Similar to the fashion industry, interior design and even real estate, the jobs market is subject to fluctuations and trends. With technology advancing at prolific speeds, drifts in the recruitment sector are particular prevailing in the IT industry.
In 2012 the Business Insider wrote, the software industry is experiencing the kind of perfect storm that only happens once every 30 years. The last ‘perfect storm’ saw the emergence of the IT giants of today, including Microsoft, Oracle and SAP, continues Business Insider. Similar occurrences are happening now, with the next crop of industry giants and new technology giants arising.
As the technological advancements we have been experiencing in recent years show little sign of abating, the IT industry is inevitably evolving. So what do these changes mean for IT recruiters and IT candidates?
Social media is here to stay
While the use of social platforms as a means of networking, looking for jobs and creating profiles has been around for a while, it has experienced a particular surge in recent years. According to headhunter Paul DeBettignies, as skilled IT talent becomes more challenging to find, maintaining updated social profiles will result in more unsolicited interest from recruiters.
Some industries are taking advantage of social media than others. The IT sector is one industry that is proficiently harnessing the power of social media. For IT, social media is more of a natural outgrowth of an established marketing strategy.
As of 2013, 45% of HR decision makers said they were using social media profiles in recruitment processes. 16% of a poll of 400 HR professionals in a case study commissioned by Acas, said they were planning to use social platforms when recruiting in the future.
As employers become increasingly sophisticated in their use of social media to take on new recruits, social is definitely an IT employment trend we cannot afford to ignore.
Become acquainted with IT jargon
From a candidate’s perspective walking into a job interview in the IT sector without knowing your IOS’s from your Android’s, JavaScript from JTML and Photoshop from Illustrator is likely to prove disadvantageous.
If IT is your trade then the chances are you know such terminology anyway. However, if you are new to IT and are seeking to land your first IT job, familiarising yourself with the essential industry jargon is likely to leave you in better stead for securing the job. Either way, such IT language isn’t going to disappear overnight and to succeed in the world of information technology you will need to have an understanding of software concepts.
Talent pools
Talent pools are a buzzword in the recruitment process and have been for some time, particularly, it seems, in the IT sector. A talent pool is widely defined as a database which consists of profiles of candidates who, for want of a better expression, could effectively fill the boots of any of your current employees.
Larger IT organisations have been creating talent pools for quite some time and the trend is now trickling down into smaller IT companies and startups. The idea is that whilst Microsoft might not need an app developer today, it might do next month. By constantly creating relationships with potentials employees and putting them into a ‘talent pool’, companies are effective ‘always recruiting’. Then when a vacancy does arrive, they have a pool of talent already at their disposal. In the consistently fluctuating world of IT, having fresh talent at your disposal is likely to prove advantageous.
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