What Oregon’s Tech Growth Means for Your Recruiting

By Jezabel Southard

Posted on March 20, 2015

Technology jobs are great for Oregon; they garner high wages that provide tax dollars for education, infrastructure and health care. And after a sluggish few years, the industry is beginning to bounce back locally.

• The technology industry in Oregon is nearly back to prerecession levels with almost 90,000 tech workers currently employed in the state.
• Portland ranks number nine nationwide in the number of startups, many of them technology firms and are hiring heavily as they ramp up.
• Portland is a unique place to live. The high-quality local talent pool is stabilized by a population that is dedicated to remaining in the area.
• Outside corporations who come in and buy small local tech companies leave them in place rather than absorbing them because of the quality and stability of the talent.

What Does This Mean For Recruiting?

You’ll face a high level of competition for the most skilled knowledge workers. Technical talent will have a wide range of career options to choose from, including contracting for a startup or charting a career path at a more established organization.

How Can You Be Sure That You Are In The Mix?

Make sure tech talent knows who you are. Become or remain active in social media. Share your projects, events and culture to give potential candidates a sense of who you are and why they should work with you.

Intrigue them with your projects. Technical professionals love challenges. Give them a puzzle to solve or a code to crack and they will be eager to join your team – and they’ll stay there as long as you keep the challenges coming. If you gain a reputation as the organization that is always working on the next big thing, the most talented people will be knocking at your door.

Recruit from outside the area. People who come to Oregon seldom want to leave. There are a wide range of cultural and outdoor activities to keep people busy and unparalleled scenery from the shoreline to the mountains, much of it public land accessible to all.

Think multigenerational. Create an organization that will attract all generations (and skill specialties) of tech talent. Offer flexible hours, collaborative workspaces, opportunities to share new ideas. Providing an environment that nurtures creativity is good for both recruiting and achieving your business objectives.

At TERRA Staffing, our experienced recruiters can help you beat the competition to the most highly skilled technical talent in Oregon. Contact us today to get started!

Categories: HR and Management Advice, Staffing Tips & Recruiting Trends

Tags: Portland Tech Recruiting Firm, Portland Tech Staffing, Portland Technology Recruiting, Portland Technology Recruiting Efforts, Recruiting IT Talent in OR

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