The HR Manager's Guide To Hiring IT Pros

Over the past decade, there have been dramatic changes in the use of technology within businesses. For many years, technology was primarily a tactical endeavor, with IT infrastructure and applications supporting the main activities of the organization. Now, technology has strategic importance, with companies being more proactive in leveraging technology to meet business objectives. This has a significant impact in the way that companies view technology investments and hiring.

At the same time, technology has become more ubiquitous and more complex. As the cost of technology development has dropped and consumer technology has introduced new behaviors, companies can more easily procure basic components and combine them into a novel solution. This creates more demand for specialized skills, which are often in short supply.

All these changes create new challenges for HR professionals. Technical managers hiring for open positions may start with very specific requirements in an attempt to find the ideal candidate, but screening based on those requirements may produce a very limited pool. In a highly dynamic environment, HR professionals need candidates and which skills are close matches for filling these roles.

This guide provides that translation. By condensing the universe of technology job titles into 13 standard roles and describing both traditional and emerging skills in those roles, HR professionals can use this guide to sort through the jargon of the IT industry and find the best candidates to move forward. Especially in a time when in-demand skills are scarce because the technologies are so recent, understanding the way skills are evolving can lead to discovering candidates that are only one or two steps away from checking all the boxes.