The year 2020 is considered the year of remote working, and this shift has changed the way that typical organizations function. More focus has been placed on the quality of work rather than the number of hours worked. With this increasing preference to incorporate remote working, there is also an increased desire to hire software developers. It is not surprising that remote working grew exponentially following the pandemic, but will this trend continue in coming years?
Impact of Covid 19 on Hiring Trend
Even after a drop in the early days of lockdown, technology hiring has bounced back towards the end of 2020. With a 4.8 million increase from 2019, the global developer population will reach 28.7 million in 2024. According to CompTIA, the tech openings grew by 391,000, with software developers and application developers reaching the largest share of 62,900 in the US alone. The quest for qualified talent is not over yet, as skilled developers still have the upper hand in the job market.
Despite the adverse effects of Covid-19, the IT industry is still positioned well. This organizational shift to full-time remote hiring requires advanced technology and software that can keep people connected outside of the office, allow access to data from anywhere at any time, and assist with any other needs. Therefore, the demand for well-functioning remote software developers is skyrocketing. Since software developers are one of the most well-paid professionals in the IT industry, this continued demand ensures that their salaries will only continue to rise.
According to an analysis by LinkedIn, US demand for software developers increased by 25% between April -October 2020 and included specific roles like Web developers, full-stack developers, and cloud engineers. H iring for these roles has also increased by 73% as demand remains at full length, and there are more than 400,000 open jobs in this sector.
Hiring Trend in 2021
The CodinGame survey, based on responses from 15,000 developers and human resources managers, found that companies will feel pressure in the competitive technology market in 2021 as more companies struggle to fill new technology positions. The survey found that 64% of companies want to hire 50% more developers by 2021. However, this is quite problematic, according to the latest developer survey from CodingAMES, where 61% of HR executives reported that hunting for qualified developers is their biggest recruitment challenge in 2021.
The 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey highlights that companies desire developers with a broadened range of knowledge. The survey also found that Javascript still leads as the most popular language, while Java and Python lead the back end and SQL as the server-side stack. The developers are now tested not only in their knowledge of the language but also in their ability to understand the resources and tools of the given tech stack that they use. For companies to thrive, they must recognize this trend and get the best software developers to their pool.
Even though the US has slipped to the 5th position in the most significant labor market, it still maintains international hiring. The latest surveys also show an increase in the developer resources from other countries like Russia, Brazil, and Canada due to the proximity and relative time. Another trend that companies have concentrated on is allocating IT skills to outsourced-focused countries, which is expected to continue over the years.
The year 2021 would be a challenge to many recruiters as they would need to compete for their technology talent hunt more aggressively to hire remote software developers. More and more companies are focusing on using virtual recruitment technology, shifting talent-recruitment efforts to distant candidates, and considering internal talent pools with stress on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Recruitment trends over the past year will dictate opportunities in 2021, and job seekers should take a look at current patterns when positioning themselves for new roles. Colleen Garrett, SHRM CP, recommends that recruiters spend time developing virtual interviews and hiring, understanding talent metrics, and showing empathy and compassion. Meanwhile, Cheryl Roubini, VP of People at Greenhouse, says more companies are looking for tools to help them root out prejudice in the hiring process and set up systems to promote and develop employees.
The revolution in the remote workforce reached a turning point in 2020, and remote work became the standard method. While companies used to offer work from home as a perk, today has become the norm. The pandemic is devastated talent-gathering teams and overwhelmed others with new demands, but it has now.