While the rest of the world may be laying off workers, technologists are still highly in demand. 2021 looks to be potentially tumultuous from a jobs perspective—at least for the first quarter. The chances are high that hiring managers and recruiters will continue to fill any “purple squirrel” roles, while experienced IT candidates will likely be less willing to jump ship if the economy remains unstable. This makes every hire even more important. How can hiring teams get it right? What should you look for in your IT candidates next year?
Most In-Demand IT Skills for 2020
Your new hires’ technology stack depends largely on the type of tools and infrastructures you have in place. However, we believe a few tech skills on the horizon will be the most in-demand next year no matter where you work. They include:
- Cloud computing experience. Whether it’s a business analyst or a programming position, there is little doubt that cloud computing experience will be required in 2020. That’s because 67% of enterprise software and architectures will be in the cloud this year. The same statistics confirm 85% of businesses around the globe are using the cloud in some way. So, for 2020, there may still be a need for on-premise network architects, but the trends look as if they should also have cloud computing experience for hybrid networks.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) remains hot. Look for developers that have experience with machine learning algorithms, which will fuel our future efforts to automate and create smarter products. Enterprise organizations are investing heavily in AI-related tools, and this will not go away anytime soon. Gartner says by 2021, 81% of emerging technologies will have a base firmly rooted in AI.
- Data analytics and analytical reasoning skills will be important qualities for any new hire to your IT teams next year. We have massive amounts of data and we’re constantly collating more, so finding IT workers with the skills necessary to organize, visualize, and make sense of all the information will be critical. Look for candidates with critical thinking and innovative problem-solving experience.
- Collaboration and team management are the soft skills that lie at the heart of most successful businesses. Look for candidates with coaching and mentoring skills. Team leaders in IT are extremely valuable to any organization. The best IT candidates today exhibit great communication and collaboration skills. Programming skills are still important, but tomorrow’s IT teams will also have the ability to verbalize their vision for features and iterations that will create greater innovation at your company.
Finding the right candidate for your business is critical to team and business productivity. There’s no time or money to waste on unqualified candidates or new hires that simply don’t work out. That’s why companies choose Blackstone Talent Group to help them source, interview, negotiate, and hire the brightest and most skilled workers. We can help you find that needle in a haystack that is holding up your internal hiring processes. Talk to our team today to find out how we can reduce your time to hire and improve employee retention.