companies reach tech candidates. I am trying to figure out the best way to reach out to Recruitment and HR managers.
Answers
The easiest way would probably be to join a recruiter clack group (e.g. https://weirdlyhub.com/peoplepeople-slack-community-recruiters-hr/) and reach out to people there.
You could also do a search on LinkedIn for: 'recruiter', and if you have a particular geographic area you want to focus on just include that in the search too.
Reaching out to the people you find on those platforms can be done in a couple different ways, and the best one will depend on what it is you're trying to communicate or ask. If you'd like more specific advice relevant to your particular product or service, feel free to send along further information,
best,
Lee
There are several resources which you may find helpful in your search to start a tech career:
1.) LinkedIn- I'm sure you heard this before, but by incorporating key search words into your profile will help recruiters zero-in on you. No experience? That is OK. In your summary mention that your goal is to be an "xx" or "yy". Of course, these titles are job search key words.
2.) Create a profile on AngelList. AngelList gives you great insight on new start up opportunities in your area.
3.) Attend meetups, cohorts, or free events at code schools in your area. Most of these events there are on site staff, or recruiters there actively searching new hires. Also, the majority of these events are held inside of top tech companies, it's a great way to get inside and stalk the company you love!
4.) As far as HR is concerned, you're looking in the wrong place! Most tech hiring decision come from that specific department or department head. Find them! HR is usually the last step in the process.
As a previous HR Manager of a tech company, the easiest way to reach people like myself is utilize social media. One of the most heavily populated sites is LinkedIn. It shouldn't be too hard as long as you have a list of "must haves" together.
I would add Twitter as an excellent source to find recruiters. There are many curated lists you can find and it's quick and easy to start a conversation. Search for influencers in the field and get them engaged.
First, we will deal with the recruitment of tech recruiters. When recruiting keep the following points in mind:
1. Understand the tech position you are looking to fill.
The first problem for many HR professionals and recruiters is understanding tech positions. As the recruiter, you must know exactly which skills and experience you are looking for in your ideal candidate. To help you out, we created a cheat sheet of the most important skills for different tech roles. This cheat sheets will help you identify the right skills for tech roles.
2. Understand tech talent.
To be successful in finding, attracting, and hiring the best tech talent, you must understand them. Over 90% of developers are employed at least part-time. Frequent job changes for developers are the norm - about half of developers have taken a new job within the past 2 years.
3. Understand what tech talent wants.
Overall, tech talent’s top priorities in a new job are the compensation and benefits offered, followed by the specific technologies that they will work with.
4. Learn how to speak in tech talent’s language.
If you really want to understand tech talent and build a meaningful relationship with your candidates, you must learn how to speak their language.
5.Give tech talent a challenge.
On their websites, they offer challenges for eager tech talent. Once the tech talent solves the challenge, they must submit their solutions via email.
6. Make the challenge fun.
According to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux: Most good programmers do program not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program. Try adding a bit of mystery with an element of surprise. One way to do it is by hiding little gems on your website.
7. Look for tech talent in the right places.
Since most of the tech talent are passive candidates, they will not be browsing job boards or visiting your career site looking for job opportunities. You have to look in the right places, such as:
1. Tech community websites (for example GitHub and Stack Overflow)
2. Tech community forums
3. Talent marketplaces
4. Local tech community events.
8. Organize events for tech talent
One of the best ways to attract tech talent is organizing interesting tech talent events.
Live events: Organize a live event for your local tech talent community. For example, you can organize a meetup on a specific topic that your candidate persona would be interested. You can also hold a coding challenge or a hackathon. The best place to organize this type of event is your office.
Online events: If you want to expand your reach beyond the local tech community, you could also organize a global, online tech talent events, such as webinars for example.
9. Use employee referral programs:
Use your existing talented tech employees to help you find other great tech candidates. With employee referral programs, companies can find great job candidates through recommendations from their current employees. Instead, you should set up a structured employee referral program.
10. Create a tech talent inviting career site.
When you succeed at attracting tech talent’s attention, the first thing they will do is to google your company and visit your career site.
11. Contact tech talent through their personal email.
According to Stack Overflow’s Global Survey, an overwhelming majority (64%) of tech talent prefers to be contacted about a job through their personal email address. Also, note contacting tech talent with a message on a social media site is ranked as their least favourite way to be contacted.
Hiring HR personnel require you to do the following:
1. Determine your needs: Do you need someone to think about the big picture and build an HR strategy, or someone to get into the weeds and manage small but important daily tasks? If you’re a business looking to grow aggressively, hire someone senior and strategic and give them authority to build their team as needed. These people command higher salaries, but it’s good to hire them early to set up your company for success, especially when it comes to recruiting.
2. Flesh out the job description: A good job description will help you throughout your hiring process. You can post it to job boards or send it to people in your network. This job description will be the basis for selecting the right interview questions when you evaluate candidates. Here’s how to start building the job description:
Find a template online so you won’t have to deal with a blank page. Use an HR manager job description but consider also searching for sample job descriptions for HR directors, HR business partners or HR administrators, since the job title can differ while duties remain the same.
Promote your company to attract applicants. When you post the job description on a job board, it’s not enough to present duties and responsibilities. Think about what will encourage people to apply, especially senior professionals who have many job options to choose from.
3. Promote in the right channels: Post a job ad. Job boards are effective hiring tools and can result in many good applicants. Since you have determined the characteristics of the person you’re looking for, you can hire a recruiting agency to take over advertising and screening applications. This will save you a lot of time in job posting and resume screening and will also make it possible for you to advertise in niche channels that specialized consultants know about. Give them the job description and explain what you expect in candidates.
Tap into your social network. You can find many HR professionals on LinkedIn and Twitter. Ask your connections if they know an HR person who matches your criteria or share your job ad using Twitter hashtags.
4. How do you evaluate candidates:
When you have a shortlist of strong candidates in your hands, it is time to start interviewing. Use the job description to build interview questions off the duties and requirements you are looking for. Tell me about your experience leading an HR team/building an HR department. Look for candidates who describe their experience with confidence, give credit to their team members and show they have a leadership style that fits with what you want to see in your company.
Which would be the first three company policies you’d draft if you were hired and why? Look for candidates who consider legal aspects, present a solid reasoning, and show they can set priorities. Describe a time you made a mistake. It is important to find someone who is accountable and responsible and learns from their mistakes. How would you go about enhancing our company culture/benefits and perks? Look for people who acknowledge the need to investigate the current situation and involve employees in deciding what would improve the workplace. Give bonus points to people who mention studies on culture or benefits. Which HR technology tools do you prefer and how would you choose the best ones for us? Look for people who are tech-savvy and can explain why they would recommend one system over another.
Describe your hiring approach.
5. Have an honest discussion: During the interview, make sure that you clearly present the challenges your company faces. Talk about processes and policies that you are missing and what you would like to achieve in terms of culture and employee engagement. Ask the candidate how they would start working to that direction and invite them to share additional thoughts. This approach will help both of you: the candidates will understand what is expected of them and whether they are qualified, while you will be able to determine who seems motivated and has a strategic mind.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
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