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Screening now: The great technology talent show

Technology Talent Show by Quest

By some reports, hiring (and keeping) competent information technology talent has never been so difficult.

To an extent, technology talent struggles vary in degree according to industry subsector and location. Cybersecurity, for instance, faces particularly intense shortages of much-needed experts. Some expect one million cybersecurity job openings this year, and even demand for entry-level cybersecurity slots, like information security analysts, is projected to climb by 37% over the next six years.

Other technology talent is in high demand, too, notably those with skills in big data, cloud computing, mobile app development, and software engineering.

Technology staffing pain

The pain of demand exceeding supply is broadly felt, as rising tech salaries reflect. Average U.S. technology salaries increased 7.7% year-over-year in 2015 — the largest jump ever recorded — and almost 40% of tech professionals intend to change jobs this year.

The demand such figures reflect shows no sign of abating, either.

Partly, of course, that’s because, across all sectors and sizes, organizations eager to stay competitive are hurrying to build out their technology infrastructures and ramp up key technological capabilities. The result: technology talent shortfalls continue even though trend and fad-driven hotspots tend to shift from one specialty capability to another.

In addition, the skills required to do these jobs are themselves continually evolving as these technologies get put to new uses that in turn spawn novel tools and business opportunities. Someone with the right skills today may be behind the curve in a year or two.

The importance of technical screening

This means the technical screening of candidates — whether for fulltime, direct hires or contractors on a particular project or even for an emergency — is critically important.

If you’ve ever heard of the Dunning-Kruger Effect , you know how much effective technical screening matters. One of the most interesting aspects of the Dunning-Kruger Effect is that it’s two-sided: not only do incompetent people tend to believe they’re more competent than they actually are, people with genuine competence tend not to appreciate it.

This is where the screening capabilities of the right technology staffing services provider can make an enormous competitive difference.

When your provider knows you

Chances are your need for skilled, trustworthy technology talent will always outpace its availability. And you can waste a lot of time and effort searching for that elusive talent — unless you engage a technology staffing services provider that understands both your organization’s strategic goals and today’s technologies in order to match your needs with the right technology talent.

In my next post, I’ll offer up my advice about what to look for in a technology staffing services provider.

Meet the Author
Tim Burke is the President and CEO of Quest. He has been at the helm for over 30 years.
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