This Is Recruiting: Is Tech Recruiting A Sales Or A Marketing Role?

Talent Assessment > This Is Recruiting > Recruitment Marketing

CSG’s Senior Global TA Manager Kimberly Haught loves being part of the tech recruitment industry. On most days, that is. She says she didn’t really identify with the early days of her career when she was given a database similar to every recruiter, and had to do a certain ‘number’ of cold calls every single day.

According to Kimberly, this process with its lack of focus and targeted brand messaging, and zero emphasis on candidate experience is NOT how one should be looking to hire the best tech talent out there.

In the decade and half that Kimberly has been in the industry, she has managed to build a formidable personal brand around herself. She says she did this by thinking like a marketer, and not just as a recruiter.

We caught up with Kimberly to understand how others in the business can do the same for themselves (you can check out the entire conversation here). An hour later, we were three stellar tips richer on how to build a personal brand in the TA world and how it can benefit the company you are associated with.

Let us distill Kimberly’s wisdom for you in three easily digestible nuggets:

#1. Understand why you need a ‘personal brand’

There was a time when developers took up jobs only because it paid well or would add to their work ex. Today, Gen Z coders are more aware of a company’s ‘karma points’ than the ones before them. They are cognizant of a company’s values, and this is an important factor for them deciding to take up an offer.

As a tech recruiter, you are the face of the company you represent. However, you are also a person with a core set of values. Kimberly says it is important for TA specialists to talk about the values they personally espouse, and which; by extrapolation, also echo the values of the companies they work for.

This makes it easier for tech talent to make the decision. If they are talking to a recruiter with the same values as them, chances are the company they represent would be a similar match.

It also makes it easier for recruiters to hire when they change companies. The tech talent you hired, or interacted with, earlier already knows you for your values, and for the work you do. Hence, when you reach out to them again for a new role, they are that much more likely to respond.

#2. Stop being a reactionary recruiter

Think of yourself as a talent magnet, says Kimberly. Loosely translated, become a person developers would love to be connected with. Don’t begin your engagement process only after an open role lands on your desk demanding to be filled. Understand the business inside out, research which geographies work better for hiring, speak with hiring managers to predict future needs.

Think of this in marketing parlance. Every company tries hard to keep its ‘brand recall’ high, so that customers are attracted to its products of their own volition. As a recruiting specialist, you need to ensure that your ‘brand recall’ is always high. Interacting with your company’s marketing team to align on social and branding strategies is also a great idea, says Kim. She gives the example of the #TuesdayTips social posts she started creating in collaboration with CSG’s corporate marketing team, which has been hugely successful in helping developers notice her as a ‘friend’ of the community.

Wondering how to engage with developers? Here’s what we learnt from our hackathons in 2020

#3. Own your seat at the table

If as a recruiter, all you are doing is hunting an elusive ‘candidate persona’ which your boss asked you to, then you need to change this process asap.

Gone are the days when recruiters were handed an open role and asked to fill it ‘at the earliest’ without any understanding of the actual requirements. Kimberly advises that recruiters be in constant touch with the leadership and understand the actual skillset they are looking for – what’s good to have, what’s not, and how a person like that could fit in with the company’s growth plans.

Recruiters are the ones with their ear to the ground, and who are most attuned to changing asks in the developer community. It’s important for them to be a part of the decision making process, and to lead the tech hiring journey from the forefront. Remember, top talent is ALWAYS in demand. So, the faster you begin to change age-old hiring practices at your workplace, the better your chances of roping in the best.

Check out the full episode here:

Kumari Trishya Author 49 Blogs