Although I’m not a recruiter per se, I have led over a thousand interviews. With almost every role I looked for in IT, I have encountered challenges and difficulties.
Some of those IT roles are the following:
- Software engineers
- Project managers
- Copywriters
- Digital Marketers
- Recruiters
- Sales Reps
Let’s go over some of the challenges we face when looking for those who can fill these roles.
Companies compete for top software engineers. The A-players in this field are the ones being chased, not the other way around.
With scarce resources but continuous growth in companies, the demand continues to soar resulting in the tight availability of top engineers. On top of these challenges is the fact that most engineers switch to becoming managers, trainees, starting their own companies, or consulting.
Another challenging role to hire for is that of project manager. Turning to MBA graduates with no experience to fill the roles of project managers will not be very helpful.
Managers often exist in varying contextual situations. Due diligence is needed when gauging a great fit as it can be very costly if you fail to do so.
Copywriters are also difficult to find. Most writers sell themselves as a wordsmith along with other fancy self-proclaimed definitions but you rarely find those who do not commit basic grammar mistakes or stylistic dysfunctions. Copywriting also comes with prerequisites, such as familiarity and experience with Search Engine Optimization, writing sales pages, or writing for niche pages.
Looking for digital marketers can also be very challenging because most marketers either came from traditional, offline marketing (so they may lack digital skills), or they only have basic B2C marketing experience. Most of them gained experience through running a small eCommerce retail shop that sells clothing or jewelry.
The ones who have B2B experience are even harder to find, especially if you look for someone who has knowledge in setting and measuring KPIs. These problems are common across other niches.
It is also not easy to hire recruiters. Even if recruiters pass the basics of hiring, there is a need for recruiters to understand the dynamics of a business, which necessitates some basic aptitude.
These folks don’t just fill jobs; they’re key players in building the team to drive a company’s success. But finding a recruiter who gets the nuts and bolts of a job and also really understands a business’s heart and soul—that’s where it gets tricky.
Sure, a recruiter needs to know the basics: how to spot a good resume, run an interview, and check if someone’s got the skills for the job. But that’s not all. A great recruiter has to have a good gut feeling for people, making calls on who will fit into the team and who won’t. They also need to be able to pick up on the unwritten vibes of a company—its culture—and find people who will thrive there.
Sales Reps make it to the list.
Successfully hiring a sales rep in-house is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, endeavors. None of those we hired back in 2018 and the years before that managed to get us even “close” to closing a sales deal.
We have also lost a few of our inbound leads. In terms of IT, I can only name two or three technical salespeople who can confidently hit and even exceed their quotas.
