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How Small Semiconductor Companies Can Compete When Recruiting Talent

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Jack Trompert

When it comes time for a small semiconductor company to hire new talent it can feel a bit like David gearing up to compete with Goliath. There's a limited pool of talent out there. How are the little guys supposed to compete with the giants of the electronics industry?

There's no getting around it. You have to be prepared to face a distinct set of challenges from the larger semiconductor companies eyeing the same candidates. But it's not hopeless.

Your competitors might seem like Goliath, but we all know how that story ends. While there are benefits bigger companies can offer that you can't, there are unique incentives to working with smaller semiconductor companies as well.big_challenges

Challenge: You have less budget to work with.

 Money's not everything, but during the hiring process it's a huge part of the equation. To compete for top semiconductor talent, you have to be able to offer an attractive salary. If money's tighter at your company than it is at the massive semiconductor company down the street, you're likely to lose out on top candidates.

Benefit: Focus on What You Have to Offer

When you're seeking out new employees, focus on what's special about your company, your team, and the work you're doing. What do you have to offer that no international, multi-billion dollar semiconductor company has?

If you're doing especially unique or interesting work, you may find candidates that see the chance to do something cutting edge as more attractive than a bigger salary. 

Challenge: The hiring process is longer.

Smaller businesses are often figuring out processes as they go. You probably don't have a clear, well-tread hiring process in place to help things run smoothly like some of your larger competitors do. That means the hiring process moves slower and you risk losing promising candidates to companies that get them hired and making money faster.

Benefit: Smaller Companies Offer More Freedom

Those same larger, more organized systems that can help a big company streamline the hiring process also create a lot of bureaucracy. For many semiconductor professionals, the freedom of being able to make research and project decisions without going through a complicated process for approval can be a powerful incentive. 

Challenge: You have less name recognition.

For some professionals, the appeal of working at one of the big, shiny companies that everyone's heard of will be hard to get around. It looks nice on a resume and lends a certain feeling of importance. A smaller outfit that a candidate's hearing of for the first time might not look as promising if there's a comparable position being offered by one of the big guys.

Benefit: You Provide a More Personal Environment

Smaller companies can provide a sense of community and offer greater flexibility to employees. Everyone's working with people they know personally. If an engineer knows she can run home to help out a sick family member without repercussions, that's meaningful in making a decision about where to work. 

You can always help simplify the hiring process by bringing in people whose job it is to make the experience more efficient and rewarding for all involved. A good talent agency, like Talent101, can help facilitate the discussion and get a new, promising hire working for you faster. Just get in touch to see how we can help.Learn How We Help Companies Find Semiconductor Talent Download our Quick Start Guide

Jack Trompert

In 2010, Jack and Janet Trompert started Talent 101 with a clear new vision on how to deliver talent to the marketplace. To work at Talent 101 is to be a part of something creative and big. From our modest roots as an ambitious startup, to becoming a global workforce solution provider to the world’s most recognized semiconductor companies, our growth and momentum owes a lot to our strong company culture of customer service, can do attitude, sense of urgency and always focus on the client and talent.

jackt@talent-101.com