IT job seekers are becoming more selective in who they will work for in their next job, according to Hays.
Candidates now also have a longer list of considerations when deciding whether to take up a new role.
“Salary is probably rated down the list. It’s probably more to do with projects that they’re working on, the types of organisations and also we’re starting to hear the work/life balance thing again,” he told Computerworld Australia.
“I think security is a really key thing for people. It’s a combination of those factors really.”
This has meant employers now need to provide more detailed information to candidates on their company culture, the types of projects they will be working on and exactly what type of company they will be working for.
For example, a project manager who has a background in large enterprise companies will “want to know what their influence is on a project, what sort of freedom they’ve got to run that project, the business impacts on that and if stakeholder engagement is going to be there as well,” Noblet said.
“If you’re a technology person with DOT.net development skills, then you’re going to be looking for what the project is leading to and how much work and how much input they’re going to have to the project.”
However, he said salary is still a critical factor in job decisions and candidates will not be willing to work for below average salaries even if the other factors match up.
Job seekers’ selectiveness in the IT job market will last until the end of this year and possibly into early next year as well, according to Noblet. But he points out this doesn’t mean they are becoming more demanding.
“[Instead], they want to know that if they’re going to start looking around and they’re going to leave the role that they’re in at the moment … that they’re going to a role that adds to their career, adds to their CV and augments their capability,” he said.
Noblet advises employers to be honest about what they can offer candidates and the culture of their organisation.
“If they want to change the culture of the organisation, then make sure they’re being honest that that’s the aim — that by bringing new people in they’re trying to change that and that they see people coming in as a change agent,” he said.
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