The most common HRM challenges an IT recruiter seems to face is the limited knowledge of technology. Given that the candidates an IT recruiter screens on a daily basis, with knowledge about the current tech happenings, isn’t a cake walk. Especially for recruiters who come from communications or sales background, which is the case for most recruiters. There are hardly those who choose to change their field of work after engineering or are curious about the backend technology. For those of you who fall into the former category, here are 11 things IT recruiter should know to up your game in tech recruitment.

Mentioned below are some of the things IT recruiters should know before taking up recruitment – 

1) Ask for help

Yes, of course! And reading this article also implies that you are seeking help. But here, we mean you must go out and talk to the Subject Matter Experts about a role that you might have close to zero understanding about. The idea is for you to understand the tech concept well enough to not forget it for a long time. And only the experts can help you with that, understand the tech jargons in the form of stories, which will help you in keeping your memory strong on those concepts.

2) Learn from your candidates

When talking to a candidate about technologies you have little knowledge about, have the candidates applying for those roles, explain them to you. If the candidate is able to explain their technical skills to someone who is a tech ignorant, there are good chances that this candidate has the ability to knock the socks off your hiring manager as well. But don’t take our word for it, if you are really a tech illiterate then you might end up being fooled 😛 and in that case, you always have our good wishes to become a great IT recruiter 🙂

3) Join a social tech group

One of the easiest ways to learn from the best is by reaching out to the techies online. Get your way into the right social tech groups which you can easily find on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other popular sites. There are also specific tech fresher groups that you can be a part of, before getting on those calls with your candidates.

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4) Instruction videos 

In 2015, “how to……” was one of the most popular searches on Google. These searches led the user to YouTube where you will find multiple instruction videos. This can be a valuable asset to recruiters since you can learn and can make all the difference in comprehending technologies under 5 minutes. So go ahead and look up those exhausting IT recruitment terms on Google and train how you can fill those empty chairs for your clients.

5) Broaden your horizon

Once you have gained some experience in recruiting IT candidates, most recruiter finds their “niche” technology or position that they want to specialize in. It’s the technology that they understand the best or have a strong hold on picking the right candidates for. But don’t stop there and get out of your comfort zone! Continue to gain knowledge on new technologies that you don’t have the best grasp on, it will give you access to new opportunities for your candidates and yourself. Basically, be a jack of all trades. 

6) Strong sales skills

Recruitment requires selling. If you haven’t figured it out yet or if you disagree, you aren’t doing recruitment right. Not only do recruiters need to sell their clients (internal or external) to the candidates, but also have to convince the candidates about how the role is the right opportunities for them. So along with working on the tech skills, our advice is, you must also skill yourself with some sales tactics. It will take you a long way in IT recruitment and eventually with those closures. 

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7) Relationship building

Don’t be one of those recruiters who calls candidates out of an old directory and parrots the same pitch to one candidate after the other. If you are really interested in acing the recruitment game, then pull up your socks and get your professional relationship game strong. Given the growing social media circuit, it’s fairly easy to track your candidates and find out who they are and what they like. No, this is not stalking! This is knowing your candidates enough to be sure of which client would fit into their career goals best. It’s a win-win for all when your candidate and client find the right match in each other and your targets meet that perfect mark. Now that’s how you become a great IT recruiter.

8) Hunter’s mentality

Most recruiters are nicknamed as hunters since they are always on a lookout for the right target that would match their clients’ need. For you to be an ace IT recruiter, you are required to know your candidates well enough. Break out of the same old Monster and Naukri routine searches and get on cold callings, social media, boolean search and other niche networks to find those gems that are above ordinary. That is the only way to find candidates who are better than the others. 

9) Strong follow-up skills

This skill is a life changer. Not only will a strong follow-up make sure your candidates never forget you and your interview slots, but this will help you go a long way in your other aspects of life. Great follow-up comes with persistence, it’s knowing that if you consistently reach out to your set of candidates there is no way they won’t consider you important. This has been a problem with most recruiters I know, that the candidates don’t seem to give them the kind of attention one must to a recruiter. Strong follow-ups are the only way to build on the required rapport with the candidates and be a great IT recruiter for most parts. 

10) Be a consultant

Recruitment is an art which requires skills that can only be learned with experiences. In your case, since you are reading this blog, you are going to be skilled at the end of this article. However, my point is that you need to bring more to the table for both your candidates and clients. One of the ways of doing that is by being their advisor and not a mediator. You are hired to get a job done, the same job that you do every day and that should make you a go-to for those of who don’t have a better understanding of the current recruitment markets. You are no basic recruiter, you are an expert in the IT recruitment field. Use those skills to advise your candidates on what would be the right job for them, or to your clients by consulting them on who would be a better pick out of those shortlisted. 

11) Think of the bigger picture

Just because the candidate you called is not the right fit for the role in question, doesn’t mean he will be jobless all his life. You as a recruiter need to think of the bigger picture always. If you have a good candidate, you will also have a relevant opening for him/her, if not now, maybe sometime in the future. To be a rockstar IT recruiter, you have to keep your own directory in place to fit the right candidate into their apt roles.  
So here you have all the tips that you might need to know while you are aiming at acing your recruitment game. It’s not going to be easy, or something that you can do overnight. It is a process that needs to become a habit for you to call yourself a Rockstar IT Recruiter. 
If you or anyone you know is looking for a place to explore recruitment skills then take another one of my advice and find your way to SutraHR. Call: 87 67 427 427 or just drop in your resume at careers@sutrahr.com