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Hiring Tech Talent? Tap this Overlooked Pipeline

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Over the past decade, and even more so in our current economic state, more areas of life have become increasingly digitized. That evolution has certainly affected hiring practices. Applicant training systems, for instance, can collect, sort, and rank thousands of résumés, automatically surfacing top candidates for any given role. Chatbots can engage, source, and screen candidates based on a set of predetermined metrics like skills and education.

But with all of these advancements in recruiting and hiring, one thing has remained relatively stagnant: credential requirements. Most companies still require candidates to have a college degree. But in industries like technology, where the way people learn new skills is rapidly evolving, that requirement is creating a barrier.

Traditional hiring practices simply can’t keep up with the tech industry’s increasing talent needs. Sure, some aspiring tech workers are still taking the conventional education-to-job pathway by obtaining computer science degrees. But fewer than 60,000 computer science graduates enter the market each year, and that’s a tiny talent pool for companies to compete over.

Still, many qualified, talented technologists who took different routes to learn their skills are screened out of the hiring process due to companies’ outdated hiring criteria. Employers would do themselves a favor by opening up their minds and candidate criteria to other options.

Alternative Talent Pipelines

On top of producing a low supply of workers for a field with high demand for talent, many traditional colleges and universities are often hamstrung in evolving their curriculums. They just can’t do it fast enough to keep up with the evolving skills employers are looking for. It’s simply not feasible to change course curriculum as quickly as computer programming languages change.

Take JavaScript, for example. It’s become an extremely popular language for web development over the past couple of years. To secure a job in the field, you need to know not only JavaScript, but also frameworks like Angular or React. Yet these frameworks are changing almost every year, putting colleges and universities with inflexible curriculums at a huge disadvantage. It often takes more than a year to get the approvals necessary to change the curriculum.

Other tech training programs, however, like online courses or in-person boot camps, can more quickly pivot their curriculum to match changes in industry trends, equipping students with the right skills to meet employer needs. For this reason, alternative skilling programs can also produce talent much quicker than two- or four-year degree programs.

Alternative skilling programs have the flexibility to accelerate curriculum and churn out qualified programmers in mere months. They give students the basic skills they need to jump into a tech role. Then, employees are expected to learn on the job — a huge advantage to any company looking to shape unique skill sets, especially when 87% of IT executives are struggling to find skilled technology professionals today.

On top of developing relevant skills from a more agile learning environment more quickly, many alternative training graduates possess additional capabilities that can benefit employers. Here are a few:

Broader Life Experience

Graduates from nontraditional backgrounds often bring unmatched life experience into their new careers. Alternative coding students often enter programs with a breadth of different backgrounds — both vocational and educational. In fact, many already have college degrees in nontechnical fields and have enrolled in tech training programs to explore a career change.

Whereas two- or four-year college graduates likely just left home to go to college and then went straight into job searching, nontraditional students have had different life experiences that grant them additional perspectives and soft skills to bring to the table.

For example, a single mother who graduates from a coding boot camp is likely to be an excellent multitasker, as she’s raised her child while coordinating her education on her own. Or a former restaurant manager who joined an alternative training program to explore an interest in tech is likely to have strong leadership and managerial skills that a recent college grad may not possess.

Built-in Tenacity

Graduates from an alternative training program have already proven themselves by finishing the course. Many alternative training programs remove barriers such as high tuition costs. This means that the training becomes accessible to a wider pool of tech-interested people. It also means anyone who joins a program can drop out with fewer financial consequences than they could in a two- or four-year degree program — resulting in individuals who’ve demonstrated immense drive and hard work.

That presents a built-in vetting process. People who successfully complete free or low-cost training programs prove their grit and tenacity — especially considering that many are taking care of children or working full-time on the side. These kinds of traits are important in tech job candidates.

Many of these learners are also career-changers. They left one career to pursue a true interest in technology, which means they’ve demonstrated drive simply by taking the risk to enter a new career field.

Industry-Relevant Skills

Graduates from nontraditional learning pathways are often equipped with specific, industry-relevant skills. Because alternative training programs tend to be more nimble when it comes to curriculum, they can easily adapt to teach the specific skills employers are looking for. Many programs even ask companies what skills they’re in need of — both current and future — to ensure students learn the proper ones.

For example, our organization recently switched the core language taught in our flagship LC101 course, moving from Python to JavaScript after assessing the skills needed by our hiring partners. We’re also able to train a cohort of students specifically for a company experiencing difficulty hiring those hard-to-find skill sets. Given that 33% of companies report problems in finding qualified candidates to fill open tech positions, alternative training programs may be the answer for sourcing talent.

Of course, college graduates with relevant skills should always be a part of the eligible hiring pool. But with the demand for entry-level talent being so much greater than what traditional pathways are producing, it’s time for hiring managers to diversify their recruitment strategies to give other talented technologists a shot. They’re likely to be pleasantly surprised by the talent and promise candidates from a variety of education and experience backgrounds can bring to their businesses.

Photo by Wyron A 

Finding Gen Z Talent in 2020: Three Predictions

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TalentCulture asked Kristen Ribero, Director of Enterprise Marketing for Handshake, for three predictions on how we’ll be finding Gen Z talent in 2020. It’s all about democratizing opportunity and building diverse teams; sourcing tech talent beyond STEM; and proactive, personal outreach. Here’s what she had to say:

Prediction 1: We’ll Democratize Opportunity and Build More Diverse Teams 

Employers recruiting early talent traditionally tapped into a few “core” schools that were either selected by proximity or by whether a leader at the company attended that school, which resulted in a pretty homogenous talent pool. 

Instead, we’ll start more effectively democratizing opportunity — by enabling employers to find talent based on numerous attributes that help determine fit, from any school, anywhere. And there’s plenty of information out there. Gen Z’s search for authenticity enables their greater freedom of expression and openness to understanding diverse perspectives. Gen Z grew up on mobile phones, social media, and are true digital natives. While early talent recruiting has shifted digitally, the attributes and values that set candidates apart remain largely the same.

We’ll use targeted talent marketplaces that have the potential to connect candidates with like-minded employers. Not only does this ensure a more seamless cultural fit, it also increases the likelihood of an employee being successful. And we’ll be combining high tech and high touch to do it.

From the talent side, Gen Z values individual identity, and are careful with how they craft their niche personas. They also value diversity, and want to work at organizations that embrace people from all walks of life. By carefully curating their own online presence, Gen Z can secure engagement from relevant employers through these targeted marketplaces. And that enables a better match through targeting for both employers and prospects.

Prediction 2: We’ll See Tech Talent Who Aren’t STEM Majors

Gen Z who haven’t necessarily majored in STEM are increasingly applying for technical roles. Their knowledge of programming languages and other technical skills supplements their coursework — without needing to major in STEM related fields. Of the women who applied for software engineering roles on Handshake, 35% majored in curricula other than STEM, according to Handshake’s Women in Tech report. And in their profiles on the site, it’s clear they have the skills and know how to show them off.

So what we’re seeing is that declaring a major isn’t the only indicator of required skills for a job. Employers are realizing this too, and adjusting their search criteria.

There are other factors here: Research shows that Gen Z  job seekers are more financially motivated than millennials, and the majority of Gen Z employees value salary over other job perks. Technical roles are in high demand, and they tend to be higher paid.

Gen Z is careful to craft a niche identity that’s persuasive and unique enough to set themselves apart. They don’t know a world without technology, which means they are more tech-savvy than previous generations. And they’re leaning in on hard skills as equally as soft ones. Of the 35% of women who applied for software engineering and developer roles I mentioned, their majors include business analytics, communications, marketing, language, and political science.

So employers will get better at looking beyond traditional attributes to find the talent they need. Instead of pinpointing STEM-specific majors, coursework, and GPA, they will lean on a candidate’s hard and soft skills to provide a more accurate assessment of their likelihood to succeed in a role.

Prediction 3: We’ll Take a More Proactive, Personal Approach to Outreach

Proactive employer communication to potential candidates will become a key factor in attracting Gen Z talent. From 2018 to 2019, we observed employers proactively reach out to 4x more students. Employers can tap into this generation’s need for connection by delivering encouraging, personalized messages. In Handshake’s student survey, 95% told us that they engage with employers that send personalized, proactive outreach. While tech has provided more seamless ways for people to connect, Gen Z still prefers to learn from real people. So high tech and high touch are effective complements.

As far as messaging, here are two examples: a message that won’t fly with Gen Z talent, and a message that will. First, the one you don’t want to do:

Hi there,

I’m reaching out to you from [company]. I see that your graduation date is coming up, and I wanted to invite you to check out our job openings on our website. Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks,

[recruiter’s name]

The message lacks personalized components like a recruiter introduction or student’s name. The student can’t easily decipher how this organization would be a good fit for them. Students are more likely to engage with messages that mention how their background is ideal for a role they’re hiring for. And the CTA is weak: the only indicated action is to check out job openings, but there’s nothing in there about actually applying. That’s a missed opportunity.

Here’s a much better example:

Hi [candidate’s name],

My name’s [recruiter’s name] and I’m a recruiting manager at [company].

We’re currently hiring a sales representative in our [city] office, and based on your background in business at [university] and passion in customer service, I think you should apply!

Don’t take my word for it. One of your [university] peers, [name], now works in this function at [company]. If you’re interested, I’d love to introduce you two so you can learn what it takes to thrive here.

We are also going to be at [university]’s campus next month, so let’s plan to connect in person if that’s easier for you. Please RSVP here.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Warmly,

[recruiter’s name]

What works in this message is the personalization of first name and institution name, along with the fact that an on-campus event is attached to the campaign. The recruiter also suggests an opportunity to introduce the student to one of their peers currently employed by the company. The next step, and a great way to increase the effectiveness of a message like this, is to arrange a scheduled follow up.

 

The Secret to Retaining Tech Talent: Give Them Ways to Grow

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If you want to keep that tech talent you invested so much time, energy and resources recruiting and hiring on, put yourself in their shoes. Work is about far more than coding: as employees rise in tech, they may be called upon to make presentations, participate in a conference, lead a team, articulate a complicated process to newbies, troubleshoot with peers — you name it. And employees are hungry to expand their skills. Companies that overlook this reality stand to lose that talent they worked so hard to find. That’s going to impact not just your present, but your future: those stand-out new hires already marked as candidates for succession may look elsewhere for opportunities.

To say this is not an ideal time to be bleeding talent in the tech sector is beyond an understatement. According to a recent survey by the job site Indeed, 86% of hiring managers say it’s challenging to find and hire tech talent. The average tenure in a job in 2016 was 4.2 years according to the BLS. But the average tenure in the tech industry is far lower, according to SHRM — only three years.

The reasons are numerous — including the nature of working in tech itself. Tech talent is by nature hungry to learn — whether or not you’re providing the opportunity, learning is part of their DNA. Many tech companies focus far more on apps and tools than on social and language interaction. But if you had the chance to ask a tech employee, most would readily convey a need to improve their soft skills as well — which is evidenced by the rising popularity of soft skills courses for tech talent offered by giants such as Harvard Extension.

The overall economy and work climate also play a key role:

  • Recent economic shake-ups left many people realizing they need to keep a Plan B in their professional pocket.
  • A thrilling but endless disruption of new innovations and new start-ups are constantly clamoring for tech talent — including your employees. Today, the pace of development and rollouts is generally rapid fire, and the people who work in this climate are used to training and ramping up fast.
  • It’s intensely easy in this digital, mobile and social environment to look for greener grass on the other side.
  • Increased globalization means different cultures, a variety of social behaviors and a range of different languages. To unify a multinational, multigenerational team takes far more than just hiring them.

Millennial Culture

Millennials have a core sense of healthy self-worth, and tend to see themselves as consumers of employers and jobs they can pick and choose from. But according to research by Deloitte, they’re also looking for an employer that offers more stability than ever before. And in terms of any career, you have to grow to remain in the same place. So if they’re in a job that doesn’t provide the chance to grow, they’re going to look for one that does. 18-35 year-olds stayed in a job for an average of 1.6 years last year — a trend noted by Lingo Live in their new report on the importance of upskilling for tech employees. Millennials are not only hungry to learn, they’re hungry to land in a place they can.

Align Learning With Working

The bottom line for today’s talent, and today’s digital culture a well, is that they are constantly experiencing new things: new apps, new social media pages, new forms of communication, new emojis, new policies and procedures, new bus routes, new challenges. This is the case at work as well as in life. Add the unique circumstances of any individual — such a software engineer for whom English is a second language or taking a job has meant living in a new country.

Every time our attention shifts to a new task or a new environment, we are thrust into a learning capacity once again. If you don’t provide your people with multidimensional learning and development opportunities, it doesn’t mean they don’t need to find the education and upskilling they need to grow. It just means their learning needs will not align with working for your company.

Instead, create that alignment — and then leverage it to drive engagement and ambition as your employees learn and grow within the context of their employer. Consider the soft skills you may want to offer:

Language skills and proficiency: According to the “Real Benefits” report by Lingo Live, language skills are overlooked by employers but highly valued by employees. In fact, a full 70% of engineers they surveyed believe their language skills play a key role in career advancement in their industry. Especially for tech talent that has been sponsored on a work visa, the challenge of communicating, writing, reading, and even interacting in English can be daunting. It’s a challenge easily remedied with a range of web-based, easily accessed language courses and practice.

Leadership skills: From team management to cultural customs and social etiquette, we expect a lot of our managers and leaders. In fact, the Education Advisory Board pinpointed a need to developed five key soft skills for tech talent, all of which are critical for a successful career trajectory. Rising up through the ranks usually means taking on more responsibility and overseeing employees. Among these key skills STEM fields are facing an increased demand for: creativity, teamwork/collaboration and building effective relationships. All can also be bridged into language development and cultural training, enabling tech talent to gain confidence that they can, indeed, become leaders.

Upskilling your talent is a tangible way to demonstrate that you value your employees not just as present-tense labor, but as future assets to your organization. But the benefits go far beyond the doors of your company and right into recruiting. Your employees will convey your brand whether or not you intend them to, but if they are growing and able to learn and develop within the aegis of your organization, they will let others know — and that makes you an employer people want to work for. For any organization trying to establish itself above the fray in this era of transparency, and be able to truly attract, hire, engage and retain the best tech talent, being able to provide soft skills training is an undeniable plus.

This article is sponsored by Lingo Live. Views are my own.

Photo Credit: Compu-Net Systems, LLC Flickr via Compfight cc

 

The Game for Tech Talent is Getting Serious

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The world of technology is a huge playground with winners and losers. In this playground players are constantly fighting against their rivals, fighting for being the fastest, the best.

If you don’t join the game, you are going to lose.

Recruiting is one of the games in technology playground. Do you want a great tech talent in your team? You need to fight and be aware you are not the only one who craves for this person. As in the battlefield, unless you have a proper tactic, you’ll probably lose. Brace yourself!

“Make love, not war” – building relationships

You don’t need to be brutal to win your games. Let’s get creative. Let’s get personal. Let’s make love. One of the best tactics of recruitment is building relationships. Recruitment is constant work. Even when you aren’t hiring.

Imagine your current tech talent quits or you want to expand your team. Without good relationships, a well-built network, you will probably panic. If you work on your network, you’ll find candidates for your position quickly. Connect with as many people, as possible, but don’t spam them. Get personal, write them why you want to connect with them and be on good terms with them.

If you run social media accounts – use them smartly. Ask people for referrals, let them know you are recruiting. Use ‘weak acquaintances’ – sociologist Mark Granovetter found that most of the people got their jobs through people around them even if they occasionally or rarely met. When the recruitment time comes, you have plenty of possibilities.

“Baby don’t go” – use your allies

Employees are not for granted. Particularly in the tech world, the probability that your talent will quit or be headhunted is very high. Tech talents seek for new challenges and possibilities. No hard feelings, it might not be your fault if they left. But it’s up to you how this relationship ends.

Treat well your “exes”. Your present and past employees may be useful in your recruitment process. You can ask them for referrals – they probably know people which you would like to hire. If your ex-employees want to come back, why don’t take them back? They quitted, got stronger, gained new skills and experience.

“I’m sexy, and I know it” – make them want to work for you

How to make them want to work for you? Use branding – a very powerful tool. Look at Google – even someone who is not technical knows that Google’s working environment (offices, social benefits) is one of the best in the world. Why? Because Google is showing its culture. They know in Google that they need to attract the best tech talents not only using money but also they need to add something extra.

Even if your start-up consists of 2 people, you can be like “Google”.  Show and sell your culture. Generate buzz about you. Stand out in a way which draws the attention of your talents. Be easy to find.

If you are tech recruiter, being “sexy” means being interesting, knowing what you are looking for, what you are talking about. Be up-to-date with the tech world and try to learn as much as possible. The tech talents will appreciate it, and they will treat you more as a partner.

“Come to me, my precious” – invite them over

Are you wondering where you can find your potential candidates? Where can you show how cool you are? Invite them over and be a host. You can create events, hackathons, open code challenges, meetups. Make your future best tech talents know you. Even if they do not join your events, your name will be more and more familiar to them.

In recruitment process invite your candidates to meet the real-life situations. You can offer face-to-face time with your team, which can be impossible when you have many candidates. Use online testing to simulate the first day at work experience with real programming tasks or code review challenges. Test not only their knowledge of certain programming languages but also libraries and frameworks, this way you will show them that you know what you want.

Let them resolve problems their way, use their favorite IDE and all other resources, just like they would do at work to get things done. Always acknowledge candidates who haven’t made it this time. Don’t burn your bridges behind you. It’s the relationship, stupid!

“The time is gone” – use time wisely

No one likes wasting his or her time so make your recruitment quick and as smooth as possible. Don’t make your candidates wait. Simplify the process, use fewer papers. Create clear application forms which result in more relevant candidates.

Consider anonymous assessment where the only what matters are skills and strengths you need. Then you will attract those who are talented, candidates that are afraid to apply will not be put off (I mean those who are afraid of rejection based on their sex, race, religion, background, etc.). Focusing on skills and strengths allows you to find your perfect match.

One year in the tech world is more than decade in other industries; everything changes fast enough to say: your candidates’ past work tells you almost nothing about their current abilities. Use your and your candidates time wisely and it will pay off. In the recruitment time is money.

“Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s…” – know what you want

Who do you need? Without knowing what you want, you won’t get the best talent. Think about your team – do you need a Batman? Or do you need a group of Avengers whose members are completing themselves? What will happen when your Batman quits? What will happen when your Ironman quits? As silly these question can sound, it’s important to recognize your needs. Clear expectation allows you to recruit the most suitable person for a certain position.

Recruiting the best tech talents isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. Treat them as you want to be treated. Respect, appreciation, being nice, helpful, in touch, having clear expectation combined with working on your image help you find your perfect match, I mean, top tech talent.

Prepare yourself and win your games!

Image credit : StockSnap.io

#TChat Recap: Attracting Top Candidates With Great Company Culture

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Attracting Top Candidates With Great Company Culture

Sometimes the obvious isn’t so obvious, and what should seem apparent, doesn’t always. Attracting top candidates is no one trick pony. It’s hard work, mostly because candidates’ needs vary, just like how organizational needs vary for all companies. Whatever the case may be, attracting top candidates without using an array of marketing tools such as promoting great company culture, can leave organizations fairly defenseless when it comes to attracting top candidates. Each industry faces their own unique challenges and complexities when it comes to reeling in top talent. The technology industry has seen its fair share of challenges the past few years. This week’s guests: Jim Stroud, Senior Director of RPO Recruitment Strategies at Randstad Sourceright, and Shravan Goli, President of Dice, shared with our community some of the challenges of recruiting and motivating in-demand tech talent. Together, with our community, we took a deep dive into the challenges of sourcing great tech talent, and building great company culture in the process.

It’s usually never one thing that causes trouble. Whether it’s recruiters or hiring managers, attracting top candidates to fill in-demand tech positions is extremely difficult. Finding top tech talent is a challenge. But is it because of:

Is this so? Is wooing tech talent almost similar to the challenges that other industries are facing when it comes to attracting top candidates? Are organizations failing to understand the need to communicate great company culture to candidates or is there no culture in existent to do so? Perhaps reeling in talent takes revamping the candidate wooing process. Organizations need to:

The beauty about attracting top candidates is that it’s a process that we can always learn from and constantly tweak. What worked in the past doesn’t necessarily imply that it will continue to work. Recruiting strategies have to continue to evolve as different generations of workers enter the workforce and technology continues to create the need for new skills. Our good friend Jim Stroud, and this week’s #TChat guest gave us a friendly reminder that:

Without adaptation and acceptance towards change, how can organizations expect to build a better company cultures? Let alone even care to take notice if their culture is healthy or not? Company culture shouldn’t be something we sell, but instead, it should be something that we embrace. Yes, candidates want to hear about the kind of financial stability that will be provided for them, but they also want to know about who the organizations are and how they’ll be provided opportunities to grow. Simply telling candidates that the “sky’s the limit” isn’t good enough anymore.

Attracting top candidates isn’t about throwing around fancy buzzwords. It has to be more compelling than that. As organizations grow, we have to grow with our employees if we are to truly support their personal transformations within companies. Remember, it’s employees that bring life and success to their organizations. Not the other way around. Attracting top candidates happens because they are communicated the potential influence that an organization will have on their careers. Whether we’re attracting top tech talent or other working professionals, we mustn’t forget that culture is a part of who we are. There’s no reason organizations cannot learn to harvest their company culture.

Want To See The #TChat Replay?

Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

Thanks again to our guests: Jim Stroud, Senior Director of RPO Recruitment Strategies at Randstad Sourceright, and Shravan Goli, President of Dice.

Wednesday, Oct. 22nd, #TChat Events: Engagement and the Culture Control Panel

TChatRadio_logo_020813 #TChat Radio 7pm ET / 4pm PT — Are you plugged in to #TChat radio? Did you know you can listen live to ANY of our shows ANY time? Now you know. Click the box to head on over to our channel or listen to Engagement and the Culture Control Panel.

Note To Bloggers: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about trends on the engagement experience?

We welcome your thoughts. Post a link on Twitter (include #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we may feature it!

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Save The Date: Wednesday, October 22nd!

Join us next week, as we talk about Engagement and the Culture Control Panel during #TChat Events. The TalentCulture conversation continues daily on #TChat Twitter, in our LinkedIn group, and on our new Google+ community. So join us anytime on your favorite social channels!

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photo credit: Thomas Leuthard via IM Creator cc

#TChat Preview: Using Company Culture To Attract In-Demand Candidates

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The TalentCulture #TChat Show is back live on Wednesday, October 15, 2014, from 7-8 pm ET (4-5 pm PT). The #TChat radio portion runs the first 30 minutes from 7-7:30 pm ET, followed by the #TChat Twitter chat from 7:30-8 pm ET.

Last week we talked about the HR Technology “mic drop,” and this week we’re going to talk about how to use company culture to attract in-demand candidates.

Because it’s hard enough today to find and source the most in-demand tech talent. And with the high competition for these “holy grail” candidates, it’s not just the job that needs to stand out — your company must, too.

This means you need to learn how to build and communicate a company culture that attracts the best tech pros. Period. You need to develop a work environment that most appeals to in-demand tech professionals, and all professionals for that matter, and how you should effectively promote that culture in your social recruiting efforts.

When you learn how to build and communicate a work culture that attracts the most sought-after tech candidates, it means you know how to identify the aspects of your unique culture that most resonate with your target candidates.

Join TalentCulture #TChat Show co-creators and co-hosts Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman as we learn how to use company culture to attract in-demand candidates with this week’s guests: Jim Stroud, Senior Director of RPO Recruitment Strategies at Randstad Sourceright, and Shravan Goli, President of Dice.

Related Reading:

Meghan M. Biro: 5 Ways To Reinvent Your Recruiting Strategy

Mary Lorenz: How Yahoo, Facebook and Zappos Recruit Tech Talent

Josh Bersin: How Do We Excite, Manage, and Retain the Tech Team?

Ashley Zito Rowe: Recruiting Is Becoming More Technical

Telle Whitney: Men Initiating Change Is an Important Step Toward Eradicating Tech’s Bro Culture

Yoree Koh: Twitter’s Diversity Report: Women Make Up 30% of Workforce

We hope you’ll join the #TChat conversation this week and share your questions, opinions and ideas with our guests and the TalentCulture Community.

#TChat Events: Using Company Culture To Attract In-Demand Candidates

TChatRadio_logo_020813#TChat Radio — Wed, October 15th — 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT Tune in to the #TChat Radio show with our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman, as they talk with our guests: Jim Stroud and Shravan Goli.

Tune in LIVE online this Wednesday!

#TChat Twitter Chat — Wed, October 15th — 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, Kevin, Jim and Shravan will move to the #TChat Twitter stream, where we’ll continue the discussion with the entire TalentCulture community. Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as we gather for a dynamic live chat, focused on these related questions:

Q1: What are the reasons why critical tech talent is so hard to source today? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q2: What are key strategies for building company cultures that attract the right candidates? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q3: How should companies promote company culture in their social recruiting efforts? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed, our TalentCulture World of Work Community LinkedIn group, and in our new TalentCulture G+ community. So feel free to drop by anytime and share your questions, ideas and opinions. See you there!!

Finding Tech Talent to Fuel the Future #TChat Preview

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(Editor’s Note: Looking for full highlights and resource links from this week’s #TChat Events? Read the #TChat Recap: “Tech Recruiting: Skilling Up to Fill the Middle.“)

Recently, we’ve seen the rise of the “digital detox” — when individuals temporarily go “off the grid” to reconnect with life apart from technology.

But of course, it’s impossible to escape fully anymore. Technology is now deeply embedded in daily life — its pervasiveness reaches far and wide. And not surprisingly, as innovation continues at full speed, competition for skilled technical talent is more fierce than ever.

How can employers stay ahead of that curve? And what should recruiters do to help lead the way in attracting technology rockstars?

That’s the topic we’re tackling at #TChat Events this week, with Shravan Goli, President of Dice, The Career Hub For Tech, and Sara Fleischman, Senior Technical Recruiter at Concur.

Sneak Peeks: Facing Tech Recruiting Challenges

To frame this week’s events, I spoke briefly with both Shravan and Sara about how businesses can recruit effectively in today’s environment. Shravan suggested three success factors in an audio hangout:

And Sara added her perspective as a technology recruiter:

Is your organization feeling the impact of the tech talent shortage? How are you addressing this? What does this trend mean for business innovation, overall? Join us this week to discuss your ideas and opinions with the #TChat crowd.

Publication1Share Your Insights, Win a Smartwatch!

As extra incentive to submit your best ideas, everyone who participates in #TChat Events this week will be eligible to win a cool Pebble Smartwatch from Dice! After the the #TChat Radio Show and #TChat Twitter Dice shared details about how to enter before the Feb 7th deadline. See details now!

#TChat Events: Tech Recruiting In a World of Pervasive Technology

#TChat Radio — Wed, Jan 29 — 6:30pmET / 3:30pmPT

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Tune-in to the #TChat Radio show

Our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman talk with Shravan Goli and Sara Fleischman about critical tech recruiting issues and trends. Tune-in LIVE online this Wednesday!

#TChat Twitter — Wed, Jan 29 — 7pmET / 4pmPT

Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, Kevin and our guests will move to the #TChat Twitter stream, for a live discussion with the entire TalentCulture community.

Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as we address these 5 related questions:

Q1: How do tech recruiters stay skilled up and “in the know”?
Q2: Why is finding tech talent so difficult?
Q3: How do recruiters tap into high-tech hot spots to find tech talent?
Q4: How do employers create a culture that attracts skilled tech talent?
Q5: What recruiting technologies appeal to high-tech professionals?

We look forward to hearing your ideas and opinions, as talent-minded professionals who care about recruiting issues and trends.

Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed, and on our LinkedIn Discussion Group. So feel free to drop by anytime and share your questions, ideas and opinions.

We’ll see you on the stream!