A recent survey conducted by Works, comprising more than a thousand HR experts operating in the IT industry, has disclosed findings that are consistent with what the company has been hearing. The survey results imply that an enormous 83% of recruiters believe that the dearth of technical proficiency is adversely affecting their organisation’s development. The main takeaways from this poll are:
Discovering qualified individuals in the IT sector is a daunting task. The results of a survey conducted among respondents indicate that the challenge of seeking and recruiting proficient technical personnel is massive, with 86% of the participants emphasising its difficulty. Moreover, 53% of the respondents accepted that they have previously had to compromise on their ideal candidates due to a lack of qualified candidates. Therefore, it is no surprise that employers are experiencing stress due to the apparent shortage of developer talent, with five job openings for every American programmer, according to reports.
Collaborating with Works has empowered businesses to promptly tackle the labour shortage hurdle by leveraging remote workers. This has enabled companies to speed up their expansion, hasten product development, and allow their developers to concentrate on the most significant projects.
Having a distinguished background is crucial. The survey results demonstrate that most of the participants (77%) give preference to experience rather than a computer science degree (56%) when evaluating a candidate’s technical proficiency. Moreover, 24% of respondents considered an Ivy League degree very important in measuring technical ability. At Works, we concur with Indeed that this “narrow perception of ‘high-quality applicant’ is another issue that complicates tech recruitment.”
It is vital to find programmers with knowledge and proficiency in the technology stack that you are implementing; however, it is crucial not to place excessive emphasis on the number of years they have spent working in the field. Even highly experienced developers in their respective domain must be receptive to changes and be eager to continue learning as programming languages advance.
Assessments of one’s coding abilities are imperative. The fact that 92% of those who were asked to rate their technical skills stated that their coding challenge performance was reflective underscores the importance of coding challenges in weeding out inadequate performers. While this is a significant objective, we at Works adopt a different strategy. Instead of starting from scratch, we employ a coding assessment that concentrates on debugging and introducing new features to existing code. This enables us to weigh the candidate’s problem-solving skills while not completely disregarding those who may not excel in tests.
Competencies go beyond just physical skills. It is clear that an overwhelming majority (58%) deem soft skills to be vital when evaluating technical aptitude. At Works, we completely agree with this notion and account for developers’ abilities to think critically, ask pertinent questions, manage stakeholders and their expectations, actively collect and incorporate feedback, and more when hiring. Tech teams have the potential to excel even further if they adopt a comprehensive approach to recruitment.
Despite the ongoing trend of remote teams, numerous businesses still restrict their talent hunt to their locality. However, if you are searching for developers, an all-inclusive approach should also encompass exploring prospective candidates beyond your immediate vicinity. Recent technological advancements have made it easier than ever for teams to collaborate, regardless of their geographical differences. By broadening your search, you can access a wealth of outstanding talent that the remaining 83% of businesses are disregarding.