Why it’s time for startups to challenge the tech recruitment status quo

Q&A with Tom Hopcroft, President and CEO: The Shape of the Tech Talent Acquisition Landscape in Massachusetts Today

The Boston Boom Part One: Hiring Top Talent

The five biggest hiring challenges for startups right now and how to solve them

How is the tech recruitment landscape changing?

Does tech talent need a traditional degree?

Are virtual recruitment events the future of tech recruitment?

10 How to Tips for Hiring Someone in the Remote Working World

Longer Notice Periods Are Causing Tech Recruitment Issues for Scaling Tech Businesses, Here’s Why

Virtual Roundtable: Leaders Talk Talent

Why it’s time for startups to challenge the tech recruitment status quo

usinesses are uniquely positioned to try something new and break the mould when finding and attracting talent. Without established HR teams and protocols in place, startups have agility and flexibility that can be used to their advantage in talent acquisition efforts. Due to the nature of the business, they’re almost expected to try something new. Experimentation and trying something new could really help them to stand out against the crowd of job advertisements being posted every day. Whether it’s experimenting with digital talent attraction campaigns, updating your candidate experience for a virtual world or even using a more data-driven approach to hiring, there are many innovative tactics out there to improve your recruitment strategy for a startup bold enough to try them.

Q&A with Tom Hopcroft, President and CEO: The Shape of the Tech Talent Acquisition Landscape in Massachusetts Today

Jody Robie, SVP Talent Works, discusses Tom’s perspective on the complexities of hiring tech talent and the challenges companies are facing nationwide and in Massachusetts today Q: What does talent acquisition look like in Massachusetts today?  A: Massachusetts is representative of what is being seen in other tech hubs around the country.  I speak regularly  […]

The Boston Boom Part One: Hiring Top Talent

Whether it’s with a Chief HR Officer that’s been working in Boston for 30+ years, or with a new recruiter that’s just starting out, I’ve been having the same conversation on an almost daily basis when it comes to looking for new talent: the demand is at a level that we’ve not seen since the […]

The five biggest hiring challenges for startups right now and how to solve them

ght now isn’t easy. It’s incredibly competitive, and candidates are in control. Everyone is on the hunt for the same talent, looking in the same places and competing for the same individuals. Even established businesses are having trouble attracting talent. With so many current opportunities for candidates, many companies are being left behind. Then there’s the issue that employers are pulling out all the stops to hold on to their existing talent, as they know the recruitment market is so competitive; it will be damaging to lose them.
have a lot on your plate, and recruiting talent in the current climate will only add to this pressure.
mselves with relevant and exceptional talent. Therefore, we’re rounding up some of the biggest hiring challenges that startup businesses are currently facing and how to solve them.

How is the tech recruitment landscape changing?

We’ve talked a lot about how the tech recruitment landscape has been changing recently. We all know that hiring tech talent is now highly competitive, with more and more companies, both tech native and not, competing for the same skillsets and experience. As a result, great tech talent is being swept up incredibly quickly, and it’s causing many challenges for scaling businesses that do not have the advantage of a big name or reputation to tempt talent their way.
However, what does a competitive market actually mean? It’s one thing for us to keep stressing that the market is changing and growing increasingly competitive, but how does it affect those searching for talent? As we have many recruitment experts in-house who spend their time navigating the tech talent landscape and speaking with leading scale-ups about talent acquisition challenges, we decided to ask them about the everyday difficulties they’re seeing.

Does tech talent need a traditional degree?

Times are changing, and the fact we’re all embracing tech more could work in favour of scaling tech businesses looking to recruit talent. As we all use technology daily, we are becoming quite savvy, and younger generations especially are more acquainted with technology than ever before. They’re naturals! There are also more ways than ever to develop skills, especially tech skillsets, which are no longer seen as an elitist or inaccessible skill, with online learning platforms and non-traditional education taking over.

Therefore, we’re asking whether talent really needs a traditional Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree to succeed in the tech industry? Or is there another way to give talented people opportunities without the expensive and inaccessible background?

Well, the truth is that with the race for tech talent so tight, scaling businesses need to look for talent elsewhere, or they’ll simply never hire. If they wish to grow their business, changing attitudes around tech skills and opening up a more diverse talent pool when it comes to experience could be the key to recruitment success.

Are virtual recruitment events the future of tech recruitment?

Virtual hiring events have some huge advantages but some equally significant disadvantages. They certainly have a place within the future of tech recruiting. That’s undeniable. However, it depends entirely on the demand, speed and the number of roles you need to hire. It’s important to remember that other alternatives to relieve HR pressures may be more cost-effective, such as outsourcing your tech recruitment to a flexible RPO provider who can take on the burden for you. Virtual hiring should never replace engaging and having a conversation with candidates personally, as this is how you ensure more diverse and better-quality candidates who fit your organisation perfectly. However, this provides an alternative for those situations where you need to hire 100 people incredibly quickly and should not be discounted. 

10 How to Tips for Hiring Someone in the Remote Working World

For many people, staying at home became the new normal during the global pandemic.  The new normal it was known as.  Many businesses were forced to rethink their employee’s working conditions.  There was a move to remote working and online team meetings.  Indeed, some businesses have continued this model even after restrictions were lifted.  How […]

Longer Notice Periods Are Causing Tech Recruitment Issues for Scaling Tech Businesses, Here’s Why

Notice periods have long been an issue for recruiters and employers. In a scaling business, you often need to hire talent quickly to meet a sudden increase in demand or to help you reach the next level of growth. Of course, having to wait for your perfect candidate to start is never ideal, but many of us are willing to do so for the right person, even if it pauses growth plans slightly. After all, you want to hire them for a reason, and they could be the perfect fit for your scaling business with all of the right skills and attitudes you need.

However, at Talent Works, a trend our recruitment experts are seeing more and more of is extended notice periods even for junior candidates. For roles like UX designer, where the only requirement is a Bachelor’s degree, many of our recruiters are seeing three months’ notice periods instead of the usual, and often expected, one month. Which, if you’re a scaling business looking to hire quickly, could pose a problem. Especially if you’re expecting candidates to have a month-long notice period.

Virtual Roundtable: Leaders Talk Talent

On first September we hosted a Leaders Talk Talent Roundtable with Talent Acquisition professionals from Moderna, FinancialForce, LexisNexis Risk Solutions Group and MassTLC. We discussed the impact of the pandemic and what it’s brought for talent acquisition including how these employers had to adapt their talent strategy. We also shared some tips for post pandemic […]

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