Hiring STEM Talent? 14 Ways To Sway Them From Your Bigger Competitors

Need help snaring the elusive STEM worker for your small business? Read on for advice from the Forbes Coaches Council or read on Forbes.com!

STEM – the commonly used acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics – accounts for some of the fiercest competition in today’s job market. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these fields represented 6.2% of all U.S. employment (nearly 8.6 million jobs), and are growing at a rate of 28.2% – significantly faster than the 6.5% average projected growth for all occupations.

With so many employers clamoring for qualified STEM candidates, it can be difficult for small startups to compete against giants like Google and Microsoft when it comes to attracting and retaining candidates. The key is selling talent on the advantages of working for a smaller company.

Fourteen Forbes Coaches Council members each shared one tip for small businesses looking to beat their bigger competitors in the war for top STEM talent.

1. Invest In Your Talent

Increase access to programs providing the skills and talent for your business growth. Review pay scales and relocation bonuses to be competitive. Give employees equal access to your culture and leadership for ongoing feedback. As you grow, provide employees with coaching and networking opportunities to build trust and communication. – Meredith Moore Crosby, Leverette Weekes 

2. Offer Discovery And Experimentation

Small tech companies can never compete against the giants on cache and reputation, but they can compete on culture, and on tangibly delivering meaningful personal and professional growth and fulfillment. The best way to deliver on that promise is by living — not merely claiming — a life of continuous discovery and experimentation. – Gaurav Bhalla, Author of “Awakening A Leader’s Soul: Learnings Through Immortal Poems” 

3. Focus On Career Design

Office perks are great for a month or two, but if you want to attract and retain top talent, you need to focus on the long-term. Offer employees the opportunity to design their career through special projects and innovation time built into the bottom line. Also offer flexibility in terms of time and work location. It’s hard to turn down an offer that allows you to work how, where and on what you want! – Lizabeth Czepiel, Lizabeth Czepiel, LLC 

4. Highlight Your Company’s Purpose Beyond Profit

Across generations, many of us are attracted to companies with a compelling purpose beyond profit. Express your company’s positive impact on anyone who comes in contact, with it, directly or indirectly. Make it tangible to engage all employees and retain the new hires. Purpose-driven organizations have greater financial results, which also attracts top talent. – Bonnie Davis, Destination Up 

5. Build Relationships On Campus

Big firms often make big splashes at universities and colleges, but they often don’t engage the students during the semester or help them as they move from their education to the workforce. Create relationships, internships and dialogue early and often. Credit card companies do it with students. Small companies can win by building those relationships. – John O’Connor, Career Pro Inc. 

6. Offer The Chance To Enhance Their Career Profiles

Smaller companies have the advantage to customize work for their talent pool and offer unique projects with results. This, in turn, allows employees to diversify their skill sets, enhance exposure, and improve their resume based on projects they successfully contributed to. Help employees stay ahead of the curve. – LaKisha Greenwade, Lucki Fit LLC 

7. Identify And Cater To The Right Individuals

Since fewer great employees are needed, devise a plan to find, and cater to individuals who can truly buy into the company’s purpose, and are interested in the growth potential. I once left a large prestigious company for a smaller tech company for those reasons. The company did an excellent job of aggressively recruiting similar candidates, so we created a fun, and highly productive environment. – Donald Hatter, Donald Hatter Inc. 

8. Align Yourself With Their Values

Top STEM talent is driven as much as any other talent by the opportunity to be part of something truly big and meaningful in terms of mission and values. Pay and equity must, of course, be fair, but when as a smaller startup, you live and breathe your mission and values (with a clear sense of finances, market and all relevant business considerations), you will attract the right talent. – Yuri Kruman, Master The Talk Consulting 

9. Envision And Build Your Ideal ‘A Team’

Create the organizational chart of your desired state. Build your tribe based on who you’d like to have in that desired organization – your ideal A team. Be attentive to your team’s personal and professional development needs and nurture them. And, incorporate agility in every step of the way. – Atta Emami, TriBeCa Consulting Group 

10. Create A Family Experience

While Google and other large companies are highly sought after, the smaller tech companies can leverage their size to attract top talent. First, they can create a family experience where every employee feels valued. Then, they can provide more responsibility and opportunities for growth. Finally, the company could show the talent the possible reward of a small company. – Brendan P. Keegan, velocityHUB 

11. Show The Potential For Leadership Growth

Big companies offer great opportunities for young STEM graduates. But, there’s one area where a big company can’t compete, and that’s with leadership. Large companies often pigeonhole employees into very specific roles that may not have much room for leadership growth. Smaller companies can compete by offering roles that cover a broad range of responsibilities, with room to grow management skills. – Angela Copeland, Copeland Coaching 

12. Showcase Opportunities For Rapid Professional Development

In small tech firms, you get to be a part of lots of different projects and initiatives. You work directly with the founder or CEO, and that access gives you the type of experience you can’t get at the big firms. You learn what it takes to make something successful as it’s happening. It’s the rapid professional development and multi-level skill building that is the real value. – Lynda Foster, Cortex Leadership Consulting 

13. Highlight The Chance To Learn

To paraphrase Paul Graham, four years at a startup is 40 years at a larger company. No amount of dollars or perks can be added to your bank account that equal experience. Unlike free lunches, experience is something to build your career on. So show STEM talent they can learn more at a smaller company. – Judi Rhee Alloway, Imagine Leadership LLC 

14. Move Quickly And Effectively

Speed attracts talent. A quick, organizational pace, whether it be in time to market or in adapting to a changing industry, solidifies purpose. No matter the STEM field, learning takes place at the intersection. A smaller firm’s speed will inevitably provide greater career opportunities for blending depth and breadth of experience, knowledge and skills. – Joanne Markow, GreenMason