Top 3 reasons IT positions are taking a long time to fill
The current unemployment rate for IT professionals is now under 1% nationwide. For specific positions, like IT Security Analyst, the rate is close to 0%. Based on this information you may conclude that your open positions are just a result of not enough available resources in the market. This, however, is only a fraction of the problem. There are many factors that contribute to lengthy fill times on your open IT positions, and each of these factors can be overcome to get your position filled quickly, easily, and with excellent quality candidates.Other factors might include:
1. Priorities
The problem:
Let’s face it, reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and evaluating technical competencies of candidates, may not always be at the top of your priority list. When you have tight deadlines to meet and your boss is constantly asking for updates, it can be difficult to find the time to work on hiring for open positions. Furthermore, the more open positions you have, the less time you and your team will have to fill those open positions since you will be covering those open roles yourselves. The solution:
When you don’t have the in-house resources to complete a development project, an infrastructure update, or an ERP implementation, you outsource some or all to the work to a third party that has the team, skills, and experience to do the project. So, in this case, hiring for open positions should be no different. Hire an experienced team of IT professionals like Perspective Talent to do the bulk of the work for you. You can outsource the entire process (excluding the final selection of a candidate) or have your vendor work with your HR or internal recruiting teams to drastically minimize your time requirements, allowing you to focus on your business priorities.
2. Recruiting efforts
The problem:
Another factor that affects the speed of IT hiring is the resources that are helping you find candidates for your positions. If you are the DIY type, you may be trying to advertise the open position on your own at one or more of the many job sites available (ZipRecruiter, Monster, Dice, Indeed, LinkedIn, etc). If this is the case, you are only targeting a very small percentage of the market that is currently actively searching for a job and you are missing out on most of the potential candidate pool. If you are utilizing your internal HR or recruiting team to find your candidates, it’s probably the same problem, as most HR and internal recruiting teams just don’t have the time or the network to target the “passive market.”
The solution:
Utilize a recruiting partner like Perspective Talent that has a strategy for identifying and systematically contacting everyone in your local or, depending on the position, national market. About 75% of the workforce is made up of passive candidates that may be interested in your role. (more info about active vs passive candidates: https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/2013/12/recruiting-active-vs-passive-candidates). This is usually where the highest quality candidates can be found. Don’t miss out on this very important piece of the candidate pool.
3. Hiring Process
The problem:
The final factor affecting the speed of hiring is your current hiring process. In today’s job market, if you can’t act fast, you will lose the best candidates. Once a candidate decides that they want a new position, they will usually accept the first job offer they get. There are usually many steps in the hiring process including reviewing resumes, initial phone interviews, on-site interviews, technical evaluations, reference and background checks, and finally an offer. These steps can be time-consuming and there’s a lot of competition for the best candidates. The organizations that can act fast and get through these steps quickly will be rewarded with the highest quality hires.
The solution:
Hire an experienced team of IT professionals like Perspective Talent that can ensure that these tasks are conducted quickly and efficiently. If you are using an internal HR or recruiting team, make sure your outsourced vendor works with them to minimize the overall hiring process. Your vendor should be able to get candidates through resume screening, initial phone interview, technical evaluation, background, and reference checks in just a few days. Then, it’s just up to you to schedule in-person interviews with the finalists and make a selection. The total time from resume submission to offer should be no more than a week or two depending on the candidate’s availability.
Perspective Talent’s recruiters have an average of 12 years of IT experience in different areas of technology. Usually, we will review over 200 candidates, interview an average of 30-40, and submit the top 2-4 for your review. Unlike typical internal and external IT recruiting teams that expect 1 interview for every 5 candidates they send to a hiring manager (20% interview rate), Perspective Talent has, since its inception, had a 92% interview rate. It usually only takes 2-4 candidates submissions before our clients make a hire. This enables you to fill your positions faster, with less effort, and with better quality candidates. Contact us today at 406-709-0304 or shoot us an email at info@perspectivetalent.com to request additional information.