News
Your next great tech hire is scrolling social. Are you there too?
25th July 2025
Despite widespread tech layoffs that have marked recent years, hiring remains a major challenge across the industry.
Even in what many have described as an employer’s market in 2025, 76% of tech employers still report struggling to find candidates with the right skills. This disconnect underscores a persistent and evolving skills gap – a reflection of the fast-paced, ever-changing nature of the tech landscape, where talent needs continue to shift faster than the available workforce can adapt.
And so, even with tech salaries averaging 65% higher than the UK norm, the industry is facing a well-known, stubborn challenge: a severe shortage of top-tier talent. To stay competitive, many smaller tech companies are loading up on non-financial perks – from alternate-Friday shutdowns and unlimited holiday, to work-from-anywhere policies, share options, and even monthly takeaway allowances – to help them compete against the giants of the industry for talent. Moreover, one of the insights we drew from our own work with the global tech team behind Booking.com was the huge pull factor the chance to help develop widely used apps, and challenging and interesting technical projects can make – often even more than the benefits on offer.
But in a market where many are offering these exciting opportunities and beneficial perks to bag the top talent in a limited pool, it’s important to remember that all of this only matters if the right people know about them.
So, whether it’s spotlighting your benefits or showcasing the exciting, purpose-led work your brand does – in a hiring climate this tight, it’s not enough to offer more – you have to show up where the talent is actually looking. So how can tech brands make sure their efforts to stand out aren’t going unseen?
THE SOLUTION
Enter social media — especially the rise of Employee Value Proposition-focused content on LinkedIn, and increasingly, TikTok and Instagram.
55% of recruiters now tap into Instagram as part of their hiring strategy, and candidates are 65% more likely to take a role if social media has been part of the hiring process. What’s more, it’s been proven that companies with a strong talent brand on LinkedIn see up to 50 % lower cost-per-hire – making the entire hiring process both more efficient and effective.
For tech companies struggling to find talent, the necessity for strong social seems a no brainer – but there remains huge under-investment in the platforms across many tech companies.
THE OPPORTUNITY
For tech companies with their many perks and policies worth shouting about, there are numerous routes to unlocking the power of social:
Show don’t tell
From surges in video content across LinkedIn (36% YoY growth Oct 24 – Jan 25), to the rise of the ‘corporate influencer’ across TikTok, the need for more personable, visual storytelling has become bigger than ever. Brands can no longer get away with static images of smiling employees, or list style copy of their benefits.
Instead, they must develop engaging, social-first ways to communicate with talent. This means producing a range of video content, ranging from higher production to genuine low-fi and EGC-style videos. This way, instead of telling audiences about the benefits in boring black and white– brands can demonstrate the impact of policies in digestible, inspiring and edutaining ways.
Upskilling and incentivising for employee advocacy content
Though Employee Generated Content forms the backbone of much of this kind of social-hiring content, it can be a challenge to engage and empower employees to create it.
One way to support a more sustainable, long-term approach to generating content is offering one-on-one training with key thought leaders and voices in your business. From shooting low-fi video content to how to compose genuinely engaging employee advocacy content across social, the result is heightened authenticity, longevity and agile reactivity in brands’ ability to generate content for hiring.
For the tech industry, whose landscapes and recruitment needs are ever changing, this need for authentic and expert led content is particularly vital.
Scaling with paid social
The majority of paid hiring ads are run by recruitment agencies rather than tech companies. What’s more, less than half of the active ads aiming to recruit tech talent paint a picture of job benefits or culture. This is a huge missed opportunity as it often means candidates are hit with an ask to apply before they’ve been primed to consider the benefits and culture of the employer.
By scaling creative culture-led content with paid, you can build confidence by being one of the few tech brands speaking about life at their company through their own voice, whilst reaching exactly the right talent through nuanced targeting.
Social listening and audience-led insight
Used well, social listening can be used to help tech companies to unearth valuable insight in order to adapt their policies and offerings to find the best-fit talent. Whether that’s remote working, development time, or something else entirely.
WHO IS NAILING IT?
IBM runs a dedicated Instagram channel to spotlight its people and perks through employee-generated and behind-the-scenes content. This focused approach helps attract and retain talent while building pride and positive sentiment around life at IBM.
Hootsuite’s TikTok content highlights inclusivity, learning, and workplace culture through relatable, employee-led videos that tackle industry myths and showcase real cultural awareness.
Factorial uses LinkedIn to power talent sourcing with people-focused, high-quality content — including recruiter-led videos that demystify their hiring process and highlight their culture. They’ve also integrated LinkedIn with their applicant tracking system, boosting hiring rates by 70% and gaining 40k new followers in 12 months.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Tech is an ever changing and growing industry, with new specialisms and skillsets constantly cropping up. This constantly shifting landscape for hiring requirements makes social – with its agility and in-culture focus – a vital strategic media channel for recruitment. Used correctly, it should help activate credible employee voices and cut hiring costs significantly.
In a landscape of increasing hiring demand, tech faces a competitive talent race that can be won through reaching and influencing the right people on social.
Your next breakthrough hire is probably scrolling TikTok, Meta or LinkedIn right now, so make sure the unique benefits of your role reach them in truly thumb-stopping style with social.
If you’re interested in learning more about how we support tech clients with content strategy, creation, EGC/spokespeople training, and paid amplification, say hi at social@citypress.co.uk
By Maddie Stewart-Williams, Associate Director at Citypress
