Recruiter Talks

Why you should start recruiting for technology now

7 min read

Mar 12, 2022 5:48:33 PM

If you are a recruiter and you are not recruiting for technology yet, this article is for you! The moment we are living today is full of opportunities for recruiters in the most promising market in the current world: technology.

Before explaining why it is so important for recruiters to start recruiting for tech, let me tell you how I began working with recruitment. I started as a freelance recruiter at 99Hunters. I used to receive, through the 99Hunters platform, open job posts for recruitment on a daily basis – and I quickly came across an issue: I couldn’t understand any of the technology terms in those openings: PHP, HTML, CSS, SQL, NodeJS, NoSQL, Java, React, Vtex , Git, AWS.

How I got started with tech recruitment

Shortly after, I met another 99Hunters recruiter who, working in tech recruiting, had already multiplied his monthly earnings over his previous job. Best of all, he had never worked as a tech recruiter before this experience. It was with this lesson, that it is possible to learn from scratch, that he showed me how simple it can be to recruit these professionals. Between some coffees and practical experiences, the result was: that month I had four candidates hired – a QA engineer and 3 full stack developers.

To be honest, at first it wasn’t easy to recruit for tech, but the months went by and I kept getting better and better results. Finally, in 2019, I was recognized as one of the highest performing tech recruiters of the platform. That same year, I was surprised by the invitation to be part of 99Hunters´ team and now I’m here, with the mission of multiplying these learnings, and I will explain, later in this article, how this was possible, and how it can be replicable by anyone.

The technology market today

In the Brazilian market, there is already a deficit between the number of people graduating in the technology area, and the demand of companies for them. Today, we are already feeling the first effects of this scenario. Professionals who are more qualified or who have already participated in successful projects are targeted by major players. Even those who are entering the technology market already start with higher incomes compared to other segments.

This fierce dispute caused the remuneration of technology professionals to detach from the reality of other areas. And that is precisely what causes this high turnover. These people are constantly approached with increasingly advantageous offers, which creates a vicious circle for companies, who have to pay more and more to replace them, and often with a technical loss.

This scenario is happening not only in Brazil. This is a worldwide phenomenon. Companies from developed countries are facing the same problem as Brazilian companies: the lack of professional qualifications. And all this conjuncture created a dynamic of global proportions for our market. Small national companies are losing professionals to large national companies, which are losing their staff to even larger foreign companies. The weakening of our economy and the change in work dynamics generated by the large-scale adoption of remote work in organizations around the world also have a direct contribution to this scenario.

What are the market prospects for the future?

Exponential growth. The market does not give the slightest sign that the demand for technology professionals will decrease. New technologies are constantly emerging and revolutionizing the way we live. Artificial intelligence, IOT, robotics, biotechnology, 3D printers, blockchain, virtual reality, augmented reality, and now, the metaverse. If we consider that the first smartphones, which gave a great boost to this technological revolution, arrived in Brazil in 2008, it is possible to conclude that this growth is just beginning.

Why should I start tech recruiting?

The biggest challenge facing HR departments today is attracting and retaining technology professionals. Companies of all sizes and from all segments are facing great difficulties to find both technology professionals and tech recruiters. And the market tends to heat up even more in the coming months/years. The possibilities are not restricted only to the national market. This “race” for technology professionals makes companies from developed countries start looking at other markets, mainly to reduce costs.

The opportunities are great. For recruiters who are already in the market, for those who want to enter the market, and for those who work as freelancers. 99Hunters has just expanded to Europe, precisely because our business model has proved to be extremely effective for tech jobs, and is replicable in various markets. Vacancies with remuneration in Euro are already running on the platform and the prospect is that these vacancies will multiply.

How do I start recruiting for technology?

I’ll give you the advice I was given when I asked this same question a few years ago: you need to just give it a try. I will highlight some very important points in case you have never recruited for a tech spot.

Golden tip

When you come across a tech job description, you will know what tools and technologies are required for the position. As it is very unlikely that you will be able to assertively assess the knowledge of candidates, the best way to conduct this interview is to have the candidates assess himself. Ask what experience they have with each of the tools and technologies and how they rate their knowledge in each one: advanced, intermediate, basic or if they have no knowledge at all. If they don’t have knowledge in some tool or technology requested by the company, ask if they have experience with any other equivalent tool and for how long, in addition to the level of knowledge.

Questioning about the structure of the team they operate, level of autonomy and its role in the main projects executed will give the company enough resources for evaluating the adherence of the professional to the open spot.

Programming languages, frameworks and databases

You don’t need to technically understand each vacancy to make good referrals. But you will certainly have a considerable gain in assertiveness as you begin to better understand this universe and its particularities. A great starting point is to learn what are the main programming languages, their frameworks and the main databases. It is not an extensive material.

We are talking about 7 or 8 programming languages. This will already give you a great base for the interviews. Always use Google! Believe me, most of your questions will be answered there. What are the main programming languages? It’s on Google. What does a QA engineer do? It’s there too.

Don’t be afraid to ask

The best way to learn anything is by trying to do it. If in your first interviews you feel insecure and/or have doubts about some specific topic, start your interviews announcing that you still don’t have much experience with tech recruitment, and that you count on the person’s help to understand if this opportunity makes sense for them. Take advantage of these moments to also clear any doubts with this professional. It is an excellent opportunity to learn.

Objectivity and agility

Recruiters approach professionals in tech market much more frequently than professionals from other industries. That’s why your approaches need to be direct and objective. Deliver everything you can in the first approach. If there is any point of attention in the process, such as a very laborious test at some stage, let them know in the first conversation. If the person has any doubts, try to solve them as soon as possible, as timing is extremely important in these processes.

Stay tunned for 99Hunters news

Realizing that many people still have difficulties and feel insecure to start recruiting tech professionals, 99Hunters decided to start a new project with the purpose of educating and specializing our headhunter community. Keep an eye on our social networks, because soon we will launch a project for people who want to learn and develop in tech recruiting.

If you are facing recruiting challenges and would like to know how 99Hunters can present you candidates 3x faster than traditional executive search consultancies, schedule a conversation with our team right now.