In April, there were more than 128,000 jobs for Software Developers being advertised online. This not only represents a 16% year-over-year increase in demand, but also marks a new high in hiring for this position. While demand has grown, the number of qualified potential candidates has not grown at the same pace and, if you've been recruiting for this occupation, you know that these jobs are getting harder to fill. In fact, our Hiring Scale scores Software Developers as a 75, out of a possible 99 (99 represents the most difficult-to-fill situation.) Also, we are able to see that the average posting period for a Software Developer job ad is about 7 weeks. This doesn't necessarily mean that you will be able to fill a job in 7 weeks, just that this is the time period on average that ads remain online (usually demonstrates the time it takes to collect resumes and being interviewing.)
Hiring Scales for Software Developers in the US
So, we wanted to look at some of the cities where Software Developers are likely to be the hardest to fill. If you are hiring in these cities, you may need to prepare innovative recruiting strategies to attract candidates.
10 Metro Areas Where Software Developers Will Be the Most Difficult-to-Fill:
- Columbia, MO
- Baltimore, MD
- Bloomington-Normal, IL
- San Francisco, CA
- Charleston, SC
- Lafayette, LA
- Atlanta, GA
- Panama City, FL
- Peoria, IL
- Idaho Falls, ID
Columbia, MO currently has the most difficult conditions in the US for sourcing potential Software Development candidates. This area scores a 94 on our Hiring Scale, the highest score in the US. In addition, these cities are likely to have an average posting period at or above the national average. The longest posting period of these 10 cities is in Charleston, SC. Here, job ads for Software Developers remain online for over 8 weeks.
Hiring Scale for Software Developers in Columbia, MO
If you are sourcing for open Software Developer jobs in one of these hard-to-fill locations, there are some things you can do to find more candidates. First of all, you can look to other nearby cities that may have lower demand and less strains on the talent pool. For example, if you're in Columbia, MO, look at nearby Jefferson City. The Jefferson City area scores an 18 on our Hiring Scale, with far better conditions than nationally. Also, it's only about 30 miles away, so you can likely find candidates without having to relocate them.
Another way to find more candidates is to expand your job title search. When you are looking for candidates in your ATS or online, don't only look for "Software Engineers" or "Software Developers." Some of the most common job titles don't even have "software" in them. Make sure to look at other titles, such as .NET Developer, Java Developer, Applications Engineer, User Interface Designer, and Release Engineer. These are just some of the most commonly used titles for Software Engineers.
Do you have any other tips for finding candidates for hard-to-fill jobs, like Software Engineers?
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