If you’re a hiring manager and you’d like future IT personnel to match the needs of your company better than some of the current employees, you may simply need to change a few hiring patterns. Finding great tech employees is a similar process to finding great employees to do any job. Once you identify the kind of individuals best suited to the types of positions you have available, the next step is to identify them through an interview.
Start by Looking for the Right Tech Skills
Since many IT jobs require workers with certain skills and experience, you can get started by listing the exact skills needed for each job opening available. If you need to employ several people to provide desktop support to customers, then job candidates should probably have some experience or training with the latest software your customers are apt to purchase or use. People skilled at implementing the software used by your business certainly adds more value to them as well.
Consider Soft Skills
Once you have compiled a list of the necessary skills and are able to find qualified job seekers, you will need to narrow your search. An effective way to do this may be to consider the soft skills of the most promising applicants. One example of this may be the ability to communicate well with other staff members and customers who do not have a background in IT. Tech employees may need to explain what they view as basic software or hardware concepts to clients or other personnel. If an IT employee is not able to do this, then a communication breakdown could result in wasted company resources or even lost clients.
Evaluate Personality Traits
It’s also important to assess the various personality traits possibly needed when performing certain tech jobs. A skilled IT job candidate who seems unwilling to learn new skills might not make a viable match for your business. Conversely, an individual who is just as skilled – but who is also passionate about growing professionally within your company – could be a better choice for a long term career at your company. Think about the specific personality traits that reflect the core values of your business, and be sure to look for those traits when you are interviewing job candidates.
Use Outside Resources to Find the Right Applicants
Instead of attempting to do a broad hiring campaign for specific job positions, you might want to partner with outside resources that could be of great benefit to your company. A reputable job placement service that specializes in pairing clients with IT applicants, such as OpenArc, could ultimately help you make the best use of your company’s resources. By locating a variety of applicants qualified for the jobs you need filled, such a service may be an invaluable asset to your company.
Finding the perfect employees for the IT openings at your company may initially seem overwhelming, especially if you don’t have a tech background yourself. However, evaluating potential IT workers based on more than their actual tech skills could be a good step to take. Once you know the specific technical skills, soft skills, and personality traits that will complement your business, don’t be afraid to rely on outside help to assist you in finding the best IT employees for your company.