We visited PwC’s Dublin office to talk to experienced recruitment leads about the evolving recruitment landscape and how PwC is adapting to these changes.
The tech recruitment landscape has undergone immense change over the past few years.
For example, since the Covid-19 pandemic, new expectations around the nature of work have impacted the way in which jobseekers search for and accept roles in various industries.
The widespread adoption of remote working, as well as hybrid alternatives, has instilled an expectation and preference of some level of home-based work in most modern jobseekers and employees. Despite this, some companies are attempting to bring workers back to the office.
Meanwhile, the newest generation of jobseekers, Gen Z, have their own expectations in regards to their careers, breaking traditional working expectations and promoting individuality.
To find out more about the ever changing tech recruitment landscape, SiliconRepublic.com visited PwC’s Dublin office to talk to some of the company’s experienced recruiters and technology leads.
Robert Byrne, technology partner and alliances lead, believes that employers have become more focused on diversity, which is having “superb outcomes” for companies, while jobseekers now have a greater focus on the working environment.
“The roles that people go for are incredibly important to them and the type of work, but now what we’re seeing is a greater focus on things like the working culture in an organisation, the hybrid working model, the policy that’s in place, but actually the practice that’s in place.”
Experienced hire recruiter Sylvia Walsh says that at PwC, the candidate is placed at “the heart of everything [they] do”.
“We proactively go out to market, engage with our network, our employees are our best brand ambassadors,” she says.
According to Walsh, it’s important that candidates get the opportunity to understand elements of the business such as the projects they’re working on, the learning opportunities and the career progression offered by the company.
“In all, it is around having a very open, transparent and structured process, understanding that candidate and aligning to our requirements.”
Jack Gallagher, head of experienced hire recruitment, says there are a range of different things that they look for in an experienced hire, from the types of projects that they have worked on to their industry experience.
“The candidates still very much drive the marketplace, so while the package is still important to everyone, it’s not as important as it once was,” he says.
“What we see is people are very much interested in the projects that they’ll be working on because they know their package will usually be at the commensurate level.”
Gallagher adds that with a lot of candidates coming from a more modern generation, their skills and values must align with the company’s values, resulting in an “enhancement of employer branding”.
Byrne says that because of PwC’s work helping clients solve “meaty change programmes”, which are underpinned by technology, then technology will be in the middle of their solutions.
“Our solutions are delivered by teams that are located, yes, on the island but also near and offshore teams.
“So an ability to work with international teams is an important part of what we’re looking for.”
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