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Tech Companies Face a Fresh Crisis: Hiring

Victerius 5y ago
I have a long term solution: hire fresh grads without experience, internships, or portfolios, and take the time to train them. And pay them well in order to retain them.
- ggm 5y ago
  Even paying well sometimes doesn't help retention. ICT roles overall were above-median pay across the 1970s and 1980s when I started, and it was a common trope you hired a graduate for 18 months of training and junior role to see them move on: People actually don't want to stay in their first hire oftentimes. As long as its a virtuous circle: you hire grad+18mo from your peer companies in the location, its good. When they're walking to 3x salary at a FAANG its super-bad. The problem is the wage asymmetry, not the graduates per se. That said: advertising junior roles demanding 2+ years experience? Just stop it. Stop it now.
- MattGaiser 5y ago
  Would that do anything given how liquid tech hiring is? If you have to pay them well to retain them (which would be market rate for their current skill level), why not just pay market rate for that skill level right now?
GianFabien 5y ago
The NY Times article struck a nerve for me. My experiences pertain to Sydney, Australia. The majority of jobs are listed by recruiters. Typically the hiring organisation gives the job description to several agency recruiters. The recruiters then run lightly edited versions of the JD on Seek, LinkedIn, Indeed. This immediately creates an inflated perception of the number of jobs available. Any careful reading quickly reveals that the same job is listed by multiple agencies. The experience required with specific products is one easy to spot giveaway. Unless you are already doing the exact same job elsewhere and can 100% match the buzzwords in the JD, you don't hear back. The hiring crisis is easily fixed: advertise the job directly, actually read the applications. Accept that an experienced person can learn the latest buzzword adorned product just like the learnt the last dozen or so. Oh, and list a realistic salary indication. If you only want to pay junior rates, then perhaps don't ask for 5+ years experience.

I have a long term solution: hire fresh grads without experience, internships, or portfolios, and take the time to train them. And pay them well in order to retain them.

ggm 5y ago
Even paying well sometimes doesn't help retention. ICT roles overall were above-median pay across the 1970s and 1980s when I started, and it was a common trope you hired a graduate for 18 months of training and junior role to see them move on: People actually don't want to stay in their first hire oftentimes. As long as its a virtuous circle: you hire grad+18mo from your peer companies in the location, its good. When they're walking to 3x salary at a FAANG its super-bad. The problem is the wage asymmetry, not the graduates per se. That said: advertising junior roles demanding 2+ years experience? Just stop it. Stop it now.
MattGaiser 5y ago
Would that do anything given how liquid tech hiring is? If you have to pay them well to retain them (which would be market rate for their current skill level), why not just pay market rate for that skill level right now?

GianFabien 5y ago

The NY Times article struck a nerve for me. My experiences pertain to Sydney, Australia. The majority of jobs are listed by recruiters. Typically the hiring organisation gives the job description to several agency recruiters. The recruiters then run lightly edited versions of the JD on Seek, LinkedIn, Indeed. This immediately creates an inflated perception of the number of jobs available. Any careful reading quickly reveals that the same job is listed by multiple agencies. The experience required with specific products is one easy to spot giveaway. Unless you are already doing the exact same job elsewhere and can 100% match the buzzwords in the JD, you don't hear back. The hiring crisis is easily fixed: advertise the job directly, actually read the applications. Accept that an experienced person can learn the latest buzzword adorned product just like the learnt the last dozen or so. Oh, and list a realistic salary indication. If you only want to pay junior rates, then perhaps don't ask for 5+ years experience.