Among the European countries that promise paradise for IT specialists, Britain ranks high in all ratings along with Germany and the Netherlands. But, in addition to high salaries, the cost of living in these countries is also not cheap. London, with a population of over 9 million residents and an unemployment rate of less than 4%, is attractive to specialists in many professions, especially the IT sector. The selection of IT specialists in London is highly organized and in many ways similar to recruitment in other countries, but at the same time has a number of features. The reasons for the differences should be sought in historical traditions, the mentality of the British and the atypical development of the labor market.
Types of recruiting
The main resource of a company is the people who work for it. Companies that share this thesis most often conduct personnel selection in London with the help of professional recruiters. An experienced recruiting agency in London is able to guarantee the client a result, while saving enough of the company’s resources. However, when contacting a recruiting agency in London, it is important to clearly formulate the task that the company wants to set for the agency.
Types of IT Recruitment in the UK
The company must decide on what terms and with which recruiting agency in London it plans to cooperate. In certain cases, there may not even be one recruiting agency in London. Depending on the terms of cooperation, IT recruiting in the UK has 4 main types:
1. Exclusive recruitment. Personnel selection is provided to only one recruiting agency. In this case, payment for work occurs only for the result. The contract usually specifies the period during which the recruiting agency in London must complete its work. Otherwise, the latter’s services will remain unpaid.
2. Retained search. Implies payment to the agency in parts for the work performed. Payment usually occurs in 2-3 stages. It is used to fulfill very complex company requests. For example, to search for specialists in rare professions or management personnel;
3. Contingency search. In this case, personnel recruitment in London is performed by either one or several agencies. Only one agency receives payment and only for the result, not for the work done. For agencies, this is a race against each other, not everyone is happy with this. But for the client, this can be a good option when he pays not for the process, but for the result.
4. RPO. Recruitment process outsourcing. A type of cooperation in which a company transfers part of its personnel selection tasks to an external recruiter or agency. This allows the company to control the search process, take an active part in it, and simultaneously optimize its costs.
Each of the presented types of personnel recruitment in London has both advantages and disadvantages. An experienced agency will always advise the company which type of cooperation will suit both parties.
Features of the IT market in London
Such features are based mainly on historical traditions and mentality. The former include the fact that Britain ruled various colonies for many centuries. During this period, various enterprises and industries were transferred to colonial countries. This was beneficial in terms of using cheap labor. Management was concentrated in Britain, education developed, universities were built. Even now, centuries later, recruitment in London is aimed mostly at management personnel, the IT industry and highly qualified personnel in other industries.
Another feature of London is that recruitment is considered a complex profession here. It is also interesting that many recruiters who are engaged in the selection of IT specialists in London work in headhunting.
Almost every recruiting agency in London has a specialization. Often very narrow. Up to agencies that are engaged in recruiting personnel in London only for certain specialties. This trend is especially noticeable in the IT sector.
And the fact that recruitment in London is unhurried and has many more stages of hiring, most likely relates to the mentality of the British. In Britain, the state takes an active part in the employment process. In London, you can find many agencies with state funding, and on the government website you can see a huge number of job ads.
Trends and challenges in IT recruitment in London
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies have transferred their employees to remote work. The pandemic is over, but during this time, many employees have liked this system and are in no hurry to return to the office. Remote work has gained new popularity. It has become a priority for many candidates when applying for a job. In addition, many specialists can thus work for a London company while being in another city or country.
Other trends and tendencies include:
• Internal recruitment has slowed down since 2022;
• Many companies have started implementing a talent retention system after realizing that they are not satisfied with staff turnover and that retaining old employees is more profitable than hiring new ones;
• IT recruiting in the UK has experienced a decrease in the number of vacancies over the past three years;
• There is a slight shortage of qualified specialists due to the fact that some of them have left for other countries and decided to stay there;
• Due to the rapid development of technology and artificial intelligence, many specialists have to retrain, as their skills in their previous position have become outdated or are no longer in demand.
Stages of IT recruitment in London
As mentioned earlier, recruiting personnel in London is not the easiest job. At the same time, the selection of candidates in the UK takes much longer and is more difficult than in other countries. The main reasons are: leisurely work, a large number of stages of candidate selection and long feedback after each of them.
We will not list all the stages of IT recruitment in the UK, but we will pay attention to the differences and features:
• A recruitment agency in London usually conducts not one or two, but several interviews with candidates. Most of them involve employers. And each of the stages, taking into account preparation, can take up to several weeks;
• For serious interviews, companies provide candidates with topics of conversation and resources for preparation in advance;
• The final stage before making a decision is an on-site interview. Usually held on the employer’s premises. It can consist of several interviews in a row with the heads of various departments and management;
• On average, the tasks are more complex, and the interviews are longer than those to which most candidates are accustomed.
As a result, employment for certain positions can last several months, or even six months. Representatives of non-technical specialties have a chance to get a job faster, in one or two months.
Methods and tools for automating IT recruiting
As for recruiting tools, almost every recruiting agency in London has a classic set in its arsenal:
• Platforms like LinkedIn, Slack and Discord are used for searching;
• Automation and ease of use are achieved through various CRM systems. These can be iCIMS, Zoho Recruit, WorkDay and many others;
• The same social networks, external and internal search methods, networking, etc. work;
• In Britain, company websites are actively operating, where they themselves often post vacancies without using additional external search methods.
It is worth adding that the recruiting agency in London is fully equipped with all technical tools for a successful search. All programs that have paid functions are usually paid for by the maximum subscription and recruiters do not have any difficulties with the functionality.
Evotalents is an IT recruiting agency that has been helping companies find highly qualified personnel for over 8 years. In addition to IT services, one of the agency’s areas of activity is the selection of C-level management personnel. The school offers training in sourcing and IT recruiting, and its graduates have been successfully developing their careers in recruiting for many years.
Extensive experience in effective work and an individual approach to each client allow the agency to solve complex business problems in the search for the rarest and most scarce candidates.
FAQ
Why should you contact a recruiting agency to find IT specialists?
The agency has a large arsenal of professional tools for sourcing and recruiting, as well as a ready-made internal candidate database and is able to solve a serious problem in a short time.
How can you optimize and speed up the process of finding IT employees?
Cooperation with an agency allows you to choose the most convenient interaction option. This can be a separate sourcing service, or it can be full-cycle recruiting. Successful communication between Evotalents and the client will allow you to build the right search strategy.
What positions can recruiting agencies fill in the IT sphere?
The IT recruiting agency Evotalents is able to find almost any specialist in their industry. We are looking for both developers and candidates for non-technical positions. Also, thanks to our specialization, we are ready to provide high-quality assistance in finding C-level managers.
How much do the services of a recruiting agency for the selection of IT specialists cost?
Using an individual approach to each client, Evotalents is able to solve complex and comprehensive tasks. We have several service packages for companies, and the final cost will be formed based on the specific request and wishes of the client.