3 questions recruiters should be asking about their markets

Why do you need IT4Recruiters?

Our mission is to help build a better, long standing relationship between recruiters, hiring managers, and talent.  We are passionate about improving the hiring process and want people to converse about the difficulties faced by all parties involved in it.  By getting the conversation started, we can build long lasting relationships and improve understanding for those involved in the hiring process.  The biggest issue is: where do we start the conversation?

Start by asking yourself these questions:

1. What industries are in your market?

Identifying the industries in the local market is a start.  Look at the statistics for industries in your city.  Contact you local chamber of commerce, look up business journals, or use online queries to give you a breakdown of what categories these companies fall into.  With this information you can build a detailed analysis of what jobs and skills are needed by these industries.  Recruiters can use this to help organize talent with businesses by their appropriate skill sets.  They can also build questions and lists for hiring managers.  These lists can help narrow down their search faster and help decrypt the details required for the position.

2. What skills are in demand in your market?

Markets are constantly in flux, either due to economic, political, or business trends.  IT markets can shift from one technology and skill seemingly overnight.  In the past, companies had an easier time acquiring talent. For example, in Motor city when one manufacturer laid off workers due to a decline in their sales the individuals would generally be picked up by a leading competitor.  We see this time and time again with other industries like copiers (Xerox, HP, Cannon), chip manufacturers (AMD, Intel, HP, IBM), and software companies like Microsoft and Google, among others.  Knowing your market, and the skills in demand, will allow you to identify the correct talent with the skills to meet future employment needs.

Keep an eye on the market trends.  For example, with the release of the new Apple watch, companies who want to get on board will need talent with skills in iOS development.  With the upcoming release of Windows 10 many windows based software companies may be in need of .Net developers to quickly make modifications or updates to their flagship products.  Companies need these upgrades to prevent their customers from experiencing problems when upgrading to the new OS.  Smart cars are opening up an all new industry requiring engineers to be more diverse.  These new vehicles will require engineers with more software and technology based skills.  How else do you think those cars will park themselves?

3. What is the average cost of living in your market?

This may seem like an odd question, but it is a relevant one.  Many companies base their salaries on their local market averages.  If the cost of living is high, then generally these companies will have to pay more to attract the talent they need.  On the flip side, if the cost of living is less, then these companies will be able to pay less for the same talent.  This makes it difficult sometimes to determine a fair market value for the positions you are filling.   If you are a recruiter you can help companies adjust or be aware of unrealistic salaries.  It all depends on the position in question, and the roles in which the company would like the new talent to perform.

This is just a start to the conversation.  There will be many more articles coming in the near future with more ways to improve these relationships and expanding on current topics.  If you find this beneficial or have a personal example to share where these questions have impacted your life please let us know at [email protected]. 

Michael is a co-founder of IT 4 Recruiters and has spent most of his life behind computers learning all he can of computer technology.  His expertise is in developing, designing, training, and managing of software and software projects.  He is a founder and principle of Meloche Consulting, Inc.  In his free time he and his wife Renee travel and as an avid gamer he spends time playing a variety of video games to relax.

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