Savvy recruiters know that it can take 30-45 days to recruit a qualified tech candidate from job distribution to candidate onboarding. So, if you have a critical need for a new technology project or need urgent cloud talent for project migration then you’ll definitely miss your deadlines if you don’t have a robust pipeline ready. Most often than not, your time-to-hire and cost-to-hire metrics would go down the hill.

Especially with the market becoming more candidate oriented when it comes to sourcing talent for niche roles like data scientists, machine learning engineers, blockchain professionals, artificial intelligence engineers, it has become really important for companies to have a pipeline of passive tech talent ready. These are candidates who can hit the ground running from day one and implement the project within the defined timeline.

4 Effective Strategies to Prepare a Pipeline of Ready-to-Deploy Talent

If you are a technology company looking to meet its hiring needs then these 4 strategies can help you prepare a decent pipeline of tech talent.

1) Use Diverse Sourcing Platforms

Most of the recruiters turn to their database or LinkedIn when searching for technology candidates. While the traditional process is effective its time consuming as filtering the best candidate out of hundreds of applicants is tiresome. Using diverse sourcing platforms not only expands your reach it also gives you access to candidates who are not available on traditional channels like job boards and social media.

• Tech Platforms for IT Professionals: Use platforms like GitHub and Dribble to find the best developers for different job roles. These platforms give you a great idea about a candidate’s skill-set.
• Internal Employee Networks: Utilize your internal employee networks and reward them for giving qualified referrals for open job orders.
• Start-up Networks: Use platforms like Angel List to find the best technology candidates who are willing to work in the start-up environment. Target these candidates with email and social media campaigns.
• Technology Forums: Make sure you look for the candidates with the most right answers on tech forums like Stack Overflow and Techspot.

2) Get Access to Pre-screened Talent Pools

Many IT recruitment agencies and hiring platforms give you access to pre-screened talent pools for different tech roles at a certain price. These candidates have been vetted for technical knowledge and project experience and are available to hire on a project basis. Interested companies can get direct access through VMS to these external talent pools which are segmented according to job roles. So if you need a pool of data scientists and AI engineers for your next project you can always tie-up with these talent platforms or IT staffing companies.

3) Use Powerful Sourcing Tools to Target Relevant Candidates

As candidate search has evolved with time so has the sourcing tools. These are some of the powerful tools that can really help you speed up your search for the best candidates.

• Aevy: A smart little tool, Aevy can automate your sourcing for a designated job role in no time. Just specify the job role, finalize the email outreach templates, specify a time-frame and let Aevy take care of the rest. Many top IT recruitment agencies are already using Aevy to hire the best talent for their clients.
• Talent Dome: Community of more than 90,000 professionals, TalentDome lets you self-source diverse talent by using targeted referral campaigns. The platform uses artificial intelligence to match the right candidates, choose the right channels, and send customized campaigns based on user behavior.
• People Search: A chrome extension, People Search can help you find any candidate present on different social channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). By deep diving into the candidate’s online footprint, it can make their complete digital profiles highlighting their email, resume, social network usage, etc.

If you don’t have the budget to hire an IT staffing company then utilizing these sourcing tools would be a good alternative.

4) Make Optimum Use of Offline Channels

Make sure you attend every conference and event related to your industry and targeted job role. If possible, try to showcase your employer brand using these offline channels. Candidates are most likely to trust you if they meet you in person. Join local meet-up groups in different locations to extend your reach and prepare training programs in collaboration with non-profits in your area.

While traditional mediums like job boards and social media are here to stay, if you are looking to prepare a passive pipeline then you’ll have to widen your search using these strategies. Whether you are an IT recruitment agency looking to hire for its clients or technology firm looking to self-source, these strategies will surely produce positive results.

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