How Recruiters Are Winning the War for Technical Talent
Four recruitment marketing experts share battle-tested strategies for attracting developers, engineers, and tech professionals in a candidate-driven market
Labour market scarcity is no longer news - it's the reality every organisation faces. Every unfilled technical vacancy creates direct business impact: projects fall behind, teams become overworked, and innovation stalls. For HR professionals and recruitment agencies across Belgium and the Netherlands, finding technical talent has become one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
During the Recruitment Marketing Masterclass hosted by Talent Business Partners on 14 October 2025, four industry experts gathered to share practical strategies that actually work. The panel brought together Mees van Velzen, Founder and CEO of MrWork; Deniz Erduran, Account Executive at TeamTailor; Jan-Bart Cassimon, Co-founder of Doorstep; and Sven Mol, Senior Sales Leader at Deel.
The conversation delivered clear, actionable insights: traditional recruitment methods are failing, and the teams succeeding today have fundamentally changed how they attract and convert technical talent.
Key Takeaways
LinkedIn is essential but expensive
Conversion rates of candidates applying on your website of 1-2% are typical, but with the right tactics you can reach 5%
Communities like Reddit and Discord offer untapped potential for reaching technical talent
Soft conversions like WhatsApp applications and Q&A pop-ups dramatically increase engagement on career sites
Authentic career pages that show real culture beat generic "young and dynamic" messaging every time
Automation should handle the repetitive work so recruiters can focus on meaningful conversations
Typical recruitment processes take 4-6 weeks, but technical candidates move faster - speed matters
The candidate journey is the ultimate test of your employer brand
Where to Find Technical Talent
LinkedIn remains the standard starting point for most recruiters, offering rich data about candidates' experience, education, and career history. But Jan-Bart highlighted a critical challenge: technical professionals on LinkedIn receive overwhelming numbers of messages daily, making it difficult to stand out. Additionally, LinkedIn advertising costs €2-5 per click, making it an expensive channel.
The panel explored alternative platforms that deliver better results for technical recruitment :
Reddit emerged as a particularly interesting channel. Jan-Bart explained that Reddit hosts numerous communities where technical professionals ask coding questions and discuss their work. The BE salary subreddit, for example, is a Belgian community where people openly discuss compensation across different roles. These communities offer opportunities to engage authentically rather than simply posting job advertisements.
Discord and Slack communities provide spaces where technical professionals gather to discuss their craft. Some forward-thinking companies have created their own Discord servers specifically focused on what it's like to work there - building community around their employer brand rather than just their products.
Facebook and Instagram, whilst not traditional tech platforms, consistently perform well for reaching technical talent with targeted content. Jan-Bart emphasized that understanding where your specific audience spends time - through proper research and data analysis - matters more than following conventional wisdom about channels.
The key, according to Jan-Bart, is understanding your audience deeply enough to meet them where they naturally spend time, then engaging in ways that match each platform's culture.
Optimising Your Conversion Engine
"Before expanding to new channels, optimise how you convert visitors on your own website. The average has dropped to just 1-2%, but you can reach 5% with the right approach."
Mees shared a critical insight: many organisations focus on driving more traffic to their career sites whilst neglecting conversion optimisation. With typical conversion rates sitting between 1-2%, companies must spend heavily on advertising just to generate sufficient applications. The solution involves adding soft conversions that lower the barrier to engagement:
WhatsApp and SMS applications make it dramatically easier for candidates to express interest. Mees referenced a large Dutch insurance company seeking IT professionals - not typically known as a tech employer. By implementing WhatsApp applications and Q&A pop-ups, they immediately saw conversion rates increase substantially.
Q&A pop-ups address candidate questions in real-time. Technical candidates often have specific questions about tech stacks, development methodologies, and team structures before they're willing to apply. Interactive pop-ups that provide immediate answers reduce friction in the application process.
Low-threshold forms for webinars, events, or newsletter subscriptions keep candidates engaged even when they're not ready to apply immediately. These touchpoints build relationships with passive candidates who might be perfect fits six months later.
Jan-Bart added another creative tactic: for puzzle-solvers like developers, create quick assessments via Typeform or similar tools that let candidates test themselves and receive results by email. This approach allows them to experience what the role might feel like whilst giving you their contact information for follow-up.
Building Career Pages That Convert
Jan-Bart referenced Innocent (the international fruit juice company) as an excellent example of career page best practices. Their international website includes a page specifically helping candidates prepare for their application process. They tell candidates what to research beforehand, suggest preparing questions, and explicitly state that what you wear doesn't matter - dress however you're comfortable. This transparency immediately communicates company culture.
Deniz emphasized that career pages must be far more than vacancy lists. Technical candidates, especially, want to experience the culture before applying. Essential elements include:
Authentic content like blogs from developers and videos about real projects
Transparent information about the tech stack and development practices
Frequently asked questions (FAQ sections) that address common candidate concerns upfront
Mobile-friendly design that works seamlessly across devices
SEO optimisation to attract passive candidates searching for opportunities
Jan-Bart noted that FAQ sections serve a dual purpose: they inform candidates whilst reducing recruiter workload by pre-answering common questions. This filters out candidates who decide the role isn't right for them, resulting in fewer but better-informed applicants.
Leveraging AI and Automation Strategically
The panel discussed AI extensively, with a clear consensus: automation should handle repetitive tasks so recruiters can focus on meaningful human connection.
Mees explained that AI-powered chatbots can qualify candidates, answer questions, and even schedule interviews - all available 24/7. This matters particularly for technical professionals, who often research opportunities outside traditional working hours. The Dutch insurance company example demonstrated how AI follow-up creates a positive candidate experience whilst automatically qualifying applicants.
Deniz highlighted specific automation capabilities within modern ATS platforms :
Automated triggers that send reminders for feedback, updates to candidates, and interview scheduling
Interview note-taker features that allow recruiters to focus on conversation rather than documentation
Nurture campaigns that automatically maintain contact every few months, keeping the company top-of-mind
Advanced analytics showing which channels perform best, enabling data-driven budget allocation
However, the panel acknowledged a growing challenge: candidates themselves increasingly use AI to generate applications. Mees noted that their data from the past two months shows a noticeable increase in AI-generated applications. The question shifts from "Is there a talent shortage?" to "Can we effectively identify and qualify the right candidates from high volumes?".
Sven shared a memorable quote from a recent Antwerp event: "AI is gonna get a lot better at being AI. So we humans, we have to get a lot better in being human". This captures the essential role recruiters play: whilst AI handles initial screening, humans must excel at evaluating cultural fit, communicating opportunities compellingly, and building genuine relationships.
Speed and Internal Collaboration
The webinar included live polling about recruitment process timelines. Whilst most attendees reported 2-4 week processes, Mees noted that in practice, the average sits closer to 4-6 weeks. For technical candidates who often receive multiple offers simultaneously, these timelines risk losing top talent.
Deniz explained that successful tech companies streamline their hiring by creating clear processes where everyone understands their role and timing. Best practices include:
Interview kits that provide standardised structure and evaluation criteria, enabling faster decisions without sacrificing quality.
Automated scheduling that eliminates the back-and-forth email coordination, which can consume significant time.
Centralised systems where interview notes, feedback, and candidate information live in one place rather than scattered across documents and email threads.
Jan-Bart emphasized that the candidate journey represents the ultimate test of employer branding. Companies that position themselves as fast and agile but then require candidates to create accounts, wait six weeks for responses, or navigate bureaucratic processes lose all credibility. The experience must match the brand promise.
Creating the Right Messages
The panel agreed that understanding your specific audience matters more than following generic advice. Jan-Bart recommended running workshops with existing technical employees to ask why they chose your company and what they value about working there.
Different generations prioritise different factors. Younger technical professionals ask about office environment, flexibility, and daily experience, whilst older generations focus more on company stability and financial health. Technical professionals look for different things than accountants do.
Generic messaging fails.
Phrases like "young and dynamic company" and "market-conform salary" communicate nothing distinctive. Jan-Bart stressed that organisations must show their culture through videos, testimonials, and stories rather than corporate platitudes.
Mees advocated for data-driven content testing. Platforms like Google and social networks automatically A/B test which messages resonate best with your target audience. By centralising results across channels, you can identify which angles work and iterate your content strategy accordingly.
Expanding Your Talent Pool Internationally
Sven addressed the reality that whilst many Belgian and Dutch companies still recruit locally for technical roles, the tools these professionals use make international collaboration seamless. Software like Inventor or Fusion from Autodesk enables engineers to work effectively whether they're in Lisbon or Ghent.
Expanding beyond borders offers significant advantages when local talent scarcity persists. Sven noted that Deel sees strong technical talent pools in Northern France, Eastern Europe, and Latin America that could solve problems for Benelux organisations.
The challenge lies in managing international hiring complexity: appropriate contract structures, tax considerations, benefits, health insurance, and payroll across jurisdictions. This is where platforms like Deel provide value - ensuring compliant contracts, handling payroll, and offering HR specialists available for face-to-face support when questions arise.
Sven emphasised that maintaining that smooth, trustworthy process through the contract phase prevents losing candidates at the final hurdle.
The Changing Expectations of Technical Talent
The panel noted significant generational shifts in what technical professionals value. Sven explained that for younger candidates, traditional incentives like salary and job title remain important but are no longer sufficient. Flexibility, meaningful work, and the environment they'll work in carry equal weight.
He shared that Deel experienced explosive growth - from 2,000 to 8,000 employees in 18 months - which brought 25,000 applications to process weekly. Their experience revealed that whilst AI and tools help manage volume, the onboarding period after hiring proves critical for retention. Most departures happen during those first months.
This underscores the importance of delivering on promises made during recruitment. If the actual experience doesn't match what candidates expected, you've wasted everyone's time and money.
Jan-Bart added a crucial point about process authenticity: when technical candidates complete coding tests as part of interviews, having non-technical recruiters evaluate and provide feedback damages credibility. Candidates notice when recruiters can't discuss the technical substance meaningfully. A respectful, transparent process where the right people evaluate technical work is the best recruitment marketing you can do.
Building and Nurturing Talent Pools
Deniz explained that modern ATS platforms serve as the backbone for recruitment, centralising candidate profiles regardless of source - LinkedIn, job boards, referrals, or direct applications.
Advanced features enable proactive talent pool management:
Connect features allow relationship-building with interested candidates who haven't applied yet, creating a community of potential future hires.
Analytics reveal which channels deliver the best results, informing where to focus budget and effort.
Nurture campaigns automatically maintain contact without manual effort, ensuring you remain visible when candidates become ready to move.
This matters particularly for passive candidates - technical professionals who already have jobs but might be perfect fits. Being present when they become open to opportunities requires consistent, low-friction engagement over time.
Practical Tips to Implement Tomorrow
Each panellist shared one immediate action recruiters can take :
Mees: "Start implementing soft conversions on your website immediately. Stop relying solely on traditional applications. Add WhatsApp options, Q&A pop-ups, and low-threshold engagement points. This will increase your conversion rate substantially and shift your challenge from scarcity to selection".
Sven: "Take time tomorrow to clearly define your exact challenge and whether your current approach actually solves it. Challenge yourself to look beyond traditional processes and consider whether expanding internationally might solve your problem faster and more effectively".
Deniz: "Invest in a proper ATS system - whether TeamTailor or similar tools - it genuinely makes the difference. Also look critically at your processes: ask ChatGPT which tasks you're doing manually and how you might automate them. Small optimisations add up to significant time savings".
Jan-Bart: "Make data-driven decisions. Measure everything you can measure, even as tracking becomes more difficult. Ensure your career site is excellent - there's enormous work to do in Belgium specifically. With AI and ChatGPT changing how candidates search for jobs, you need to appear prominently in those results, which requires outstanding career site content".
Final Thoughts
The recruitment marketing masterclass demonstrated that attracting technical talent in 2025 demands different approaches than even two years ago. Success requires treating recruitment as strategic marketing, optimising conversion before expanding channels, leveraging automation for efficiency, and maintaining authentic candidate experiences throughout.
For agencies, this evolution creates opportunity. Clients need sophisticated recruitment marketing expertise they typically lack internally. Agencies developing data-driven, multi-channel capabilities with strong conversion optimisation position themselves as strategic partners.
For internal HR and TA teams, the message is equally clear: technical recruitment success requires collaboration across functions, investment in proper technology, and relentless focus on the candidate experience from first touchpoint through onboarding.
The technical talent challenge isn't disappearing. But the strategies shared by Mees van Velzen, Deniz Erduran, Jan-Bart Cassimon, and Sven Mol prove that organisations willing to evolve their approaches can win.
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