Technical Recruiters

 Technical Recruiter Questions

Answers to popular questions about a technical recruiter and how they work with tech employees and tech companies:

What Does a Technical Recruiter Do?

A technical recruiter seeks, screens, & qualifies candidates skilled for technical roles inside of technology companies or information technology (IT) departments. A technical recruiter is more familiar with technical talent, tech industry vocabulary, technical knowledge, skills, concepts, positions, supporting positions, and role hierarchy than the average recruiter or human resources department.

What Do Technical Recruiters Look For?

A technical recruiter is tasked with finding people with experience, knowledge, and skills in niche technologies. This includes, but is not limited to, software, hardware, networking, computer programming, administration, database, hosting, cloud services, telecom, project management, and cyber security.

How to Find a Technical Recruiter?

Be sure to search “technical recruiter” very specifically or include words like IT, tech, technology, and technical - not just recruiter or headhunter by itself. If you are in a smaller town, you may have to search in closer proximity to major cities to find headhunters who specialize in tech-based employment opportunities. Upload your resume via their website, call and/or email to introduce yourself, or connect with their team on LinkedIn. Usually reaching out in more than one way helps expedite a response from a technical recruiter, and as you might imagine email & text messages are sometimes better than calls!

Difference Between General Recruiter vs Technical Recruiter?

A successful technical recruiter is often a previously employed tech support, programmer, team lead, department manager, and/or C-level officer. Technical recruiters are familiar with tech industry vocabulary, theories & concepts, project processes, job positions, supporting job positions, and role hierarchy. You won’t run into the same learning curve and awkward conversations that can lead to frustration with a more traditional corporate recruiter.

How Much Should You Pay a Recruiter?

If you are the candidate, you should be paying nothing. If you are the hiring company, expect to pay up to 30% of the annual salary to a tech recruiting firm for hiring technical talent. For highly specialized positions and more critical recruitment timelines, expect to also pay for internet advertising campaigns and premium job listings. It’s the technical recruiter’s job to know how to use cutting edge tools to recruit, as they are more than just a human resource specialist looking for tech talent!

How Do I Talk to a Recruiter About My Salary?

You should be completely open & honest about what your current salary and benefits package is and what it needs to be in order for you to make a career move. Please understand a recruiter is NOT the hiring manager of the company hiring, they act as a liaison or tech talent agent who champions on your behalf! Recruiters are compensated based on how much money they book you for, which means it is in their best financial interest to help you get the top dollar you deserve. Never lie, inflate, or mask your salary from them. A headhunters' success and compensation are in a direct ratio & relationship to you. A headhunter is paid by the head! They are truly looking out for your individual benefit & are on your team - so be 100% truthful for the best results!

What Is a Talent Pool?

A talent pool or resume bank is made up of candidates & profiles stored on a cloud computing system. This data includes skills, experience, work preferences, desired commute length, etc. Candidate data is parsed, indexed, and segmented within an Applicant Tracking System (software). Recruiters search, continuously curate, and have follow up conversations with top talent in the pool for open jobs. Recruiters match job seekers and employers in best fit jobs together. To join our professionals, we ask you upload your resume, wait for our technical recruiters to reach out, and be honest in the interview process with us. We are your talent agent seeking a best fit position for you!

Technical Recruiter Hiring Process

Communication skills are the most important type of skills in the technical recruiting screening process. It requires a delicate balance between candidates, employers, open jobs, and the technical recruiter throughout the hiring process. A technical recruiter requires tech employees and professionals to disclose their skills, company work history, previous employers, job titles, salary, projects, timelines, and tech background. A technical recruiter uses negotiation skills and industry related resources.

The technical recruitment process looks something like this:

• Meet Professionals & People with Skills

• Gather & Manually Review Resumes

• Phone Screen Candidates

• Load Resumes into Applicant Tracking System

• Parse Resumes for Data Points vs. Job Descriptions

• Use Applicant Matching System to Find Best Fit Candidates

• Build Relationships with Candidates

• Make Job Recommendations to Talent

• Introduce Talent to Companies Hiring

• Help Talent Schedule Interviews and Apply to Companies

• Follow Up and Stay in Contact with Candidates

Tips for Working with Tech Recruiters

1. Be honest about everything, even when you think it may "hurt" you as a candidate. Nothing is a bigger red flag than finding out candidates lied to us during the interview process.

2. Use your communication skills. It's a two-way street, so be in regular contact to stay updated.

3. Be prompt and take massive action. Return signed paperwork ASAP. Ask for help, resources, call out problems, etc. immediately. The job market demand changes in real-time, every day, so the faster you bring something to our attention, the faster we can do something to help you.

Tech workers: If you have a bachelor’s degree, tech certificate, or core skills and are in need of help with your job search, please pick up the phone and call a technical recruiter. Or click on a team member above and say hello!