Sourcing talent beyond traditional networks
Research highlights a lack of awareness of the range of opportunities available in tech scaleups, as well as a perception among underrepresented groups that working in the sector requires very specific skill sets, experience and qualifications.
Together with the fact that recruitment agencies are not normally incentivised to search for promising talent from underrepresented backgrounds, this means that you may be missing out on great candidates who are not finding or applying to your roles.
To broaden your search, the following strategies can be helpful starting points:
Early careers
For junior hiring, explore partnerships with organisations dedicated to supporting specific underrepresented groups or young people into the sector. Work with diverse intern or access partners.
- CodeFirstGirls: offers a talent pool of early career technical talent.
- Tangent: access a community of early career sales talent from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
- GoodWork: entry-level trained candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Upskilling
Look at bootcamp providers who are upskilling candidates in technical disciplines such as data and AI. Consider whether you can broaden your requirements and upskill a candidate in role, perhaps by tapping into apprenticeship levy underspend.
- Generation: offering supported recruitment of diverse candidates in key disciplines including data and AI.
- Workwhile: supports SMEs to tap into apprenticeship levy underspend which can be used to fund training of new or existing staff across a range of disciplines.
- TechSwitch: hire trained software developers who join your team on placement.
Career changers
Consider pools of candidates that may have relevant transferable skills, such as from other industries, return-to-workers or those from a military background.
- TechVets: advertises roles to a community of military veterans with core tech skills such as cybersecurity.
- 55Redefined: job board marketplace for experienced candidates aged 50 and above.
Global talent
International visas, such as the Global Talent Visa, can significantly broaden the talent pool by attracting diverse international tech professionals.
- TechNation: provides support for recruiting top tech talent from around the world. It also has a job board for global AI and quantum talent.
- Talent Beyond Boundaries: recruit from a global community of skilled refugees.
Local talent
For more general roles, looking at local talent initiatives can provide a useful pipeline of candidates. The following are bodies called sub-regional partnerships (SRPs) that can help you get connected in your area:
- Central London Forward: covers Camden, City of London, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth and Westminster.
- Local London: covers Barking, Bromley, Enfield, Greenwich, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.
- West London Alliance: covers Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow.
- South London Partnership: covers Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton.
Professional communities and job boards
Directly advertising your roles to relevant communities or job boards can help to boost applications, particularly if you’re not using a recruiter.
- Making Moves: community for London-based women working in tech sales.
- Women In Tech: community and jobs board for women in the sector.
- Diversity Job Network: has jobs boards aimed at different communities including LGBT Jobs, Neurodiversity Jobs, Disability Job, BME Jobs.
- ColorInTech: promote jobs to a large community of 60,000 early-career candidates and experienced professionals.
- Pink Jobs: free-to-post job board promoting equal opportunity.
- Women in Product: community of female product leaders.
- Diverse Jobs Matter: a job board that promotes diversity across all sectors and roles, from entry-level to C-suite.
- AEs of London: community of London-based account executives working in Software as a Service (SaaS).
- Evenbreak: job board for disabled candidates.
Learn more about how to source and attract the best talent to work at your company.
Positive action
Positive action in recruitment refers to steps taken to target a particular demographic that is underrepresented in your team, such as by targeting your job ads to job boards or communities focused on specific groups. You can find examples in the more resources section.
It's also important to know the difference between positive action, which is legal, and positive discrimination, which is not legal.
Find out more about positive action in the workplace.
Next step
Refining your hiring processes is crucial when you're recruiting the best talent for your business, and it might be easier than you think.