7 ways to find and attract diverse IT talent

7 ways to find and attract diverse IT talent

In recent years, diversity and inclusion efforts have become increasingly important for companies looking to hire and retain top talent. However, nowhere does this remain a greater challenge and opportunity than in technology.

Given that diversity is at the forefront of everyday life, employers, particularly in the technology sector, place a high priority on hiring diversity to find and include a higher number of underrepresented populations.

That's why we've compiled the following list of actionable ways to attract and attract the diverse range of IT talent:

Collaborate with like-minded organizations

To reach diverse IT talents, follow their passions and skills. Looking for women who enjoy programming in Python?

Check out PyLadies, an organization with hundreds of members in locations worldwide.

Whether it's hosting joint events or networking with members, these organizations exist and working together can lead to the next great hire.

Diversify sources

You also have to use a variety of sources. When the usual tools and tactics don't get the results you want, consider combining a few of them.

Reach out to technical departments at schools, colleges, and universities with diverse student populations to sponsor internship, entry-level, and mentorship programs. Partner with devjobs.at to host a hackathon and reach out more to the local community, or share a coding challenge in a LinkedIn or Facebook group dedicated to tech diversity.

Implement an employee referral program that leverages the diverse networks of existing employees. The possibilities are endless and as the saying goes - the strength is in the numbers. The more sources in play, the greater the chances of success.

Improve Boolean Search

Sourcers know the value of Boolean search strings all too well, but even seasoned professionals sometimes falter, especially when it comes to recruiting technical talent and finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. Instead of copying, pasting, and repeating the same strings of characters over and over again, broaden your search.

Add schools and universities that are known for having a wide variety of students.

Write inviting IT job advertisements

Learning to write a comprehensive job description can improve results by inviting more candidates to apply from the start.

Reduce qualifications and requirements, avoid unnecessary jargon, play off the organization's commitment to equality, and highlight the benefits supporting different candidates.

Promoting diversity and inclusion through remote work

The shift to working from home has helped companies see the benefits of remote work and its role in promoting diversity and inclusion. Hiring remote workers eliminates the need for candidates to live in or around physical office locations, greatly expanding the talent pool for many recruiters and tech recruiters.

Presentation is important

It's one thing to prioritize diversity - it's another to showcase it. Technology giants like Google or Facebook regularly publish reports on diversity representation.

Transparency helps demonstrate a company's commitment, as well as personal stories and career paths.

Make diversity part of the tech employer brand by nurturing voices of IT workers and highlighting partnerships across recruitment marketing materials, careers pages and in the workplace.

Even if you have reached your goal, you should be transparent about where you are and what you are doing to ensure this status.

Reduce prejudice

The aim should be to identify common forms of bias early on and remove them from the recruiting, screening and evaluation phase. Work through each step to better understand where problems may arise and adjust accordingly.

Awareness is the key and the first step to bringing these unconscious biases to light. Attend webinars, host workshops, and sign up for third-party training to ensure your team is empowered at every stage of the hiring funnel.

Employers are realizing that changes are needed to boost diversity in the tech world, and this starts with opening more doors to more people. Tech recruiting can make this possible - but only if different candidates are interested in the opportunity. For this reason, it is up to employers to rethink their approach and put diversity at the heart of the whole process.

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