Interview – Insights into recruitment in the I.T. Industry

Chris is working at LHC International for almost 2 years, and he is Managing Consultant I.T. with a team of 4 people. 

We wanted to know more about his career path and to get his point of view about recruitment in the I.T. industry.

CHRISTIAN

Can you tell me more about your career path?

When I was 16, I did a traineeship to become an insurance and finance salesman in Berlin.

I started working right after as an insurance adviser and salesman and I continued my career in sales in different companies for 5 years.

Can you explain your daily work? What is your job as a managing consultant in the I.T. industry?

My job is to connect the right people with each other.

As a consultant, I am in contact every day with both clients and candidates looking for the perfect team.

I talk daily with our current and new clients about their needs, open vacancies, and how I can help them find profiles that fit their company.

As an experienced consultant in my area, I also discuss a lot with them about innovations and news in the tech industry. This is a constantly changing market and I need to keep myself informed as much as I can to help them.

With candidates, I feel more like an advisor. It is important for me to really understand what their dream jobs and companies are. I need to understand which challenges there are facing and which career path they wish to follow.

Then I can connect what would be according to me the best candidate(s) for x or x company.

I find it important to only connect profiles and companies that would fit together.

What do you like about recruitment in the I.T. industry?

I am in contact every day with candidates willing to find new opportunities. I know how complicated and challenging it can be for some candidates to search for a job, do interviews, and send resumes…

What I love about my job, is the gratitude of the candidates, when we managed to find their dream job and dream company. I feel very proud!

THE I.T. INDUSTRY

What are the challenges for recruitment in the I.T. industry and your team?

The actual I.T. market is saturated. They are more open vacancies than qualified professionals, the market is extremely competitive.

With a market evolving constantly and digitalisation in all aspects of our lives, finding the right candidate(s) for a company with the right expertise, experience and skills is a challenge. Not only for my team at LHC but for the whole industry. This is the reason why our clients need our help to find new employees.

Our world relies much more on technology today than 10 years ago and we are lacking developers, software engineers, etc. We do not train or push young people enough to follow this exciting career path.

Expectations of I.T. candidates also changed. With more jobs than candidates, they can choose where they want to work, and they want to work for companies that share their values. High salaries, fruits or other benefits are not enough anymore. It became complicated for companies to stay competitive.

What are the most demanded skills for I.T. professionals?

The I.T. industry is very dependent on hard skills; this is the most important. PHP, JavaScript or any other scripting language or I.T. knowledge is a must. For infrastructures, candidates with cloud experience are very wanted. I.T. security is also becoming increasingly important.

Concerning soft skills, companies are looking for people that can fit into their companies. Friendly and team-minded people for example. Other soft skills can be learned at work.

One important aspect for candidates is also their will to keep learning. They must know about the last industry news and trends, and they must be open-minded and curious.

Why do your clients need your help to find talents?

As explained in the question above, the competition to find I.T. talents is very competitive and our clients are struggling to find the right profiles.

We can say that I am the company’s business card.

Due to my experience in I.T. and recruitment, I gathered a good network of professionals.

Many I.T. talents are not actively looking for a new position and they often avoid any contact with recruiters. It can then be very difficult for our clients or other recruiters to get in contact with them. But they know me, and my team and they trust us. They know that if we call them, it is because we found a company and a position that would fit their requirements and expectations.

It is easier for a company to cooperate with LHC as we have a strong knowledge of the industry and a strong and serious network that knows and trusts us.

What are the solutions for companies to find talent? What are the expectations of candidates in tech?

Companies now need to show a real interest in the candidates. Not only in their hard skills but also in their personal life. They also need to listen to what they really want.

Because of the evolution of technology, companies need to work hand in hand with their I.T. team to understand where their needs are, and which training or evolution is important for them.

I also think that companies who want to hire I.T. talents need to be different from other companies. As said previously, the basic Fruit-Gym-Benefit package doesn’t work anymore. The expectations of candidates changed, mostly since covid.

They want to have the flexibility and remote work possibilities. They also want to share similar values and interests and find meaning in their work. They are also looking for leaders and managers who will push and develop their potential and promote them internally.

Candidates can almost choose where they want to work, so it is important to work with them to respond to their wishes and not to the ones of the recruiters.

But of course, all expectations depend on the products, the technologies and the purpose of the company.

The interview was conducted by Margaux Sauvage – Marketing Manager at LHC International.

Are you interested in a career in Tech, or are you looking for new opportunities in this industry? Are you interested in recruitment in the I.T. industry? CONTACT US. Our consultant will call you back to advise you on your career possibilities in the I.T. industry.