Tech Hiring Outlook

The ever-changing and hyper-competitive tech landscape means that hiring trends evolve year in and year out. Here are a few trends to watch for in 2015 based on data collected as part of a CareerBuilder survey of IT hiring managers.

Higher Salaries

Of the respondents surveyed, 87% report that they plan to increase salaries for existing employees, and 75% will increase salaries for incoming employees. That means hiring managers will increasingly have to reevaluate the compensation they are prepared to deliver if they want to attract and retain top talent.

More Campus Recruiting

In order to compensate for skills gaps, 70% of IT employers plan to hire new college graduates, and 35% plan to hire more graduates than last year. That means competition for bright young professionals with cutting edge skills will be especially fierce.

Retiree Recruitment

More than 50% of respondents say they are likely to hire retirees from other companies. This underscores the growing impact of baby boomer retirement on fields/companies throughout IT.

Continuous Recruitment

It’s becoming more and more common for HR departments to implement a non-stop recruitment strategy in which they proactively look for candidates to fill anticipated or possible future vacancies. This practice is likely to grow in 2015, with 61% of respondents planning to implement the strategy.

Professional Development

Half of IT employers plan to offer some kind of financial assistance to employees that go back to school for an advanced degree, and as many as 25% plan to foot the bill entirely. This is further evidence of the growing skills gap and the difficult of closing it.

Flexible Scheduling

In order to offer a greater work/life balance, 60% of employers will offer flexible scheduling options including compressed workweeks, sabbaticals, and work from home opportunities.

Contract Employees

A surprising 59% of IT employers plan to rely on contract employees to fill gaps in their ranks. Once a fringe recruitment strategy, the use of contract IT employees has clearly entered the mainstream.

Let’s review – IT employers are having to rely on younger, older, and contract employees, make recruitment an endless process, and offer more generous levels of compensation. This forecast suggests that 2015 is a great time to be an IT professional and a difficult time to be an IT hiring manager.

That’s why companies are increasingly relying on specialized staffing firms to connect them with top talent and qualified contract employees that can make an immediate impact. In practice, this strategy helps companies sidestep all the challenges that will make 2015 such a difficult year for IT recruiting. Learn more by contacting the IT staffing experts at TekPartners.