About 20% of jobs are considered hard-to-fill. Chances are your organization is filling some of these jobs. Understanding how difficult recruiting can be, I wanted to share some tips with you on how to expand your candidate supply for your open positions. 

1. Look for Candidates with Other Job Titles

If you're recruiting a Web Developer, don't limit your talent search by just seeking candidates with the title Web Developer. Candidates often use the official title given at their company, which can vary by organizations even though they perform the same competencies you require. If you only search for "Web Developer" in your ATS or in resumes, chances are you'll miss potential candidates that meet your requirements. WANTED Analytics analyzes job ads and groups together the top titles for the same occupation, making it easier for you to determine which alternate job titles you should look for. Below are the other top job titles for Web Developers.

• Java Developer
• .NET Developer
• Sharepoint Developer
• Web Designer
• Developer

Searching for candidates that possess these job titles can potentially broaden your talent pipeline. 

2. College Recruiting Programs

Internships, college recruiting programs, or advanced educational opportunities are additional ways you can feed your candidate pipeline. Our new Graduate Data reveals which colleges or universities have the highest number of graduating candidates in specific fields of study. You can source candidates from internship programs at these schools, recruit on campus, or fill jobs from within your organization by providing current employees with skill development. For instance, University of Phoenix (Online Campus) and International Technical University (ITU) have the largest graduating candidate supply with the coursework required for Web Developer jobs. As for online schools, it may be more convenient for employees to get training outside of work hours and they can apply those learnings immediately on the job. Below are the top 5 schools with the most students graduating with web development training.

Colleges and Universities with the Largest Web Developer Graduating Candidate Supply

3. Cities with the Most Candidates

You can also source talent from the cities with large qualified candidate pools. New York (NY), Washington (DC), and Los Angeles (CA) have the highest number of candidates in the current workforce that are Web Developers. However, with intense competition for talent in these locations, recruiting conditions are still likely to be challenging. In this case, see #4. 

Cities with the Most Web Developer Candidates

4. Cities with the Best Recruiting Conditions

Our Hiring Scale scores jobs in a range of 1 - 99, with 99 indicating hardest-to-recruit. On average, Web Developers score a 93, which is considered very difficult. However, there are some locations with lower scores, indicating less difficult recruiting conditions. Montgomery (AL) scores a 50 and Fayetteville (AR) scores a 67. These are alternate locations you can consider recruiting to reduce hiring difficulty. 

Best Cities to Recruit Web Developers

5. Companies Who Have Hired in the Past

Employers that hired in the past for positions that match your requirements are likely to have strong candidates currently working at that company that meet your qualifications. Look at these companies' job ads and see if the job description and requirements are similar to your job. You can use social media, professional profiles, or your resume databanks to look up contacts at these employers for potential passive candidates. Below are companies that have hired the most Web Developers over the last 4 years. 

Employers Who Have Hired Web Developers in the Past 4 Years

6. Focus on Mandatory Skills

Many job ads include a long list of requirements. Each specification may make it harder to find the ideal candidate with the right combination of skills. Instead, focus only on those that are essential to the position or that must be understood. Consider which other skills can be taught on the job or can be learned through further education provided by the employer. Below are the most commonly advertised skills in Web Developer job ads. 

What else would you add to this list?