Every day there are phenomenal, promising innovations that shake the world in its place whether it’s Web3, metaverse, robot baristas, or self-driving cars.
As the world continues to transform the way we live technologically, the demand for exceptionally skilled software engineers goes through the roof.
To put this demand into perspective - there will be approximately 189,200 vacancies for software engineers and developers every year over the next decade.
And, the numbers are not slowing down. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in software development is expected to increase by 22% from 2020 to 2030.
While all this may be true, thousands of job postings still sit in silence as the number of available software engineers fails to match the skyrocketing demand for software engineering.
Software engineering recruiters are now beginning to explore modern recruitment technology to solve this problem and build scalable, efficient, and high-performing hiring processes.
This article explores how modern recruitment technology can help companies stay ahead of the game and recruit the most sought-after talent in the world.
How do Software Engineering Recruiters use Modern Recruitment Technology?
Modern recruitment technology is beginning to generate a lot of buzz in the tech industry and for good reason.
AI-powered software, machine learning algorithms, and talent analytics can significantly reduce the time, effort, and cost needed to hire and retain skilled software engineers.
For one, advanced recruitment technology increases efficiency; with the right recruitment technology, thousands of software engineer resumes can be scanned in a minute, highlighting candidates whose qualifications match the job requirements.
By automating repetitive tasks, modern recruitment technology also saves the company money in the long run and is more cost-effective; this automation makes scalability easier too because AI-driven systems can handle any volume of software engineering applicants as your organization’s need for software engineers grows.
Similarly, AI algorithms are designed to ensure accuracy and minimize errors while evaluating software engineers; every software engineer is assessed based on skills and qualifications rather than personal characteristics.
More importantly, modern recruitment technology allows software engineering recruiters to analyze data and identify trends and patterns in successful software engineer hires; by making data-driven decisions, software engineering recruiters can refine their strategies and create high-quality talent pipelines.
Lastly, the latest recruitment technology can improve the candidate experience by providing quicker responses, feedback, and a more personalized application process.
It’s easier to understand now why software engineering recruiters are looking beyond traditional HR practices and employing cutting-edge recruitment technology to expedite hiring processes.
Here’s a look at a few modern recruitment tools used by companies globally to source software engineers:
Resume Parser
This recruitment tool scans software engineer resumes and social media platforms for experiences and education.
Resume parsing is an efficient way for software engineering recruiters to identify and analyze the best software engineers through thousands of resumes just by searching keywords and certain skills.
This not only saves software engineering recruiters precious time but also increases their chances of finding top talent that may have otherwise been overlooked using traditional methods.
Filtering
With this recruitment tool, thousands of software engineer resumes are further filtered in minutes based on the criteria needed for the role such as age, background, and qualifications.
The candidate data can be stored in the cloud, using reliable blockchain technology - blockchain technology has mechanisms that ensure stored records are accurate, tamper-evident, and from a verifiable source.
The filtered profiles are then assembled and submitted to software engineering recruiters for final evaluation.
Chatbots
AI conversational chatbots can bridge the gap between a recruiter and a software engineer applicant. This tool replaces the “recruiter phone screen” stage in the hiring process.
In other words, a chatbot is a tool that conducts initial interactions with software engineer applicants to determine whether they would be a good fit for the role; this tool also lets you send out customized alerts and is available to assist applicants 24/7, enhancing the candidate experience.
For software engineers, initial interactions through the chatbot include short tests that verify their programming language knowledge, review employment history, and judge soft skills by recognizing their pattern of communication; chatbots are built with NLP technology- a branch of artificial intelligence that enables computers to understand, produce, and manipulate human language.
Chatbots are not only limited to the hiring process. They almost always greet you when you land on a company’s website.
Over there, they make applying for vacant software engineer jobs easy. If software engineers can’t complete the application process in one go, the chatbot lets them pick up where they left off.
Similarly, the chatbot communicates through the CRM. When the chatbot notes down the software engineer applicant’s details and the position they are interested in, that information gets passed along to the CRM where recruiters can take over communication themselves.
The chatbot can also answer FAQs. Questions that get asked by software engineer applicants are forwarded to recruiters so they can follow up with them.
Chatbots undeniably drive engagement, facilitate communication, and save software engineering recruiters hours of work.
Similarly, by using insight from the chatbot, software engineering recruiters can proactively address recurring issues with software engineer applicants.
Automated Candidate Assessments
It’s no surprise that technical skills are of supreme importance for software engineers.
Software engineer applicants must appear for cognitive aptitude tests to check their cross-skilling ability. These tests are now prepared using AI writing tools.
Similarly, AI-powered coding assessments are also being conducted to differentiate highly skilled software engineers from novices through automated technical tests and coding challenges.
Automated technical tests are reliable and save a lot of time; through automated technical testing, software engineers can prove their ability to navigate real-world tasks, from identifying a bug in a defective piece of code to synchronizing a multi-threaded application.
Automated technical tests also eliminate any room for human bias. Software engineer applicants must perform well across many areas, such as code design, readability, and solidity - giving software engineering recruiters an objective and holistic view to make informed decisions.
These tests are arguably the most efficient way to evaluate software engineers' programming skills before hiring them. They can be done at home and at any time.
Automated Candidate Scoring
Thankfully, the automated technical tests used to assess a software engineer’s skills can also be automatically evaluated.
The machine-learning algorithm studies the correctness of every answer and gives an unbiased and trustworthy score. The performance evaluations of each software engineer are then emailed to hiring managers as individual coding ability reports.
This is especially helpful for a software engineering recruiter during high-volume hiring as automated tests and scoring save time, eliminate error, and reduce administrative work.
Automated Interview Scheduling
As software engineers move along the recruitment process, their interviews can be scheduled with key stakeholders within the company using AI-powered software such as Greenhouse and Skillate.
Automated interview scheduling reduces back-and-forth communication with software engineer applicants by allowing them to select interview times that work best for them.
It also ensures a seamless experience for software engineering recruiters during high-volume hiring seasons, empowering them to hire faster and work more strategically.
Automated interview scheduling reduces the time it takes to schedule an interview by more than 85%, according to the head of global talent discovery at Mastercard.
It not only improves the candidate experience but streamlines internal processes, lessens the administrative burden, and lands great talent efficiently.
Automated Recruitment Marketing
Automated recruitment marketing campaigns can strengthen employer branding and attract software engineers to your website much quicker than traditional methods.
Tools such as Propellum, Joveo, and Pandologic can completely automate job posting on external platforms, allowing you to reach a wider pool of skilled software engineers much faster.
Similarly, automated email campaigns can be sent to software engineers who have visited your careers site about open positions. This keeps visitors engaged and ensures no one misses out on opportunities. Tools such as GetResponse and Quickmail.io have an option to track the messages as well.
Lastly, social media platforms play a huge role in advertising vacancies. Software engineering recruiters should use social media management software such as Sendible, Buffer, or Agorapulse to automate social media posting.
Thanks to recruitment analytical tools, a company can also measure campaign efforts and optimize future outreaches. You can measure the performance down to each message’s click-through rate to know what type of content works best and which users in the audience are most engaged.
Intelligent Talent Marketplace
By using an intelligent talent marketplace - AI-powered technology that connects employees with learning and development opportunities - companies can market new software engineer job openings to their employees, customize job recommendations, and provide software engineering recruiters with a sharpt tool to find quality talent within their organization first.
In the fast-evolving field of software engineering, continuous learning and development is critical. AI can assist in identifying employees who are committed to staying updated with the latest technologies and trends.
Through a talent marketplace, software engineering recruiters turn into internal headhunters and reach out to these employees with job openings before searching for external candidates.
AI Talent Analytics
AI talent analytics analyzes employee performance data on turnover, retention, and satisfaction.
These AI algorithms provide insights into factors contributing to long-term job satisfaction among software engineers. This information can help software engineering recruiters implement strategies to retain their top talent.
Conclusion
Multinational companies such as Unilever are going as far as using the AI system to scan video interviews for a candidate’s facial expressions, body language, and word choice. Recruiters then use this information to check them against traits considered to be predictive of job success.
It’s safe to say traditional recruitment methods are no longer sufficient. And, to stay ahead in the competitive world of recruiting software engineers, embracing AI recruitment strategies is no longer a choice; it’s a necessity.