HR professionals responsible for recruiting IT candidates often face the challenge of finding the right candidate. They need to post advertisements for an open position, wade through resumes, try to understand the technical skills of every applicant and then start conducting interviews. Alternately, a hiring manager or an HR professional can also work with a staffing company to find the right IT candidate. When a company works with a staffing firm, it can outsource the entire responsibility of finding the right candidate to technical recruiting companies - from posting vacancy advertisements to selecting the right candidate.
Work closely with the HR professional/hiring manager
To recruit a technical candidate, it is extremely important for a recruiter to understand the requirements of the position. A technical recruiter needs to work in close proximity with the hiring manager or HR professionals. He needs to consult the hiring manager at the time of posting an advertisement, screening resumes, short listing resumes and conducting interviews. The short-listed candidates are finally sent to the hiring manager/HR professional for the final hiring decision.
Define the job requirement
The work of a recruiter starts by fully understanding the various aspects of the position he is recruiting for. He should be absolutely clear on the technological needs of the position and he should know what to look for in a candidate. For better results, a recruiter may also talk to the department heads to understand what skills the position demands the most. This will give him a clear picture of the duties a candidate for that position is expected to carry out every day.
Shortlist candidates for interview
Once he is sure about what to look for in a candidate, his next task is to post the advertisement and wait for resumes. This next task is to carefully study each of the resumes and try to summarize as much useful information as possible. He has to short-list quite a few resumes and call them for an initial screening.
Ask candidates to self-evaluate skills
Usually, a recruiter of technical recruiting companies conducts the initial screening of a candidate. The final rounds of interviews are reserved for the hiring manager. Hence a recruiter should start his interview with a few basic questions that will help him to determine the skills of a candidate. For example, he can ask a candidate to self-evaluate his skills and competency within each technology. He can also ask the candidate to take an aptitude test.
Find out if a candidate is fit for a position
While evaluating the technical skills, a recruiter also conducts behavior based interviewing to ascertain if a candidate will fit the culture of a company or not. This is where the expertise of a recruiter really adds value in the interview process. A recruiter asks questions and also observes the behavior of a candidate during an interview, like his eye contact, his body language to understand his mentality. This drastically reduces the chances of wrong hires.
An experienced recruiter makes the hunt for the right candidate easy. It acts as a bridge between IT professionals and companies.
Work closely with the HR professional/hiring manager
To recruit a technical candidate, it is extremely important for a recruiter to understand the requirements of the position. A technical recruiter needs to work in close proximity with the hiring manager or HR professionals. He needs to consult the hiring manager at the time of posting an advertisement, screening resumes, short listing resumes and conducting interviews. The short-listed candidates are finally sent to the hiring manager/HR professional for the final hiring decision.
Define the job requirement
The work of a recruiter starts by fully understanding the various aspects of the position he is recruiting for. He should be absolutely clear on the technological needs of the position and he should know what to look for in a candidate. For better results, a recruiter may also talk to the department heads to understand what skills the position demands the most. This will give him a clear picture of the duties a candidate for that position is expected to carry out every day.
Shortlist candidates for interview
Once he is sure about what to look for in a candidate, his next task is to post the advertisement and wait for resumes. This next task is to carefully study each of the resumes and try to summarize as much useful information as possible. He has to short-list quite a few resumes and call them for an initial screening.
Ask candidates to self-evaluate skills
Usually, a recruiter of technical recruiting companies conducts the initial screening of a candidate. The final rounds of interviews are reserved for the hiring manager. Hence a recruiter should start his interview with a few basic questions that will help him to determine the skills of a candidate. For example, he can ask a candidate to self-evaluate his skills and competency within each technology. He can also ask the candidate to take an aptitude test.
Find out if a candidate is fit for a position
While evaluating the technical skills, a recruiter also conducts behavior based interviewing to ascertain if a candidate will fit the culture of a company or not. This is where the expertise of a recruiter really adds value in the interview process. A recruiter asks questions and also observes the behavior of a candidate during an interview, like his eye contact, his body language to understand his mentality. This drastically reduces the chances of wrong hires.
An experienced recruiter makes the hunt for the right candidate easy. It acts as a bridge between IT professionals and companies.
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