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How to Win the Talent War (continued)

Attracting the Best and the Brightest
IT managers are already preparing for the coming talent war. Interestingly, while money is an obvious lure, it's not an automatic deal-clincher. The winning strategies to attract the best and the brightest are more varied than you might think:

• Give IT professionals the opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects Bair says that IT staff want their skills to stay current, and if a company "isn't bringing in new modules or tools, then their skills are going backwards." His advice: "Move to the latest versions of tools or applications."
• Be willing to accept less than perfection "You can't expect one person to do everything. An application developer is a programmer; don't ask them to maintain the system," advises Soli. "If you want 10 things out of this person and they only have nine, add a little more flexibility and look at the person's softer skills." Also consider taking a chance on recent graduates who can grow with solid training.
• Write a job description that stands out  Bair suggests writing a job description that differentiates your company from the others. "You have to sell what you have as an organization. It's not enough to say 'I need a Java developer.' Say, 'I need a Java developer who can come into a dynamic organization and can deliver on a cutting-edge web portal,'" he says. "Get more creative in how you [develop] a marketing campaign around open positions."

Don't just round up the usual suspects. Look for talented workers by leveraging current staff who belong to user groups and key professional organizations. "It behooves you to have people in your organization who can network and identify those individuals who may be looking," says Bair. Offer referral bonuses as well. (article continues)

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