Trap #1: Finding enough qualified candidates. More than half (53%) of the survey respondents revealed that their biggest hiring challenge was finding sufficiently skilled candidates. A related concern was finding applicants with the right personality/cultural fit. The Danger: If aspiring employees lack key skills, you’ll end up with unfilled positions or be forced to settle. And new hires who are not a good fit personally or culturally will either turn over quickly, or remain as unhappy employees – neither of which is good for business.

Trap #2: Offering competitive salary. 16% of those surveyed said that offering a competitive salary was their principal hiring issue. The Danger: Offer too little, and your competitors land the best candidates – who are already scarce. Offer too much, and you drain your budget before filling all open positions.

Trap #3: Finding local talent. This varied by region, but for 10% of the survey respondents, finding available, quality talent nearby was their chief hiring challenge. The Danger: Relocation expenses escalate hiring costs. And if your new Sunbelt hire finds 25-degree winters to be intolerably miserable, or your formerly small-town employee decides the big city is a big disappointment, you’ll soon be hiring all over again.

Trap #4: Retaining top employees. Finding the best talent is only half the battle: keeping it was the most pressing issue for 8% of those who responded. And there’s nothing more frustrating for a hiring manager than investing months to bring a star employee on board, only to have them wooed away shortly afterward by a better offer. The Danger: Frequent turnover is disruptive and costly, but among today’s professionals, there is often little loyalty and job-hopping is simply considered a fast-track for career advancement.

So how can IT hiring managers handle these potential pitfalls? To increase your chances of finding qualified talent – local or not – you’ll need to elevate your networking game. Researching competitors may help you set more attractive (but not overly generous) salary specs. And holding on to star performers requires an effort that is part creativity, part counselor and part creative financier. If that sounds like a lot of work, it is. That’s why many HR departments turn to professional IT staffing firms, who do all of the heavy lifting for you with pre-screened talent pools, up-to-the-minute salary information and placement guarantees.

Whether you choose the DIY approach, or decide to call in the professionals at Triumph Services, knowing the challenges can help you evade the traps on the path to successful hiring.

Here are three questions to ask if you are thinking about investing your time and money pursuing a cert:

What does it get me? Half of those surveyed said getting a cert gave them a salary boost – with 40% of that group confirming a pay increase greater than 10%. 60% of the respondents landed new jobs because of a certification, and 29% affirm that a cert led to a promotion. Those numbers mean that while getting a cert to score a promotion may be situation-specific, the odds are definitely in your favor if you’re getting certified to help find a new job. Finally, don’t overlook learning for its own sake – 27% of the survey’s respondents decided to get a certification just to learn about the technology. This approach can be especially helpful with new technologies, when getting hands-on experience isn’t yet possible.

Which do I choose? 67% of those surveyed held network technology certs, with those from Cisco being the most popular. Ironically, Cisco certs were named both most and least valuable – confusing until you consider Cisco offers a wide range of certs spanning differing degrees of difficulty. “The reason Cisco certs are seen as most valuable and least valuable is that it depends on the certification. The CCNA is entry-level and easy to get, but the CCIE is still hard and a lot of employers want it,” clarifies Lee Eddy II, a senior security analyst with over ten years of IT experience. Security is another strong area for certs, with CompTIA Security+ being the most commonly held. Linux and sysadmin/virtualization certs were considered middle of the road in both popularity and value, while the least popular certs were in network management technology, as well as Citrix and Red Hat virtualization.

What’s the catch? In addition to choosing the right certs for your field, timing is everything. According to Craig Norborg, a network engineer with more than fifteen years of experience and a portfolio of certs, “If you get them too early, people think they’re book certs. If you get them too late, you’re just proving what you already know, which may not be required.” Norborg adds, “Employers are pretty suspicious of many high-end certs from a young person, or someone just entering the field.” The best approach? Research which certs are appropriate at which points in your career, and make sure you have some real-world expertise to back them up.

Only 26% of survey respondents were not convinced of the value of certs and didn’t hold one – so 74% of the professionals that you’re competing against for jobs, promotions and raises DO. If you choose wisely, certs are certifiably worth the investment!

What else can we tell you?  If you’d like to take advantage of our 20+ years of experience in the IT staffing industry, contact Triumph today!

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