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February 7, 2025
Key Takeaways
Hiring IT professionals in the South West comes with challenges, especially amid skills shortages. Avoiding common mistakes can improve results and reduce wasted time and cost.
Recruiting for a new IT role in the South West? There are some common mistakes that you could be making that are slowing down your search, or limiting your results. Addressing a skills shortage in the IT sector is a common theme for many firms based in the South West and further afield, and these conditions may be aggravated by these common mistakes.
If you’re ready to upgrade your recruitment systems and processes in 2025 and beyond, consider the following mistakes you could be making without even realising it.
You’d think that most IT companies would be ahead of the curve when it comes to AI and automation within the recruitment sector, but many are reluctant to proceed. This isn’t down to a lack of understanding, but rather because IT sector companies have a better understanding of AI and automation.
Fears around how it should be implemented and how it will be managed can hold back some organisations from making the most of the opportunities available. You might see other sectors wandering into AI and automation blindly and fear for the potential pitfalls that lie ahead. But with advanced knowledge of how these systems work, IT firms are far better placed to manage the potential risks.
During the interview process you might spend a lot of time grilling candidates on their knowledge and skills. But why grill when you can just implement testing? Pre-interview assessment is a simple way to assess if candidates have the skills you need or if they have the aptitude to develop them.
By failing to implement this simple step in the interview process, you could be missing out on a wealth of information and making hiring decisions without the knowledge that you need.
The term hard skills and soft skills is derived from the United States Army. Hard skills related to aptitude with machinery and tools, while soft skills covered everything else. This terminology persists today, but it is perhaps unhelpful in the hiring context. When we talk about hard skills and soft skills, the latter are often downplayed and ignored in favour of the former.
Ignoring the soft skills of candidates could mean that you aren’t building effective teams and dynamic teams. By focussing on hard skills, you could be neglecting the aptitudes that not only make workers effective, but also make them valuable to your company.
| Mistake | Impact |
|---|---|
| Not using automation | Fear of pitfalls stops firms gaining efficiency in hiring. |
| Skipping skills assessments | Relies on interviews alone, risking weak or unsuitable hires. |
| Ignoring soft skills | Overemphasis on hard skills leads to less effective teams. |
| Vague job descriptions | Confuses applicants and deters strong candidates. |
| Short-term focus | Misses growth potential and limits future readiness. |
| Neglecting unsuccessful candidates | Damages reputation and future candidate engagement. |
When expanding your teams, it’s tempting to keep things broad and loose to help cast a wider net, but this can be counter to your goals. By not offering a clearly defined job description, candidates might be unsure about the opportunity and if they meet the requirements.
Rather than expanding your scope by making the opportunity appear more attractive to those with a wide range of skills, you could have the opposite impact. The good candidates will be turned away, and only those that are bulk applying for everything will show an interest.
It’s tempting to only hire for the skills you currently need, but this could be a short-sighted approach that leaves you with nowhere to go in the future. Alongside the skills you need now, look for candidates with an appetite to learn new skills. This will enable you to meet future demands with ease, and these employees might even be the ones telling you where you need to place your focus.
Future-Proof Hiring
Recruiting only for today’s needs is short-sighted. Hire candidates eager to learn, and you’ll be ready for tomorrow’s IT challenges.
Candidate Experience Matters
How you treat unsuccessful applicants impacts your reputation. A thoughtful process builds goodwill and keeps talent engaged.
It’s easily done. You move candidates through the hiring process and are only concerned with those that are successful and a good fit for your company. Failing to offer feedback to candidates or even acknowledge that you won’t be taking their application any further risks damaging your company’s reputation.
The IT sector is smaller than you might think, and candidates will talk. While you might not think a candidate is a good fit now, they might be a few years down the line. However, you’ll struggle to capture their attention if their only knowledge of your organisation is that you ghosted them during the IT recruitment process. In short, it’s vital to keep candidates engaged throughout the process and have a system in place for keeping them informed.
Ready to avoid common hiring pitfalls and attract the best talent? Submit your vacancy to CMD Recruitment today and let us connect you with the right talent.
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