Geek Speak: How to Make Top Tech Talent Take Notice
No matter how tight the job market, there will always be competition for top talent. Wining and dining may not be the recruiting standard anymore, but this select group still has a full contingent of suitors vying for their attention. So how can you break through the clutter and get noticed?
Geek Speak – The Geek Code is a series of letters and symbols that allows tech types to cleverly communicate with each other about their personality, interests, appearance and skills. Originally developed in 1993 by Robert A. Hayden, this unique language is a great way to attract top talents’ attention via emails, direct mail pieces and other recruiting efforts – even billboards outside a top tech rival’s office. While there are now many variations of the Code, several online translator sites can help you craft a message. Other variations on this fun technique include writing messages in ASCII or mathematical equations – anything offbeat but relevant can work to get you heard.
Targeted Freebies – No one really needs more company pens or logo t-shirts, but well-considered freebies still have their place. Free food is popular with the student crowd, and Google recently got major notice for the 100 pairs of Android pajamas they handed out at a “Tech Talk” on the Carnegie Mellon campus. For more-established professionals, you may have to up the ante with things like iPad raffles or upscale gift cards.
Personal Touch – Small companies have something their rivals often do not: an accessible CEO. While a top tech prospect might not return a call or email from an HR staffer or recruiter, the chances of response increase exponentially when a company’s CEO personally reaches out. It’s a cheap but powerful way to tell key candidates that they are valued and the company is motivated to speak with them.
Grand Gestures – Game maker Red 5 Studios made headlines in 2007 with their effort to recruit top game developers. Traditional techniques were getting nowhere, so the company created a 100-person “wish list” – and sent them iPods with personalized messages from the CEO discussing Red 5 and inviting recipients to consider the company. The campaign yielded a 90% response rate and at least 4 hires; a typical direct mail piece is considered successful if it gets a 2% response.
While creativity is good, it also needs to be used with caution. Efforts that are overdone to the point of becoming gimmicky or stalker-ish can backfire – repelling quality candidates and/or earning you a reputation as “desperate”. Successful tech recruiting is all about knowing your target, what they value, and how to engage them in a way that tunes them in, not turns them off.
Need someone who’s fluent in “geek speak” to help find the best candidate for your tech job? The IT staffing specialists at Triumph Services have been talking tech for nearly two decades – and that translates into recruiting success. Contact us today!
