It feels good to be wanted. It's a feeling that employees in the tech industry know well, and with a new survey suggesting that hiring for coding talent in the first six months of 2016 will continue to increase over 2015 levels it seems the gold rush isn't over quite yet. There's just one wrinkle: Hiring managers claim that it's getting harder and harder to actually fill job openings as those pesky coders just want too much damn money.
So says Dice, a jobs website for the tech industry, which conducted a November survey of human resource managers, recruiters, and staffing companies. The company found that "78 percent of hiring managers anticipate more hiring in the first half of 2016 compared to the second half of 2015."
Which: good news for those on the job hunt. However, all's not well in Techville, as explains Dice President Bob Melk.
“The environment for a talent crisis in tech has been growing over the past few years and as the level of interest in technology professionals rises, it doesn’t appear the challenging recruitment market will lighten any time soon,” said Melk.
The survey results continue that "64 percent of hiring managers and recruiters [say] salary guidelines have prevented positions available now from being filled, a jump from the 58 percent who said this last year."
Technology companies need new employees, but can't make the hires as potential new rock stars/ninjas apparently are demanding those rock-star/ninja dollars. This apparently constitutes a budding "crisis."
Cue tinyviolin.gif.
What creative/innovative/disruptive techniques to secure that hire have recruiters found around these supposedly onerous salary requirements?
"[They] are providing more employee perks, like free lunches and gym memberships," notes Dice.
Looming talent crisis or no, we think the tech industry will manage just fine.
Related: Average SF Tech Wages Up 12.8% To $176K (With Bonuses, Stock Options)