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Better IT recruiting with data-based candidate personas

The shortage of skilled workers in IT - a challenge for companies. We show how data-based candidate personas help and facilitate recruiting in the IT industry.

IT recruiting: What is and what do personas have to do with it?

In 2021, more than 60 percent of German companies said they had a shortage of IT specialists. According to Bitkom, there were around 96,000 vacancies in this area at that time. In 2022, the number rose to 137,000 vacancies. According to research, it takes an average of six months to fill an IT position in companies with three or more employees. This is a disadvantage for companies, as the shortage of skilled workers costs revenue and has a negative impact on their ability to innovate.

One of the main causes of the shortage of skilled workers in the IT industry is the rapid growth of the industry itself. New technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and cloud computing are increasing the demand for suitable specialists. At the same time, the job description of IT professionals has changed and specialized in a wide variety of areas. For example, companies today no longer just need programmers, but also data analysts, cyber security experts and IT strategists. The demand for professionals in these areas is higher than the supply, further exacerbating the skills shortage. Today, those who want to counteract this must shine as an employer and understand suitable candidate:s in detail. Data-based candidate personas help with this.

How do data-based Candidate Personas help in IT?

Candidate Personas are characters that represent typical candidates for a specific job. Each Candidate Persona is based on real data and scientifically sound information derived from interviews, surveys and other research methods. In the case of a Candidate Persona for the IT sector, the profile provides information not only about qualifications, needs, motivators and stressors, but also about details related to everyday work.

A Candidate Persona for IT typically includes the following information:

  • Demographic data: Age, gender, education level, work experience, etc.
  • Career aspirations and goals: What is the candidate looking for in a job? What are his or her long-term goals?
  • Motivations: What drives the candidate? What is important to him or her?
  • Challenges: What are the challenges that candidates may face? What stresses candidates in their daily work?
  • Communication preferences: Which channels and media do the candidates prefer?
  • Technologies and applications: Which hardware and software can the persona handle? Which ones does she prefer to use and why?
  • Continuing education: How does the persona learn best (facilitated workshops vs. self-taught)?
  • Preferred work location: Does the candidate prefer to work in the office, at home or remotely abroad?
  • Employee benefits that the persona particularly appreciates
  • Task areas and work style: Which tasks does the persona feel comfortable with, which areas does he or she avoid? Which team does the candidate fit into and how does he or she cope with responsibility?

Persona strategies for IT

Before companies create candidate personas for recruiting, they need a strategy. It answers the question of how many persona profiles you need for successful recruiting. Basically, there are two options:

  1. One persona per open position: For an individualized candidate journey, it makes sense to develop personas for each advertised job position if job profiles cannot be clustered. In order to retain employees in the long term, it is also helpful to create personas for filled positions - in order to match their needs and wishes with the current working environment.
  2. One persona per career type: Alternatively, it is possible to develop personas according to career types. The latter are based primarily on the candidate's professional experience or career level. Categories are, for example, career entrants or career changers, candidates with many years of professional experience, or candidates with less professional experience but the desire for more responsibility.

Stefan Rippler, data expert and founder of the Persona Institute knows: "Whether the first or second strategy leads to the goal varies from case to case. Basically, I advise developing a persona for each position, especially in the IT sector, because the requirements are usually very different." If, instead, a smaller company is looking for an all-rounder in IT who develops software and administers IT at the same time, personas by career type make more sense.

11 reasons for Candidate Personas in IT recruiting

  1. Identification of the target group: Candidate Personas enable companies to define target groups in detail and tailor recruiting measures accordingly.
  2. Better approach to candidates: By knowing the wishes and needs of candidates, companies can address them in a more targeted manner and convince them of a position more quickly.
  3. Effective recruiting via active sourcing: The targeted approach accelerates and simplifies complex recruiting processes.
  4. Optimization of job advertisements: Candidate personas can be used to optimize job ads so that they address the needs and interests of the target group and thus attract more qualified professionals.
  5. Minimize wastage: Targeted addressing avoids wastage in recruiting campaigns and especially in active sourcing. This saves time and money.
  6. Improved employer branding: The employer brand also benefits from a candidate persona. By means of a direct approach and an individualized customer journey, companies can position themselves as attractive employers.
  7. Personalized communication: With the help of Candidate Personas, companies personalize their communication with candidates and build a closer relationship from the very first contact.
  8. More satisfied employees: Targeting suitable candidates increases the chances that employees will be more satisfied overall in the future.
  9. Early identification of potential candidates: With the help of candidate personas, companies identify potential candidates who are not currently actively looking for a job, but who might be interested in the future.
  10. Targeted further training: By knowing the needs and interests of the target group, companies can offer suitable further training measures.
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