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The New Role of Tech Recruiting Agencies in 2024

The Betts Team
June 5, 2024

2024 is a time of monumental change for tech hiring trends, and the role of recruiting agencies in the sector are evolving with the times. We saw incredible shifts in talent acquisition as well as for compensation rates in the industry from the turn of the decade into 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, to the post-pandemic world where many orgs had to redefine what and who they were looking for to build out their go-to-market (GTM) teams.

Betts has been at the frontlines of this evolution as our clients’ needs have changed significantly over the past few years, keeping a pulse on the market through our in-depth research and learnings in the field. In this blog, we will cover many of the top trends we have uncovered and go into detail about how these are changing the role of tech recruiting agencies in 2024 and the value they bring to SaaS companies looking to scale their GTM teams. 

Understanding the Tech Recruiting Landscape in 2024

Many of the top developments we will cover are not necessarily earth-shattering revelations. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few years, you will have already heard more than enough about the layoffs in the technology sector, pivots in venture capital funding strategies, the rise of AI and persistent inflation throughout the U.S. However, it is how these factors are impacting tech companies and recruiting agencies that reveals the true story of where talent acquisition in the industry is going.

We have seen major foundational shifts in how the tech sector hires new talent from the time immediately preceding the pandemic to its aftermath, with the majority of organizations pulling a 180-degree pivot in priorities. Mass team hiring has been replaced with much more focused and consolidated sourcing for one right fit, unicorn seller at a time. This also fundamentally changes the role of recruiting agencies in the space, who must become greater experts in what makes this perfect candidate for each company and circumstance.

Recruiting Agencies and Unicorn Sellers

The trend towards unicorn candidate hiring in SaaS is the most pivotal out of all the factors in this article, as it completely redefines the talent acquisition strategy in the technology industry. As we explained in this joint webinar held with Scale Venture Partners, every org’s unicorn seller is unique to their needs and goals, so that while there may be some overlap between some companies, in reality most of the requirements are going to change on a case-by-case basis. This means that your recruiting agency must understand what makes your org unique and what you need to execute your sales motion at scale in order to be able to even begin identifying what this right fit candidate looks like.

Interviewing Your Unicorn Candidate

The focus on hiring unicorn sellers makes the early stages of the sourcing and onboarding process much more critical, including for screening and interviewing candidates. The questions you ask will need to help you narrow down if someone is your unicorn seller or not as fast as possible. This is where a knowledgeable recruiter becomes truly invaluable, lending their experience and expertise to helping you refine your interview process to get to the information you need quickly.

High-growth vs Stagnant and Disrupted Markets

Every part of tech is feeling the impact of current economic and market trends a little differently, like how general SaaS has been hit hard while some subsectors have held their ground, or how various disruptors are growing rapidly. This creates its own ripple effect for recruiting among the available talent pool, often lopsided as competition increases over those with the experience and skill sets to qualify as unicorn sellers. Sourcing can easily become a much more complex, tedious and time-consuming process in this kind of situation, unless your agency or RPO (recruitment process outsourcing) firm knows how to navigate it well to find your right fit candidate faster.

Industry-specific Recruiting Experience

The key to locating your perfect unicorn seller is understanding what qualifies them to fit that role, and this means that any outsourced recruiter you work with must understand your sales motion and market fundamentally. An agency that is experienced with the industry or industries you sell into will know what skills and background your right fit candidate must possess, and be better equipped to track them down.

Data-Driven Recruiting

Many of the factors already outlined in this blog lead to one persistent conclusion – your recruiters need to know what they are doing. Intuition is nice and all, but what really makes a recruiting agency a top partner to work with in this current market is how well they understand data and leverage it to improve your specific talent acquisition pain points. Any agencies or RPO firms that cannot keep track of current trends and capture the story buried in analytics will not contribute much to your hiring efforts right now.

Changing Compensation Trends in Tech

A key data set to pay close attention to is how compensation trends are changing – or not – among different GTM roles. Keeping up with year-over-year (YoY) shifts in salary rates gives a glimpse into the direction of the hiring market, and with all of the fluctuations of 2024, there are a lot of patterns that can be gleaned from how current earnings rank among various titles. Recruiting agencies and RPOs tuned into how comp is evolving in tech are going to be a better resource for companies looking to lock down their unicorn seller faster.

Betts Recruiting – Agency Expertise and Resources for Tech

Having helped over 10,000 tech startups scale up their go-to-market teams, Betts Recruiting is uniquely equipped with the knowledge, resources, and data you need to navigate the complex talent acquisition trends of 2024 and beyond. Here are some of the top benefits of working with us as your tech recruiting agency partner:

Industry-specific Experience in Tech Recruiting

The Betts team has worked with thousands of clients selling into dozens of different industries, from general SaaS to specialty sectors like government or green technology. Our experience ensures your recruiters know what makes a unicorn seller for your market, including the exact skill sets and technical expertise needed to accelerate your sales motion with your customers and prospects.

Here are just some of the tech sectors we serve:

  • AI (Artificial Intelligence)
  • Cybersecurity
  • Fintech
  • Govtech
  • Edtech
  • HR Tech
  • Health Tech
  • Legal Tech
  • Climate Tech
  • Manufacturing / Supply Chain Management 

Data-driven Educational Resources for Hiring

We are constantly taking a deeper look at the trends impacting talent acquisition in the technology space, and we compile our top findings into various educational guides for your viewing and reference. We also put together article series on best practices for hiring managers to leverage, including interview questions for different GTM jobs.

Here are some of the top resource collections from Betts:

Tech Salary & Hiring Trend Data

Sales & Marketing Interview Resources

Recruitment as a Service = Cost-effective Talent Acquisition

Leveraging our experience helping thousands of clients face unique scaling challenges in tech hiring, we’ve developed a game-changing model for talent acquisition in the industry – Recruitment as a Service (RaaS). Betts’ RaaS combines our expert service and support with a subscription to our proprietary hiring platform, Betts Connect, the leading recruit-tech solution in the SaaS GTM space, hosting a network of tens of thousands of pre-vetted candidates. For the cost of making one or two hires with a traditional recruiting agency contract, you are able to source and hire for as many open jobs as you require in a fraction of the time. 

See Why Betts is Your Top Tech Recruiting Agency Choice

From data-driven Insights to a wealth of industry-specific experience to the game-changing capabilities of Betts Connect, the Betts team is here to help you navigate the unique hiring challenges of 2024 as your recruiting agency partner. Get in touch with us today and see for yourself why we’re your top choice for tech recruiters.
Contact Betts here to learn more about our unique offers and proven approach to scaling your GTM talent acquisition more effectively.