How Smaller Tech Firms Can Attract Top Talent from Tech Giants

The marketplace is currently overflowing with really talented people — people who worked hard, under pressure, and were incredibly successful with well-known tech giants.?

Great people who may not only be available for new opportunities but who may also — for the first time — be interested in a different workplace experience. In fact, now may be when working for a smaller, more personal, your-voice-matters-in-a-big-way company looks better than ever.?

Now is the time when smaller tech firms may have a unique opportunity to attract someone with a giant tech firm resume and experience.?

If that possibility sounds interesting to you, start now to ensure that your company looks attractive and interesting to potential candidates. And that’s more than posting jobs on LinkedIn or reaching out via recruiting specialists.?

Of course, do those things, but also know, the first thing a savvy candidate is going to do is research you and your company online. They’ll check your website for basic info; they’ll Google for more; and then, they will start reading LinkedIn profiles of leaders in the company. Are you ready??

What Matters to Top Talent?

Compensation and culture will be top concerns for almost all candidates. Compensation is better addressed offline, but your company culture should be clearly visible through your profile and ongoing posts. Make sure you showcase how your company ensures that its people are supported, appreciated, and celebrated.

In addition to the topics that matter to most candidates, some potential hires will have concerns that are specific to their positions:

Senior Execs

Are you hiring a new CXO or VP for your company? Make sure the content in your LinkedIn profile and posts address the issues high-level executives care about, including:

• Mission and Values: Candidates for C-suite and senior VP positions want to know a company’s mission and values because they will be responsible for helping to shape and execute the strategy built on them. Does your LinkedIn profile reflect the why and goals of your company?
• Leadership Team: Senior leaders want to know as much as they can about other leaders in the company. Make sure the profiles of your current team tell the company story that you want job candidates to know.?
• Growth Potential: Before senior execs engage with your company, they are going to want information about the growth potential of the company, its competitive advantage, and its financial resources. Carefully, of course, share your excitement about new deals, wins, and success in raising investment.
• Location/Workplace: The C-suite typically requires deep commitment and long hours from executives, so candidates will factor in your office(s) and remote work policies because these factors impact their quality of life and work-life balance. Make sure your posts and profile reflect an attractive, healthy environment.

Technical Team Talent

Are engineers, developers, and other technical team members on your wish list? Ensure your profile and posts cover these important issues:

• Job Security: Tech startups can be risky and uncertain, and many of the people in today’s job market have recently experienced unexpected job loss. Make sure your profile and posts reassure them about the security and stability of your organization by celebrating long-term employees, project wins, and company milestones.
• Opportunities for Growth and Advancement: The bigger the company, the more opportunities employees see for advancement. But working at a smaller company gives you greater scope for creativity and the opportunity to take on a wider scope of responsibilities. Help potential tech talent see where they can grow and advance in a smaller company by posting about innovations and new clients and projects and the excitement of being part of the beginning of a successful venture.
• Work-Life Balance: Knowing that the tech teams of startups can often have demanding schedules and long hours, top tech talent may be concerned about work-life balance. In your profile and posts, directly address how your company culture and policies enable and encourage healthy work-life habits.

Sales Executives

Are you expanding your sales team? As you scale sales, make sure your LinkedIn profile proactively addresses the issues that matter to experienced sales executives:

• Market Opportunity: Especially as they consider moving to a smaller company, experienced sales execs may be concerned about the size and growth potential of the market opportunity because it directly impacts their potential for success. Share your perspective on market trends and potential, so these candidates clearly see the possibilities.
• Product or Service: Savvy sales executives will research the quality and uniqueness of your product or service, so be sure to clearly articulate your USP and the problems you solve.
• Sales Process: Sales execs from larger companies are used to considerable support from field marketing and sales ops. They will want to know about your sales process, tools, and available resources because these factors impact their ability to close deals and meet targets. Without giving away confidential information or competitive advantage, use your profile and posts to offer a peek into your strong support of the sales cycle.?

The transition from working for a tech giant to a smaller company isn’t for everyone, but it may be exactly what some of these very talented people are looking for right now. And, even if you’re not currently hiring, your LinkedIn profile should be working for you.?

Most of the issues in this blog are just as interesting to potential clients and investors as they are to potential employees. Use your profile to tell all these stakeholders — and potential shareholders — the story you want them to know.

If you find that your profile and posts aren’t delivering for you as well as they could, let’s talk.?Contact me?at?[email protected] , or?book a quick call ?to see how we can assist you in making LinkedIn work for your goals.