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Finding the right talent is challenging. That’s why companies frequently work alongside a recruiter to source the best candidates to fill their open positions. Recruiters are experts in finding talent for open roles, which can help make the hiring process more efficient and successful. However, when does a company need a technical recruiter vs. a standard recruiter? And what even is a technical recruiter? Keep reading to find out.
Definitions: Recruiter vs. Technical Recruiter
Generally, the main goal of a recruiter is to source job candidates to fill vacant job positions. Recruiters can work internally at a company or as a third-party that works for multiple clients. Responsibilities of a recruiter commonly include but are not limited to…
Recruiters are trained and capable of filling a wide variety of typical job roles. Examples of jobs that recruiters may fill include a marketing director, a school guidance counselor, project manager, and human resource coordinator.
Technical recruiters have nearly identical responsibilities to standard recruiters. The difference is that technical recruiters specialize in sourcing job candidates for “technical roles”. These roles are usually in the technology and engineering fields.
Examples of jobs technical recruiters may source candidates for include a DevOps engineer, salesforce developer, cloud architect, and front-end engineer. If you need help finding a technical recruiter, check out our blog on five tips for finding the right staffing expert.
Though the responsibilities between standard recruiters and technical recruiters are very similar, there are numerous benefits when working with a technical recruiter. Discover all the advantages in the next section.
One of the greatest perks of working with a technical recruiter is their knowledge of the technology industry. Since the job roles within tech are often specific and complex, it is conducive to have someone with a tech background on the hiring team to guide the search. It is common for technical recruiters to have been a technology or engineering employee at one point and then switch to a career in technical recruiting since they have the background. Below is a list of advantages that come from partnering with a technical recruiter.
Identifying Relevant Experience
Working with a recruiter is valuable but offers little benefit if the recruiter does not know what to look for in a candidate. For example, a non-technical recruiter might think a software developer would be a good fit for a software engineering position when this is not always the case. Though the job roles contain similarities, they are not interchangeable due to their different responsibilities and required skills. A technical recruiter knows that a software engineer offers wider strategic experience with the ability to see the bigger picture while a software developer offers domain-specific experience to deliver against set requirements. Conversely, a technical recruiter can recognize work experiences that will be transferable and helpful should the candidate get the job. Ultimately, increasing the odds that the hire will be successful for both the new employee and the company.
Asking Pertinent Interview Questions
Interviews are a valuable method of understanding a job candidate’s personality experience, skills, and more. However, if the recruiter does not know when to probe and dig deeper into a topic or does not know which questions to ask to see if the candidate is knowledgeable in a particular area, the interview will be a waste of time. Technical recruiters know what to ask in order to get the information their clients need to make informed decisions.
For example, a standard recruiter might know they are supposed to ask the candidate which coding languages they are comfortable using. However, a technical recruiter is able to probe deeper and is better able to assess proficiency of the candidate’s depth of skill and capabilities. So, if a candidate expresses experience in PHP, a technical recruiter is equipped to ask follow-up questions such as experience with relevant skills like Ajax, jQuery, and MySQL.
A Curated Professional Network
Recruiters have vast professional networks since they are constantly communicating with job seekers, individuals who are open to work, companies with vacancies, etc. Technical recruiters also have substantial professional networks, but theirs are tailored more specifically towards the technology industry. This means they already have access to top talent and relationships with leaders within the tech sectors or technology departments at companies, which they utilize to provide their clients with job candidates.
Informative and Helpful Job Descriptions
Most job postings are not very good. Sometimes the description is one giant block of text that makes it challenging to pick out important information. Other times, the posting is too vague, so job seekers do not know what the position will entail. Or maybe the job posting is outdated, contains inaccurate information, or doesn’t include vital details. All this can lead to an inadequate applicant pool.
Technical recruiters understand the value of an expertly crafted job posting and can work with their clients to create the description. Since tech jobs are highly intricate and require particular skills, it is crucial to include all pertinent information and requirements in the job description in order to receive optimal candidates. Technical recruiters can help pinpoint which information is necessary to include, as well as providing insight into what details job seekers want and need to know, how to format and communicate the posting, deciding on the tone, where to feature the listing/distribution, and more.
Correct Industry Terminology
The technology field is packed with jargon. Understanding and being able to use the correct vocabulary is essential when hiring in the tech industry. Technical recruiters are able to use this jargon and can clearly communicate with candidates to ensure alignment with experience, skills, and requirements. They can also answer and ask in-depth questions. Traditional recruiters probably will not possess the necessary knowledge to properly talk with candidates about the job position and the candidates’ previous work experiences.
Technical recruiters have numerous advantages over standard recruiters when it comes to filling a technology position. These include their ability to identify candidates’ relevant experiences, ask pertinent interview questions, use their curated network of professionals, create useful and accurate job descriptions, and understand and utilize industry jargon. Technical recruiters are an invaluable asset when hiring for a tech role, and can provide hiring teams with quality candidates and guidance.
eNamix is here to assist you with your recruitment needs. If you have any questions or want to discuss a job requisition, contact info@enamix.com to set-up a consultation with one of our senior account managers.
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