In seven years, Deepinder Singh, founder of Minnesota startup 75F, never got a resume from someone working at a large tech company. He didn’t even bother to recruit in Silicon Valley.
But since May, he’s received more than a dozen from tech professionals on both coasts.
“The remote-work era ushered in by the coronavirus pandemic is upending not only where tech workers want to live and how much money they can make, but also what kinds of opportunities they are willing to consider,” says The Wall Street Journal.
We noted in a blog post in September that a significant percentage of tech talent living in large tech centers were giving thought to relocating to less expensive areas. A survey found large numbers, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, were “concerned” or “very concerned” about losing their job.
The Journal says these workers are now acting on those relocation thoughts. The article quotes Guy Berger, principal economist at LinkedIn, saying, “These companies (outside tech centers) are on a hiring spree.” The pandemic “has really given entrepreneurship and these small enterprises a kick in the butt to really ramp up.”
This presents a unique opportunity for smaller companies and those businesses and organizations in need of tech talent to recruit top people. Almost daily Green Key recruiters hear from skilled, experienced tech professionals looking to move to less expensive areas. They are willing to trade salary for a better lifestyle.
Podium, an 800-person Utah startup, hired six senior-level people from San Francisco in the last six months, while receiving some 600 applications from the Bay Area, two to three times the typical number.
Notes the Journal, “While it isn’t uncommon for startups to lure employees away from larger companies through the potential for growth and wealth, those startups typically haven’t been hundreds of miles away.”
And it’s not just IT professionals looking to make a move. One candidate who opted to move from Silicon Valley to a job with a Lexington, Ky. startup that builds indoor farms took a $100,000 salary cut.
“It might appear that my net pay is less, but my buying power and quality of life is unparalleled,” said Marcella Butler, the new chief people officer at AppHarvest. “There is a richness to life [here] that I did not find there.”
If you’re ready to fill those open tech jobs — or hire other top pros like Marcella Butler — give us a call here at Green Key Resources – 212.683.1988.
Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash
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