There’s a majority who want to hire from their alma mater but an even larger majority who prioritize diversity. So, how can we reconcile this?
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When Talent Works interviewed 200 tech leaders in New England to determine the state of hiring tech talent, we found nearly 80% prefer to hire from their alma mater or previous companies. In the same survey, 90% of leaders said they were dedicated to hiring diverse and female tech talent.
The contradiction is obvious. There’s a majority who want to hire from their alma mater but an even larger majority who prioritize diversity. So, how can we reconcile this?
By continually looking for candidates in the same place and for people who have similar backgrounds, tech founders aren’t expanding their searches and making room for more diversity.
The focus is too narrow, and with every other alumnus looking to its talent pool for hires, companies will soon find everyone is chasing the same candidates. It makes tech recruitment a game of musical chairs. Instead, it should be a strategic activity based on a clear definition of the right talent to fit your culture, as well as your employer value proposition, employer brand, and skills to scale your organization.
Scaling is key, and hiring tactics need to be designed with scaling in mind. If talent pools are limited, tech leaders will struggle to hire at scale as they try to grow. Employer hiring activity for tech jobs is at its highest point in nearly two years, according to an analysis released by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the IT industry.
This demand means tech leaders will need to broaden their horizons if they wish to grow their businesses. The good news is these high demand tech roles are no longer geography dependent in a post-pandemic world.
By talent mapping, you can gain an understanding of where relevant talent is located, as well as the nature of their skills and experience. With this understanding, you can formulate digital attraction hiring strategies like targeting passive candidates using paid media based on skill type.
You can expand your scope in broadening the types of personalities and skill sets it takes to grow your business in different ways. The same survey of New England tech leaders revealed more than 85% felt emerging tech talent has improved over the past five years, though nearly 80% felt communications and soft skills were missing from tech job candidate applications. Expanding your recruitment pool may help you to secure the soft skills and the personalities to complement your business model.
In working in conjunction with outsourced providers who already have access to these recruitment pools, you can ensure you’re making the best use of everyone’s time. A good recruitment processing outsourcing provider should be able to provide a wide array of candidates, covering both those fitting the job more traditionally, and those coming from a different angle.
Recruiting has always been complex, and, understandably, founders feel comfortable tapping existing networks and connections. However, it limits the viewpoints, opinions, and insights within your organization, which could impact your potential business growth. A diverse organization will 100% attract more diverse candidates.
Jody Robie is the senior vice president for recruiter Talent Works in Framingham.
