When Peloton announced it was cutting nearly 3,000 jobs, LinkedIn surged with job postings and nationwide support. Although layoffs of that size are rare, tech workers at comparable organisations will remember this story. The bottom line for many was that a huge name doesn’t ensure protection, and a good income isn’t as crucial as business support. For those wanting to hire them, it’s crucial to alter recruitment and acquisition techniques as applicants’ job search priorities change. Three methods to change your mentality and stand out among the dozens of tech companies hiring.

Focus on the Offer, Not the Numbers

High salaries are one thing most IT hopefuls expect when applying for jobs. While there are exceptions, most computing occupations pay six figures, and starting salaries are greater than in many other fields. In the past, programmers with three to five years of experience earned $130k. That number has risen to $190k for engineers with similar expertise, and some offers include up to 1% equity. The same growing tendency applies to marketers, recruiters, and IT job seekers with decent expertise.

No applicant will jump at the promise of a competitive pay alone, especially with the labour scarcity providing them leverage to seek more and better from a job offer. It’s foolish to assume talented candidates don’t know the difference between employee-centric and loyalty-focused companies. Glassdoor, Blind, and a host of social media platforms have made it easy to discuss compensation and company culture, which was previously taboo.

This age of information has pushed people to demand what they know is possible in salary and perks. Job postings should emphasise benefits beyond income to stand out. An acquaintance at a major IT business declined a job offer with a 20–30% salary boost. Why? Because she wanted a company to commit to her long-term growth, including bonuses, promotions, and what they saw the role becoming in a few years. High initial compensation statistics don’t matter if folks are laid off a year later. They will trade some financial advantage for intangibles like security.

If your company offers progressive benefits like the ability to designate meeting days, an annual stipend for each employee to do online trainings and attend conferences of their choice, or ownership of their own projects and initiatives from the start, you’re more likely to attract top applicants looking for companies that will invest in their futures.

Be Innovative and Try New Things

Though hard to accept, existing recruitment procedures are broken, thus fixing those holes in your own practises is the first step to attracting top candidates. We’ve used obsolete standards based on an applicant’s university or prior employment for too long, which don’t forecast their future performance or talents.

In the labour market, coding-bootcamp grads and apprenticeship graduates are outperforming top-25 school graduates. The conclusion? An engineer who can contribute quality code right away is valuable, and judging someone by their pedigree is wrong.

In tech, diversity in hiring has become a big topic, and many organisations are racing to diversify their staff. Instead of changing the geographical area or educational background they screen for, they keep using the same stale tactics that can only lead to a homogenous workforce.

To attract outstanding applicants, you must understand that they will come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and the combination of these components helps establish a successful team. Stop letting past successes keep you from hiring the finest. A 10-year chef who switched careers in his early 30s was one of our biggest recruitment successes. Despite no tech expertise, he graduated from a coding school with many offers.

His experience should show that a “traditional” background or path isn’t everything, thus relying on old norms is meaningless and harmful. Diversity in hiring—sourcing candidates from historically black universities, posting on job boards for underrepresented minorities, and interviewing and hiring them—will ensure you find the best candidates, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Remember You Need Them More Than They Need You

The epidemic dramatically impacted the labour market to favour workers. The tech business needs talented individuals more than ever, and the demand will rise. Y Combinator interviews over 16,000 entrepreneurs twice a year, and many of these people are opting to be their own boss, therefore organisations that don’t recognise this trend will fail.

With the current economic climate and no signs of changing soon, you need talented workers more than they need you (especially since your competitors will gladly scoop them up if you don’t), and your hiring practises must reflect that. Beyond giving fantastic salary and perks, you must show why your organisation is the best for applicants and how your culture prioritises employee experience. Focus on them.

The Peloton layoffs may help companies recruit talent from the tech industry’s many available roles. However, it’s shortsighted to expect outstanding IT applicants to accept the same corporate norms that have ruled for decades.

This is a time to analyse and overhaul hiring and recruitment, which requires it. Tech businesses who recognise the worth of this moment will benefit from these strategies, which will attract new talent and vitality.

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