Why do IT professionals need a recruitment agency and how has COVID-19 affected hiring trends?

IT Professionals have so many options available to them and companies reaching out directly all the time, I have only seen this demand growing throughout my 14-year career recruiting in the UK, Asia, and Thailand.

It's not even an exaggeration to say that a highly skilled developer may have 5, 10, or even 15 companies they could apply to, or want to interview with. Don’t get me wrong, this is an excellent position to be in but at the same time, it can be overwhelming and quite time-consuming since each company is going to have very different pros and cons.

Here are the reasons why IT professionals need a recruitment agency:

• IT Recruiters tell you more than what is written in the JD

As a candidate, you will have to do research into each company to understand if it's a match in terms of industry, location, and perhaps if they offer that flexible working policy you value. A good recruiter can tell you these types of things right away, and give you so much more information than what is written in a JD. A good recruiter can give you an insight into the company's reputation and the unique selling points each company has

As recruiters, we can quickly understand what you are looking for based on your technical skills and what type of company would suit you culturally. It might be a smaller company; it might be a more prominent international, or local enterprise. By going in blind, it’s much more likely you will end up making a mistake and joining the wrong company

• IT Recruiters know about market trends and can advise on which direction to take your career

Good IT recruiters can tell you about market trends and the in-demand skills as technology moves very quickly. Development languages evolve rapidly, and over a few years, newer languages can come along and leave behind some of the older ones.

For example, 10 years ago C# and PHP were very popular back-end languages that are not so in demand anymore. On the other hand, Javascript has gained a lot of popularity, with frameworks such as Node.js, React.js & Angular.js in massive demand. Not to mention Golang’s surge in prevalence!

A good IT recruiter can offer insights into the hiring trends of each discipline and advise on which languages are gaining popularity or becoming less used. This can have a huge impact on your future career and earning prospects

• IT Recruiters act as a sponsor and mediator

When you apply through a company website or on job boards you quite often send your CV into what I call a “black hole”. Usually, an unskilled Talent Acquisition person is at the other end reviewing your CV who doesn’t have much of a clue what they are looking at, or if you are suitable for the role. Is it any surprise you rarely hear back even though you know you have the right skills?

A good IT recruiter will ensure that your application goes to the right manager and pushes to get you feedback. This greatly improves your chances of securing an interview and hopefully the job!

It's not an exaggeration to say that working with a good IT recruiter is one of the most valuable things an IT professional can do when looking for a new role. Also remember, our service is free!

• Recruiters are salespeople, we negotiate on your behalf

Another key benefit of using a recruiter is that we deal with the company on your behalf, pushing through a quick process and negotiating the best offer possible for you

While it’s true that most IT professionals can be quite shy to negotiate, recruiters are salespeople at heart and are highly trained in selling and negotiation techniques. Trust us to get you a great offer

• Special Question:

As a professional IT Recruiter, how do you think COVID has affected hiring trends while people are working remotely?

I think people are actually more open to interviewing now, than before Covid as previously they would be required to attend an interview in person. They would need to take time off work, commute and put on a suit and tie. Now they can be like, okay, I'll do it on my lunch break or squeeze it in between those two meetings.

Interviews seem to be a lot more relaxed which has its advantages but from an employer’s perspective, you have to make sure you’re digging down on the candidates’ real motivations and interest in the role.

As it’s so easy to do interviews with very little commitment, it’s also hard to gauge how interested someone is in the role. We are seeing a huge increase in people turning down offers and accepting the dreaded counteroffer! As the world is getting back to normal my advice would be to include a face-to-face interview at the end of the process, especially for key or senior roles to test their interest

One thing that is for sure is the pandemic has opened people’s eyes to the benefits of remote working. I don’t see many companies adopting a rigid Monday – Friday, 9 – 6pm again and what we are seeing more and more is companies’ willingness to have their employees working fully remote, which opens up new pools of candidates who were previously out of reach.

James Hine, Head of Technology & Executive Search from ANCOR Thailand