IT professionals seek stimulating work over high salary

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: IT professionals seek stimulating work over high salary.

Research reveals that salary is not the main deciding factor for people when looking for a new job. A nationwide survey showed that having the opportunity to work on interesting and innovative projects came top of the list for over a third (34%) of job hunters, whilst 31% stated that career progression was important. Only 6% of job hunters said salary was the most important factor for them when searching for new employment.

Training opportunities were deemed a top three priority, with 13% of recruits citing them as the most important attribute they look for in a new company, highlighting the need for organisations to invest more in learning and development, both to aid employees personal growth and as a means of tackling the ongoing skills crisis in the UK. The success and reputation of a prospective employer also appeared high up in the list (11%), whilst job security, location, benefits and working hours were considered to be less important.

According to the research, boredom and lack of growth are the main reasons why people choose to leave their current employment. 80% of those surveyed stated that their current employer could not do anything to change their mind and only 16% said that they would consider a counter offer.

Advertising is revealed to be the best way for organisations to communicate job opportunities, with almost half (43%) of new recruits stating that they had heard about a new role through the medium. The statistics show that over a third (34%) of people pursue job openings based on referrals from colleagues and friends, whilst 12% say they have succumbed to head-hunters in the past.

New technologies are also beginning to emerge as viable recruitment tools with 3% of job hunters stating that they heard about a job vacancy through blogs. With recruitment consultancy fees increasing fast, companies are beginning to embrace the Internet as an alternative tool when attracting job candidates.

You can rely on advertising and internal references to a certain extent, says Michelle Flynn, Internal Recruitment Manager at Conchango. However, making use of new technology such as blogging allows you to talk directly to potential recruits, discussing particular vacancies and offering an inside perspective on the company. Not only are there financial benefits as you cut out the middle man, the recruitment consultants, it also allows you to give candidates a feel for what youre like as a company.