HR marketing in IT, or how to achieve greater effectiveness in searching for candidates.

There are many ways to reach a specific group of interested candidates. However, there is no perfect operating model, identical for all recruitment cases. Each process should be considered individually, and reaching specific specialists should be properly planned. So how to reach potential candidates and what tools to use?

At the very beginning, specify who you are looking for

The most important stage, from which you should definitely start, is defining the profile of the ideal candidate. Who are we really looking for? In what technology? With what personality traits? What will we require from the candidate? What knowledge do we obligatorily require and which is categorized as "welcome" for us? Remember that programmers and other IT engineers are specific people, focused on a clear message. Don't play around telling uncreated stories, but focus on who you are really looking for. At this stage, it may be necessary to consult with another developer on the team to help determine the requirements. If you know the answers to the above questions, you can start the next stage of your search.

Where to look for specific specialists?

Programmers, regardless of the type of technology they specialize in, are present in such social media as Linkedin, Goldenline or Facebook. If one of the people does not have an account, e.g. on the Goldenline website, there is a good chance that he or she has an account on another website, e.g. Linkedin. These 3 main websites are very important from the point of view of reaching the candidate (many people in the industry may have a different opinion here that the Goldenline website is slowly becoming a thing of the past, but opinions are divided). The main way to use the services is the direct search & selection method, which means direct contact with candidates by sending personalized messages. Another way of communication is the use of discussion groups on social networking sites, where there are special places for posting job advertisements. An important aspect in the case of this method is active contact with candidates, i.e. active participation in answering questions or comments, even those that are inconvenient. Recently, social networking sites such as Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter have also become quite popular. The latter is especially appreciated by developers and it is a good medium (while maintaining an appropriate communication strategy) for recruiting programmers, especially from more distant corners of the world.

Are there methods other than social media?

Definitely yes. All kinds of hackathons organized by various companies or organizations, as well as cyclical meetings on specific topics, are very popular among developers, especially those young with experience. During such events, it is worth establishing relationships with specific people, even if they themselves do not intend to change jobs in the near future, if the impression we manage to make on a potential candidate is positive, they will certainly recommend us to another person looking for new challenges. Throughout this process, however, it is important to build lasting relationships with each interested person.

What are the next steps?

Once we know the appropriate channel to reach a potential candidate, we should consider whether we exist in this channel or how we use it. Just having an account on Goldenline or Linkedin does not bode us success if we do not have the right strategy. Choosing it is not always easy. If we do not have the appropriate competences within the organization, it is worth seeking advice from a good marketing agency that will select the right tools and set an action plan in a specific medium. The business card itself in a specific portal, even if it has been well planned, is not the end of the activities. Social media, as the name suggests, is social media, so you should participate in important industry discussions, share knowledge by writing relevant articles, posts or responding to difficult comments. The higher our activity, the greater the chance that we will be noticed. If that's the case and we've done our best, it can only get better.

Taking care of professionalism

In the history of Talentica, there have been various, sometimes very interesting cases where, for example, a programmer specializing in Frontend pointed out errors related to incorrect coding on the website. Thanks to the fact that we treated every remark as constructive criticism, it allowed us to give the candidates the impression that we are not a typical trading company, but an organization that is learning and open to the opinion of others. Professionalism in action is very important, not only at the level of a well-planned marketing strategy or in social media, but also the low-level one, such as the appropriate technological preparation of the company, and the high-level one, such as consultants building lasting relationships with candidates.

Summary

There are many ways to reach the candidate. The above paragraphs discuss the most important issues related to how to achieve greater effectiveness in searching for candidates. Of course, there are many more methods and tools. The common feature of each strategy is the relationship that we are able to build with a specific candidate. Each of our actions is an investment in the subsequent success of new ventures.