Verify Recruitment has published results of its technology workforce survey for Q4 of 2016. The survey – conducted during October 2016, asked approximately 3000 senior technology professionals about their attitudes and opinions on the demand for their technology skills, salary expectations and the key factors they consider when evaluating a new employment opportunity.
In the increasingly competitive hiring climate in Ireland’s technology industry, the findings from this research indicate that skilled technology professionals have high expectations when considering prospective employers and are being successful in achieving significant salary increases when switching jobs.
Indicative of current levels of hiring activity two thirds (77%) of senior technology professionals in Ireland reported being contacted monthly by recruitment consultants in relation to new employment opportunities, with over 50% being contacted on a weekly basis.
This growing demand for senior technology talent in Ireland is reflected by ongoing investment in initiatives by industry and government to attract technology talent to Ireland such Tech/Life Ireland and evidenced by new jobs announcements by companies such as Integrity360, Cylance, Cubic Telecom and Genomics Medicine.
The survey asked technology professionals when they would consider leaving their current employer for a new opportunity. 92% reported that they would consider their next job move within 24 months.
While 32% of respondents indicated that they would prefer to wait 7-24 months to consider moving to new employment, 59% reported that they would consider moving to a new job in the next 6 months.
These results are in line with global reports which indicate the length of tenure in a role being shorter for ‘millennials’, who are statistically more likely to ‘job-hop’ than any generation that has gone before them.
The survey also revealed the factors which were of highest priority to technology professionals with regard to choosing a new role. Career development prospects were the main priority for the majority of candidates with 42% of candidates ranking it as the most important factor to them, which makes career development a key differentiator for technology candidates’ employment decisions.
The desire for career development opportunities was closely followed by the salary offered in a new role. 80% of professionals ranked salary in the top 3 priorities when choosing a new role. 59% of respondents ranked time/distance to travel to work in their top three priorities.
With regard to the salary increase that a technology professional would expect for their skills and experience given the current market conditions, 93% of technology professionals would expect a salary increase in their next role, with 50% expecting at least a 6-15% increase in annual pay.
32% of technology professionals would expect an increase of 16% or more to move on to a new role.
Cathal Grogan, Managing Director of Verify Recruitment comments: “While a salary uplift expectation of over 15% may seem unusual or unrealistic in certain sectors, the expectations of our candidate survey actually genuinely reflect the reality of the market today. On average, the candidates we introduced to our clients in the last three months have earned a salary increase of 17.4% with the highest uplift received being a 50% increase for one individual.
Our clients are willing to pay a premium for top technology talent and use our specialist services and to secure senior technologists. There is particularly high demand from our clients across the board for more specialist talent attraction services such as recruitment marketing and employer branding currently, therefore it doesn’t come as a surprise that technology professionals are being enticed to move more than ever.”
Technology Workforce Survey Highlights
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About Verify Recruitment
Verify Recruitment is a leading specialist technology recruitment consultancy based in Dublin, which specialises in senior roles in the technology industry. Pioneering an innovative model of recruitment, Verify Recruitment provides specialist recruitment marketing services across a range of indigenous technology clients and growing global technology brands.
