Technology:
Software and engineering
A difficult financial climate created an uncertain market in 2023. But 2024 could see new projects and increased demand for highly skilled tech professional to launch them. The tech recruitment market looks set for an upturn. Sina Faramarzi, manager, software and engineering at Investigo, highlights the important trends to look out for in 2024.
Here are the key areas leaders need to prepare for in 2024:
Nothing ventured – A challenging tech recruitment landscape for software and engineering professionals.
Lengthened recruitment processes – Why speeding up time-to-hire can secure the best candidates for your projects.
A possible upturn – How new projects will drive demand for the best talent in 2024.
With the hike of interest rates and a challenging financial climate, many venture capital firms haven’t invested as heavily into tech in comparison to previous years. New initiatives and projects have been shelved, resulting in layoffs and an inflated talent pool of qualified software and engineering professionals, all eager for a new opportunity.
Rates have largely stayed the same, with a bit of a dip on commonly known tech languages like Java, which is not as in demand right now in comparison to Python.
Speed seems to be lacking in a lot of recruitment processes in the market, with processes for permanent jobs taking upwards of six weeks. This is perhaps due to a nervousness from clients to hire when potentially they may have to make staff cuts again, following a challenging 2023. The result is that candidates are sometimes losing interest and turning their attention elsewhere.
There are several simple ways to reduce the time-to-hire:
Streamline the recruitment process – Do you really need that many interview stages or levels of sign-off for the role? If the process is delayed because one of your key stakeholders is away from the business, make sure you have a suitable substitute available to provide sign-off.
Keep in communication with your best candidates – Let them know that you’re still interested and keep them invested in the process. The more they get to know you and your company, the more of an affinity they’ll have with you. The chances are that many of the candidates who apply for the role will have the right skills, so focus more on what they’ll bring to your team culturally.
Work with a trusted recruitment partner – Choosing a recruitment partner that understands your market and has an extensive pipeline of quality professionals is a powerful way of quickly bringing on board proven, qualified people.
If clients want to secure the best talent, they need to hire quickly and hire early. Speeding up time-to-hire processes ensures that candidates stay engaged and ultimately delivers strong project teams.
Things are definitely picking up and as we head into the new year, many projects are being signed off and active candidates are finding that they’re getting a few more calls from recruiters.
All this means that there is likely to be a boom again this year and clients will struggle to secure good talent. After COVID, salaries and rates were inflated as clients fought for the best tech talent and we may see a similar situation again in 2024.Businesses need to move forward and innovate. Interest rates are slowly creeping down, which will give organisations a better chance of securing the VC funding that will allow them to embark on exciting new projects in 2024.
Following a difficult recruitment period in 2023, there are positive signs of the market improving into 2024. With new projects receiving the go-ahead, leaders will need to act fast to secure the best tech talent. Reviewing and refining hiring processes ensures higher quality candidates are secured faster.
Improving time-to-hire processes is key if businesses are to respond to the exciting new challenges of 2024.
