Reconciling Low Employment with Higher Employer Expectations

Employer expectations are at an all-time high.  Highly publicized tech layoffs and fewer job openings have only exacerbated these expectations of available talent on the market. Yet if you zoom out on the tech hiring market, the tech unemployment rate remains under 3%.  There is so little available talent, yet the expectation of finding highly skilled employees to fill niche positions remains the same.  

It’s time to reset expectations of who is on the market.

Expectations Are Driving Lengthy Hiring Process

Employers are artificially extending the hiring process because they want to see everyone available to them.  It’s understandable after many companies had to right-size post pandemic. This time around, they want to make sure that they are making the right decision the first time. However, this quest for the right engineer, right now is creating a longer hiring process.  No one wants to make a hiring decision on the first person they have interviewed, but employers are hesitating to move forward with five, seven, or even ten applicants. This draws out the process as the first applicant has likely already started interviewing elsewhere.  Drawing out the hiring process is only hurting the search.

Layoffs and Fewer Job Openings Create a False Sense of Security

It would be logical to assume that continued tech layoffs and fewer open jobs equals more talent on the market. But this is not an accurate view of the current market conditions.  Even with tech layoffs, tech unemployment remains under 3%. And of that three percent, very few of those employees are skilled in new, high-value tech like AI, ML, Data Engineer or LLM. Any employees who are being laid off from these in-demand positions are being scooped up immediately by name brand companies with star power and deep pockets.  So, let’s make it clear; there are very few highly skilled tech workers available on the open market.

The Competition for Tech Workers will only Continue to Grow

If you are searching for a web developer or Java Engineer, you’ll have a much easier time finding available talent. You are still competing for them, but you can afford to interview them at your pace. However, the competition for tech workers who specialize in AI, ML, LLM, and Data Engineering is heating up. You will be competing with everyone who wants to leverage this talent for cutting-edge technologies. Unless you are a household name, have deep pockets, and a flawless hiring process, your expectations need to be adjusted accordingly.  You must assume that every person you are interviewing is already in process with several other companies.

So, how do you tap into talent, get the employee you want, and manage expectations?

• Ensure that your hiring process is tight – approved budget, stakeholders, time-to-hire
• Know your must-have skills – What does the new employee need on day one?
• Know what skills are negotiable or can be learned on-the-job
• Research (or ask your staffing partner!) to give you salary benchmarks and market data that will help you gauge how reasonable your search / expectations are

Curious about the talent pool for your specific position? Talk with one of our Talener team members or reach out - info@talener.com.