After several years of the COVID-19 pandemic, political turbulence, economic backlashes… The last few years haven’t been kind to IT or any other industry. Yet companies manage to stay afloat, new startups generate innovative projects, and life goes on.

But all these events and their inevitable consequences cause global changes that disrupt the most important process in any business. Namely, talent acquisition efforts. Scroll down to find out in what ways. We’ll speak about the difficulties and unique opportunities they offer.

2022 Challenges For IT Recruitment

Tech-based companies are going through a lot these days. Let’s name the basic concerns that have been dominating all markets and influencing their hiring activities.

Need For Skilled Workers

Talent shortage can’t be called a new phenomenon in the IT sphere. Companies have been experiencing understaffing since the collapse and rapid growth of the Dot-com market (its development was fast, so employers needed specialists to cover the constantly intensifying needs).

But the current shortage is driven by new factors that knock out companies and destroy the already adjusted business processes.

The first blow happened in 2019 when the world was shattered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Unlike in other sectors, this global event both took from the IT sphere and gave something else in return.

Nevertheless, the IT sphere as a whole was on the rise:

• Employers adjusted to new labor markets (after turning to candidates in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia) and explored the opportunities for remote practices

• New coronavirus-related projects attracted generous investments

• Salaries went up

The second blow hit the European and American markets at the beginning of 2022. The confrontation between Russia and Ukraine caused an even greater shortage of specialists as these countries (including Belarus) had been providing businesses with a constant flow of talent. Until it became impossible in most cases.

Political And Economical Instability

Such times make it difficult to work out a safe development vector for most companies. Some were forced to fire their employees due to financial losses. Others had to change the already established plans and shrink their budgeting ambitions.

Even big and well-established enterprises had to do something about it. For example, Google stopped all hiring activity for 2 weeks in the summer, also intending to slow down the incoming flow of new hires until 2023. Some brands even introduced layoff measures. For instance,  Netflix terminated 300 employment contracts in June 2022.



Opportunities That Come Along With Crises

Following The Candidates

Every time companies set up their recruitment processes, something happens and tears them down. This is why most of them are at a loss and don’t know where to find high-quality specialists for their projects. A very recent example occurred at the beginning of this year when stable providers of valuable talents vanished from everyone’s radar (e.g., Russia).

But if you follow the news, you know that many people have been relocating from this country since February 2022. The immigration wave reached its peak in September when the Russian government announced mobilization procedures.

Thousands of people rushed to cross the border and get to the CIS countries, Europe, Asia, and other directions. Many of them are IT specialists who are open to hiring because they have quit their jobs. They form communities when they settle in a new place, which is convenient for recruiters. Once you know where to look, what channels to use, and how to reach out to them, you get a new and stable pool of candidates to invite. Proactivity and knowledge are key factors if you want solid results.

Leveling Up Remote Work Proficiency

Cooperating remotely seems to be more appealing in these circumstances. At least because it’s the only possible option in most cases (at least so far):