Guide:
The lively Spring Festival of the Year of the Dog is gradually drifting away. In the past, the Spring Festival used to be a new job-hopping season. Under what circumstances should you jump? What are the hot trends in IT, and which positions, occupations, and work styles are being left out? This article can be said to be the guidance and advice given by the world's top HR think tanks.
We've seen some changes in hiring this year as the technology matures, new technologies emerge, and companies reduce costs by combining full-time IT staff with contract workers.
Some see the gig economy as a flexible new way of working, a way to appeal to independent entrepreneurs, while others see it as a general consequence of the Great Recession. Regardless, the gig economy is going through growing pains. According to a report from Intuit, 40% of the workforce is expected to be part of it by 2020.
One thing hasn't changed this year: Hiring top talent remains difficult for most companies, with demand vastly outstripping supply. This affects many areas of our research, including compensation and retention.
Whether you're looking to expand your team or looking for a job of your own, read on to see which recruiting methods are hot and which are falling behind.
Hot: Flexible Workplaces
Some experts and studies show workplace flexibility is on the rise even for companies that want full-time employees to work from headquarters.
"The ability to squeeze in a day or two to work from home, a coffee shop, or a longer vacation is on the rise," said Jeb Ory, CEO of Phone2Action in Washington, D.C. "Companies need offices because of the fluidity of technology. A combination of office and flexible remote work.”
In the tech industry, remote work was an expectation in 2017, said Lynette Estrada, director of global talent acquisition at Nutanix.
"We've seen workplace flexibility become a major trend in the tech industry, both in IT and in every other role," Estrada said. At her own company, “employees and their managers are encouraged to discuss flexible working hours, including working from home during the week, or leaving early with outside commitments,” Estrada said. The goal, she says, is to achieve a greater work-life balance, which can help maintain and avoid burnout.
Unpopular: Full-time remote work
While workplace flexibility, including working in branch offices, is on the rise, full remoteness is less common. High-profile companies like IBM, Yahoo, Reddit, and Hewlett-Packard all pull employees back to the office unless certain employees have special job needs.
"When it comes to IT recruiting, we're seeing a trend of building a 100 percent full-time workforce," Ory said. "Software companies focus on building teams to address the various technical and product needs they need, and building trust is a key element of a high-performing team, and that trust comes from close, day-to-day contact."
Clearly, an office-based way of working is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Some companies report increased productivity with a fully distributed workforce. Staff turnover, one-off projects and some special short-term needs continue to require suppliers who are sometimes on-site, but often working remotely, to rapidly adopt the best talent.
"There needs to be a balance," said Colin Doherty, CEO of Fuze, a company that makes audio and video tools for cloud-based communication collaboration. By looking at people's screens, and other visual cues, leaders have objective evidence of who's involved in what's work and who's there when." "For businesses, the real challenge is not whether employees need to Office work, but how to encourage employee engagement wherever they are.”
Hot: Mixed Workforce/Flexible Hiring
Hybrid IT teams provide a standard baseline of full-time employees with the option to add or dismiss vendors as needed.
According to CompTIA's 2017 Cyberstates report, in the near future, teams of full-time IT staff and vendors or temporary workers will undergo digital transformation. "New elements are expected to reshape the concept of a hybrid workforce," the report said. "In addition to mixing different types of workers together through 'gig' platforms, convergence is likely to increasingly involve artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual assistants and Use of other types of knowledge-based systems."
Outsourcing software vendor SenecaGlobal CEO Ed Szofer said he sees more hybrid models, including with offshore IT outsourcing teams. "This addresses the technical skills shortage and provides businesses with a stable and flexible source of world-class technical talent."
Unpopular: Gig economy hyped
Both employers and job seekers report that the contract job market is very active. The gig economy is going through an awkward phase.
"The gig economy continues to disrupt the concept of traditional business models and the industry as a whole," said Daisy Hernandez, vice president of global product management at SAP. Larger, more established companies are looking at how to reap some of the benefits of economic transformation and experimenting or evaluating how to incorporate them into new business areas. However, there are some sobering realities about the challenges and shortcomings of the gig economy.
While there are advantages in recruiting, speed and scale, there are also obvious disadvantages, such as a lack of benefits and career development, among other less obvious issues.
“Companies built on the gig economy model also face challenges such as constantly training new suppliers, scheduling logistics, and inconsistent availability and quality,” she said. and work, the jury is still out.”
Hot: Soft Skills
According to executives, analysts and recruiters, candidates' technical abilities dominate the IT industry, while soft skills are in greater demand.
"Soft skills" are "the most important trend in recruiting," says SenecaGlobal's Szofer. “For computer science graduates and certificate holders, professional skills are indeed required. However, savvy companies hiring must be able to communicate clearly, listen carefully, and be a strong team player.
John Pollak, a vice president of people and talent for the security industry, has some advice for hiring managers: "Look out for roles and skills," he says. “In a startup, every employee has a huge impact. We help people build skills, but character and attitude are hard to change.”
Unpopular: Perks You Don't Need
Because companies are having trouble recruiting and retaining top talent, some companies spruce up their job listings by throwing in fancy perks. But that probably won't help.
“The pain is especially acute in hot tech areas like Seattle and the Bay Area, where companies are falling prey to short-term thinking,” said Manny Medina, CEO of Seattle-based Outreach. "They're trying to attract star players by offering crazy packages, but it's dangerous in the long run. You're going to have all kinds of problems that, over time, can lead to team dissatisfaction.
Some of the experts interviewed for this article pointed out that employees want meaning at work, not institutionalized “fun.” “HR needs to focus on the purpose of communication, not just providing perks.” Eighty percent of employees aren’t doing their dream job.
Hot: Jobs in Security
Despite high-profile security attacks, many companies remain unprepared. Still, there are far more job openings than security specialists.
Safety is a top concern for all companies. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of security staff, so finding security staff is a challenge.
Jason Hayman of TEKsystems said this year he saw increased demand for Python, Ruby and Java developers, as well as professionals in information security.
"Testing new applications in real-time and being able to integrate security testing into the process speeds the market," Hayman said, "helping organizations that see faster growth respond and expand demand."
Unpopular: Actual Job Security
Some of the best-known tech companies have the shortest tenures, including Facebook, Uber and Amazon, all under two years, according to Payscale's survey of tech industry salaries.
That said, they're also likely to be the most motivated hires, which Payscale notes contributes to job transitions, better pay and opportunities, rather than depletion.
But jobs fell slightly across all industries, from 4.6 to 4.2 years, said Dan Schawbel, head of research at WorkplaceTrends, a human resources research firm. "That is, if you start a job, you're going to be there for an average of four years." Twenty-two percent of employees plan to change jobs this year.
Hot: Skill Updates
In employee surveys, job seekers report that one of the most desirable job benefits is being able to pursue personal career development at the company.
According to a report by Execu Search Group, more than half of respondents cited opportunities for career advancement as their top reason for accepting a job. Nearly 60% said that "getting programs that help them achieve skills refresh" will help retain existing employees.
“Employees want to feel that the company is investing in them, but they also want to feel that the company is investing in their future,” said Sarah Lahav, CEO of SysAid, a maker of IT service management software. “Even when employees leave the company. , it is also very important to offer continuing education or professional courses.”
Unpopular: Hiring from outside the company
Skills gap requirements are not going away anytime soon, and positions in security and data science are getting harder to fill.
According to PwC, employers typically require three to five years of work experience and a university degree for analytical roles. However, people with education, interests, and experience are tight relative to demand, so it's good to come up with a few strategies to get the talent you want. "
Gartner recommends using competitions such as hackathons to discover talent and develop the diversity of existing employees.
According to a Gartner report, a "multi-purpose list" is the equivalent of a theater company's multi-faceted actors. "They've played different roles in multiple productions at the same time, whether it's a lead role, a supporting role, or a behind-the-scenes role, and they've been able to perform well in every show."
Hot: Bringing in talent from Silicon Valley
What TV shows are to baseball is what Silicon Valley is to the IT industry. But recent trends suggest that innovation and technology hubs popping up across the country are funding the Bay Area.
According to Hired.com's 2017 Global State of Tech Salary, "Cities like Austin, Melbourne, Seattle and Toronto are increasingly attractive places for tech workers after adjusting for the cost of living in San Francisco. .” In Austin, the average annual salary for a software engineer is $110K. But when you factor in the difference in the cost of living between the two cities, that's the equivalent of making $800,000 in San Francisco.
In a place like Austin, money will go further, and tech companies will be more willing to bring in out-of-town candidates than companies in California. Austin-based companies are particularly willing to place the right talent, with more than 60 percent of jobs available to people outside of Austin. By comparison, only 30 percent of San Francisco Bay Area companies offer non-local candidates.
Unpopular: Finding Top Talent
Across the country, tech companies and other industries that rely on IT talent say they can't find qualified candidates to quickly fill their needs. "When in-demand candidates enter the recruiting market, they are often snapped up at lightning speed," reports the Robert Half 2017 Technology Salary Guide. "The IT professionals they want to hire may already be interviewing several other companies -- or considering multiple offers."
“It’s a war for talent,” says WorkplaceTrends’ Schawbel. “It’s a matter of rising wages and companies retaining employees.” “It’s a mix of these, and that’s why wages are growing. The talent gap is widening. 60% of businesses Unable to find skilled candidates.
Hot: AI-based recruiting
Any job seeker, they'll tell you it's easier than ever to apply for multiple positions. With just one click, your resume and job samples will be sent. But hiring managers and recruiters say they're inundated with apps, and recruiters find it hard to distinguish the data.
“There has been a marked increase in the number of contingency-based recruiting services, and the explosion of online services has also been a significant source of employment opportunities,” Ory said. “We are now seeing more resumes, and the onus is on them to move to based on actual job requirements. Candidates are vetted in front of employers. "
Recruiters are using applied algorithms and machine learning to help find the right candidates. AI can help replicate successful job offers, bypassing candidates who are unsuitable for certain positions.
In addition to training good candidates, an AI-powered recruiter can use natural language understanding to answer candidate questions, provide candidates with updates, and even schedule interviews.
Unpopular: The Slowly Obsolete Recruiting Experience
Human resources firm Robert Half reports that 57% of respondents think the most frustrating thing about a job search is the long wait after an interview to see if they have been offered the job. About 70% of respondents said they lost interest in the position if they didn't reply after two weeks.
Hiring managers are also suffering, according to the report. An IT technician takes about 4 1/2 weeks to fill, and more than 40% of technical leaders say that is too long.
"They are exposed to skills testing and assessment skills more than any other recruiting technology in their job search, but it's also the technology they least want to see in the future," according to WorkplaceTrends' Future of Hiring research report.
About 70% of employers plan to invest more in a candidate's experience.
Hot: Increase compensation for talent
According to the Institute for Human Resource Management (US), workers' compensation nationwide is expected to increase by around 3% this year.
Despite rising wages, most people are open to new opportunities. According to StackOverflow, about 75% of developers are eyeing their next job. When hiring managers find it difficult to fill vacancies, wages rise to meet demand.
"From a talent standpoint, the biggest challenge for companies right now is retention," Schawbel said. "It's getting harder and harder to keep people, so you have to have a more competitive salary and benefits. become more important."
Unpopular: Gender and Racial Diversity
When it comes to job opportunities, it's no surprise that millennials have an edge. Those between the ages of 25 and 30 get the most job opportunities. After age 45, both average wages and the number of jobs decline. After the age of 50, most IT professionals see a significant drop in salary in line with their experience.
So what about gender and racial diversity?
According to the National Center for Women and Information Technology, women make up less than a third of tech workers. As of 2016, only about 20 percent of CIO positions were held by women.
Here's a snapshot of racial diversity: The most recent U.S. Census report shows that only 7% of IT staff are African-American, compared to 11% of the entire workforce.
Hispanic workers make up 7% of the IT workforce, and the overall workforce makes up 16% of the total workforce. Asian IT workers fared better, at about 18%, and the overall Asian workforce was 6%. About 70% of IT workers are white (76% of workers).
“Gender diversity, racial diversity and generational conflict are all big topics in Silicon Valley,” Schawbel said. “We still see a lack of diversity, despite the evidence that a more diverse workforce creates more productivity and creativity. Companies change very slowly. There is no public evidence that they do much of it.