Tech hiring is changing. Instead of looking for a checklist of certifications or job titles, companies are increasingly asking me to help them find someone who possesses a specific skill set or can hit the ground running.
It's a distinct move towards skills-based hiring, and it's how tech teams are finding talent in a market that demands flexibility.
Based on my specialism in helping SMEs find adaptable talent capable of working across multiple areas via my role as Senior Business Manager for Technology at Robert Half, I believe a skills-based approach to tech hiring can be beneficial.
I’ll draw on my expertise to discuss how companies can adopt a skills-based approach for optimal hiring success and how candidates can stand out in a skills-based market.
The rise of skills-based hiring in tech
Skills-based hiring is a response to stretched resources — many companies I've spoken to have lost good people through restructuring due to the market issues that we've been seeing recently. As a result, they're embracing flexibility and pragmatism, rather than being prescriptive around the need to meet X, Y, and Z certifications or educational backgrounds. They’re looking for candidates who can function in multiple roles.
I've spoken to companies that have said, "We might not be able to hit all these qualifications, because our tech stack has evolved so much in recent years. So, the skill that we're looking for is just someone who can pick up new technology quickly and understand how we use it to benefit the business."
Tech hiring is becoming more about finding someone who understands the business's processes, how the technology supports users, and how it supports the business and its processes. That, in itself, is a skill that I think people are trying to hone across a lot of different roles within technology.
How skills-based hiring is influencing recruitment
In my experience with the SME market, companies are trying to identify soft skills earlier in the hiring process. They're trying to ascertain whether candidates possess the right soft skills — including good communication skills, the ability to manage multiple priorities and conflicting demands, and the ability to adapt to new technology quickly.
A process like this shifts hiring away from solely reviewing CVs and towards getting to know the candidate more quickly through video calls and face-to-face meetings. Recruitment experts, like Robert Half, are also helping to do critical shortlisting for them.
Hiring talent fresh from apprenticeships is becoming a common practice in skills-based hiring, too. I see a lot of companies recognising the value of someone coming through an apprenticeship armed with practical experience and a few certifications.
Companies do value those experiences, and by considering these candidates as viable options, you're expanding your talent pool while allowing for upward mobility in the tech industry, which is fantastic.
Most in-demand skills for tech talent
Data and BI reporting are becoming very big in the SME hiring market. I was on a call recently with a small business that had someone internally who had grown into doing data, weekly dashboarding, and reporting.
What they were looking for next was someone who could come in and build that out as a BI manager. Someone with a clear understanding of the business and the business processes, who knows where the data is coming from, and how it's all interlinked.
Cybersecurity is another critical skill that SMEs are seeking in tech hiring, particularly in areas such as cloud, DevOps, and DevSecOps. We recently had a client who was developing their product and had heavily invested in growing it, only to suddenly face a cybersecurity attack. And these kinds of things are happening quite regularly.
It's prompting companies to assess the security of their infrastructure around products; this is something that will only become more important with time.
Read more: Top skills in demand for the 2025 hiring market
Developing in-demand tech skills
Whenever someone asks me, "Pete, I'm changing careers and I'm trying to get into this sort of area. How do I get experience?" Volunteering, internships, and finding a mentor in the space are really important.
Temp or contract experience can also be valuable on your CV, especially if you're trying to break into these industries. I regularly work with my temp contracts team to connect them with career switchers, as it's vital to get your foot in the door and gain experience.
Explore temp and contract roles now
Adapting your interview style
The most common way to validate skills is via competency-style questions earlier on in the process. The goal should be to try to discern how someone might react in a particular situation or perform a specific task.
For example, "Give me an example of a time you've had to handle conflicting priorities", or "Tell me about a time you've had to deal with the change of technology."
Motivational questions are also an excellent way to find out more about the candidate — why that role, why that company? What research have they done? Companies are keen to find out, very early on, what has motivated the candidate to apply with them.
Read more: Best interview questions to ask
Avoiding common misconceptions
The biggest misconception around skills-based hiring is that, if you’re not specific enough with certifications or items on the job spec, you’ll be inundated with applications. The reality is, in this market, you're going to have that anyway!
Skills-based hiring forces companies to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials. What is the stuff that you cannot train this person on? Those are the skills they need to have. In most cases that I see, the essentials are soft skills, like the ability to hit the ground running or adapt quickly to new technologies.
I recently encountered a situation where a company sent me a job spec stipulating 'Candidate must have X years of experience,' and I think that's something to try to avoid. In trying to validate experience, you risk alienating top tech talent who may only have eight years of experience — companies would probably still consider that person if they're the right fit and tick the other elements of the job.
In reality, there probably isn't a perfect person for your job. It's more likely that there are multiple perfect people, and in opening yourself up to different types of people, you're getting a variety of options. As a recruiter, I sometimes get feedback regarding the lack of variety in candidates, and that's usually down to an overly prescriptive job ad.
How to recruit top tech talent using a skills-based
The critical thing is to really understand the role you're hiring for before you write the job description. What do you need this person to do? What do the first thirty, sixty, and ninety days on the job look like? Look ahead to a year or two years and work your way backwards into the job spec. You'll very quickly be able to determine what's essential and what's not.
Read more: SME tech talent recruitment – 5 expert attraction and retention tips
If you can, try to avoid putting things in your job description solely to adhere to a process, because before you know it, you'll have a three-page long job spec riddled with 'essential' criteria. The skills-based approach requires you to challenge yourself every step of that process.
I've seen businesses employ people who have a very consistent list of skills-based training with certifications from Microsoft and Google rather than a university degree. It's also worth considering individuals with transferable skills from a variety of business roles.
It’s also critical to sell what you do well as a business to attract top applicants. For example, if you've got a great training budget and can send your people on courses. That’s how you gain the edge in the hiring market and attract candidates with desirable skill sets.
How job seekers can adapt to stand out
My best piece of advice is to make sure the role you're applying for is genuinely something you're passionate about. I appreciate that many people are in a difficult position at the moment, and there's a necessity to have a job, but it's vital to ensure that you're showing a genuine interest when applying.
Tailoring your CV to the role is also important. I'm having conversations with candidates who are asking, "How do I tailor my CV for every single job that I'm applying for?" It's a balance.
There are some jobs where you might not need to tailor your CV as much as others. But the people who tend to get the roles are those who have taken the time to review their CV. Does it show enthusiasm for the role? Is it highlighting the skills listed on the job spec? Is it showing motivation, adaptability, or an inquisitive nature?
Read more: Best UK cities for tech jobs according to our experts
Coming through a recruiter does help, but I can appreciate that people are struggling to get in touch with recruiters due to the sheer quantity of candidates out there at the moment.
Competition is tough. But if you can, get in touch and build a trusting relationship with a recruiter who can advocate for you, help you on your journey, and give you feedback.
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Embracing a future of pragmatism and flexibility
Skills-based hiring isn't for everybody and can’t cover every single role. But, in my experience, companies have been happiest when they’ve found tech talent that ticks 70% of their requirements but comes with the bonus of being motivated, engaged in the job and the company, and who they feel is going to have a fantastic career with them.
The reality is that technology is constantly evolving, and tech talent is always transitioning between jobs or roles. I had a client recently who said exactly that. They said, "I know that I'm going to get someone who might have outgrown this role in two years, but I can give them X, Y and Z; I can fill gaps in their training, and then after two years, they can move on, and I'll wish them well."
I see the future of hiring moving towards this pragmatism. Moving towards knowing what you can get and knowing the value you can give in return.
