Dive Brief:
- Job candidates today are in the driver's seat, and nowhere is that more obvious than in technology. According to a new survey, 32% of technology employers are willing to offer a 10-15% higher starting salary to land top talent.
- The survey, "Tech Trends: IT Leaders and the Employment Market," conducted by Modis, polled CTOs, CIOs, presidents, directors, managers, engineers and HR leader, also found that 28% of tech employers said work experiences and certifications are more important than education when evaluating a candidate.
- Perhaps the toughest challenge tech leaders face is that they know skilled talent benefits from a wide range of opportunities — but employers value loyalty. For example, those surveyed who worked in technology for a decade or more see average tenure of less than one year most negatively (56%). And participants under age 25 view it less negatively (32%) than those age 55 – 64 (50%).
Dive Insight:
Jack Cullen, president of Modis, explains that the very low unemployment rate (2.6%) in the tech sector says it all: employers have to do what it takes to land talent. Today's technology employers have to keep an open mind when it comes to negotiating salary and benefits — and perhaps the time each applicant spends at previous jobs, as well.
But it does reflect an interesting conundrum found in other industries, too. A longer tenure tends to indicate the professional attributes that employers look for, yet millennials are notorious for job-hopping to gather better experience and get those promotions. Recruiters will need to keep both sides in mind when interviewing potential candidates to discern why a potential strong hire changed jobs so often, for example.