How to Attract Top Talent During a Tech Talent Shortage

The Importance of the Company Mission in Attracting Talent

At Welcome Tech, we are focused on building the future of immigration. Our digital community platform, which provides immigrant families with tools and services required to thrive in the U.S., is experiencing a period of rapid growth and recently surpassed 3 million members. To support this growth and drive future innovation, we have expanded our team 200% since 2021 and are still looking for new talent. But attracting talent amidst a shortage of technical candidates is a tough task. A key differentiator for Welcome Tech when it comes to attracting talent is our compelling mission to empower a community that has been underserved for far too long. “Many potential candidates first feel drawn by our powerful purpose and are excited about our company and what we are doing,” says Mona Dhillon, Head of People. During the interview process, candidates see firsthand how personally invested Welcome Tech employees are in the company’s vision, and the shared passion for improving lives.

Focus on Culture Fit First

When screening for candidates, Welcome Tech focuses its energy and effort on candidates that are looking for more than just a new opportunity. “Our priority are those candidates who seem attracted to our mission and culture first,” states Mona Dhillon, Head of People. The qualities that Welcome Tech looks for in candidates are: willingness to make a difference outside the confines of a written job description, ownership mentality, and desire to create value for the customer.? Additionally, for difficult-to-hire engineering roles, showcasing the engineering team’s culture of ruthless prioritization and execution has given Welcome Tech an edge and helped Dhillon hire new engineers more quickly. Engineering candidates have consistently provided feedback that Welcome Tech’s company-wide OKR process, which sets clear goals for each individual and helps control chaos, sets the company apart.

Fast Growth Calls for Creative Recruiting Tactics

While it's been helpful to utilize platforms such as builtinLA and LinkedIn, we’ve also harnessed the influence of our workforce to speed up the recruiting process.? We encourage employees to reach out to their best and brightest friends, and former colleagues to ask them to apply for open roles across marketing, design, data analytics, operations, and engineering.?

To drive referrals, Welcome Tech also hosts a “Sourcing Hour” where employees join a video call, play great music and put their heads together to source incredible talent from their own networks. The 30-minute session includes rapid-fire collaboration in a shared document where employees reflect upon open roles and recommend talent from their personal networks. This effort has been complemented by the recent implementation of an Employee Referral Bonus, which gives employees the opportunity to earn money if their referrals are hired. While the benefit of hiring people that current employees already know and trust cannot be overstated, the referral bonus is the cherry on top – an extra incentive that keeps everyone on the lookout for the next Welcomer!