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Cybersecurity Forecast: Anticipating and Responding to New Threats

The cybersecurity forecast for the coming year includes anticipating and responding to new threats. The growing sophistication of cyber threats is expected to result in increased data breaches.

Phishing, business email compromise, and insider threats will continue to trend throughout 2024. Misconfigurations of code and a lack of skilled cybersecurity workers are expected to contribute to these trends.

Discover what the cybersecurity forecast for 2024 looks like and how you can anticipate and respond to new threats.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Increase Cybersecurity Risks

The increasing connectivity of people and devices continues to blend the physical and digital worlds. As a result of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and other innovative technologies, the need for cybersecurity increases.

The growth of connectivity due to the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G technology, supply chain technology, and remote work significantly increases the cyberattack surface. As a result, cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated as they search for vulnerabilities:

  • Cybercriminals use AI and ML to find and exploit vulnerabilities in threat detection models. The preferred methods include automated phishing attacks that mimic humans and malware that self-modifies to fool cyber defense systems and programs.
  • Hackers use AI and ML tools to attack and explore company networks. Then, they use ransomware to demand payment by cryptocurrencies in exchange for the company’s data.

Polymorphic Malware Becomes Increasingly Difficult to Detect

Polymorphic malware continues to change to evade detection. If a malware strain becomes known for having specific properties, then slight changes can be made to create new properties. As a result, endless malware files can become unique enough not to be recognized as malware.

Polymorphic code can be used to:

  • Create ransomware that encrypts files and demands payment for their return.
  • Develop keyloggers that record keystrokes to steal passwords.
  • Create rootkits that provide remote access to a computer.
  • Implement browser manipulation that redirects the browser to malicious websites.
  • Develop adware that slows down a computer and advertises questionable products.

Tips to Anticipate and Respond to Cybersecurity Threats

You can implement these methods to anticipate and respond to cybersecurity threats:

  • Constantly look for potential threats and proactively resolve the issues.
  • Use threat hunting to identify and patch unknown threats.
  • Hire skilled professionals to identify and patch holes and security gaps in your network.
  • Regularly engage in cybersecurity awareness training.

Are You Looking for a Cybersecurity Role?

Partner with RightStone to secure your next cybersecurity role. Visit our job board today.


3 Tips To Help Attract & Retain Women In IT

Attracting and retaining women in IT is challenging. Some of the most common reasons are slow salary growth, lack of career advancement, and limited opportunities to secure senior leadership roles.

Fortunately, you can take steps to help attract and retain women in IT. These suggestions can help.

Implement These Three Tips To Help Attract And Retain Women In IT

1. Offer Flexibility

Let your employees work remotely or hybrid. Include job-sharing options and a flexible schedule.

Letting your employees decide when and how to complete their projects shows your desire to fill your employees’ needs. It also demonstrates you trust your employees to finish their work on time.

Offer family-friendly leave policies. This provides your employees with time off to care for a sick child or tend to an aging parent’s needs.

Providing flexibility promotes employee engagement, performance, and productivity. It also helps attract and retain women in IT.

2. Prioritize Pay Equality

Provide equal pay for equal work. This helps attract and retain women in IT.

Many female employees who are mothers take time away from the workforce to raise their children. When these employees resume their careers, they often are paid less because of their absence.

Women with similar levels of education typically earn about the same amount in similar roles, regardless of whether these employees have children. In contrast, fathers typically earn more than other employees, including men without children, regardless of their education level. This significantly impacts the gender pay gap.

Female employees who are mothers tend to work fewer hours to fulfill family responsibilities than employees who do not have children. This often lowers the working mothers’ ability to earn income. As a result, an employee’s contributions and results should impact their compensation rather than the number of hours worked.

3. Promote Women

Provide additional support for your female employees to move up to leadership roles. Show that your employees’ knowledge, skills, and experience are valued and respected within your organization.

Offering a mentorship program for women helps develop them for your company’s more senior roles. Guiding these employees to meet the criteria for promotions encourages them to join your organization and remain long-term.

Supporting female employees’ career growth helps attract and retain women in IT. Having women in leadership positions encourages other women to work for your company.

Do You Need Help Attracting And Retaining Women In IT?

Partner with RightStone to help attract and retain skilled IT employees. Get started today.


How Is AI Impacting Modern Staffing & Recruiting

Artificial intelligence (AI) is positively impacting modern staffing and recruiting. This helps hiring managers use their applicant tracking systems (ATS) to screen resumes fairly, shortlist candidates more accurately, and hire more efficiently.

AI-powered tools integrate with an ATS to increase talent intelligence in the modern staffing and recruiting process. This helps more quickly accomplish time-consuming tasks. As a result, hiring managers can dedicate more time to higher-level responsibilities.

The use of AI in modern staffing and recruiting helps hiring managers more effectively screen, assess, and engage with applicants. The ability to automate workflows and gain insight into talent pools helps hiring managers find top candidates.

Discover How AI Is Impacting Modern Staffing And Recruiting.

Task Automation

AI is used to automate high-volume tasks. Examples include screening resumes, shortlisting candidates, and scheduling interviews. This helps hiring managers bring the best talent aboard.

Intelligent screening software uses machine learning (ML) and a resume database to determine employees’ success based on their performance, tenure, and turnover rates. For instance, the software learns the current employees’ skills, experience, and other qualifications, then applies this knowledge to new applicants. The software also accesses candidates’ public data sources, such as public social media profiles and prior employer information, then uses the information to grade, rank, and shortlist the candidates.

Candidate and Job Matching

AI uses data to match candidates’ knowledge, skills, and experience to the job requirements. This increases employee engagement, performance, and productivity. It also elevates job satisfaction, employee morale, and retention.

Candidate Interactions

Recruiter chatbots ask candidates questions based on the job requirements. The chatbots then provide candidate feedback, updates, and next steps.

These interactions enhance the candidate experience. They also encourage candidates to remain engaged in the recruiting process.

Digital Interviews

AI is used to assess a candidate’s facial expressions, word choices, and speech patterns. This helps determine the candidate’s fit with the position and culture. It also supports employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

Augmented Intelligence

Technology cannot fully replace human capabilities. As a result, AI should be used to enhance staffing and recruiting efficiency and employees’ potential.

For instance, hiring managers can use AI to proactively determine their staffing needs and start recruiting rather than spending time on reactive backfilling. Managers also can spend more time with candidates to build relationships and determine culture fit.

Do You Need Help With Staffing And Recruiting?

Partner with RightStone for help filling your IT staffing and recruiting needs. Start the process today.


Should You Ditch the 40-Hour Work Week?

 

According to the September 2022 Digital Etiquette: The Reinventing Work Report from Adaptavist, 58% of workers want the 40-hour work week to end. Also, 47% want a 4-day work week. Additionally, approximately 60% of respondents say the quality of work should be used to measure productivity rather than the number of hours worked.

This research shows how workers are shaping and adapting to their workplaces. The survey covered issues such as collaboration, communication tools, health and well-being, and the future of work for both hybrid and onsite workers.

The results indicate the changing shift from traditional workweeks to modern setups that better fit employees’ needs. This indicates that hybrid and remote work should be here to stay.

Discover why the 40-hour work week should be shortened to meet modern-day employee needs.


Changing Employee Needs

When the 40-hour work week began, most women stayed home to provide childcare, cook, clean, and run errands. Today, this concept no longer is reality.

According to an April 2022 news release from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Statistics, 70% of women who are mothers currently engage in paid work. Most of these women also handle the majority of childcare and household needs.

Working for 40 hours each week while trying to maintain a household puts unreasonable stress on employees. This increases the odds of employee burnout. As a result, the 40-hour work week must change to accommodate the changing needs of the workforce.

Increasing Employee Burnout

A 2021 joint report from McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org showed that 42% of women and 32% of men were experiencing burnout. Although many employers recognize growing employee exhaustion and overwhelm, the issue of burnout continues to worsen.

A significant source of employee exhaustion is the drastic changes in sleep patterns resulting from chronic stress due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many employees are staying up later to take time for themselves. This interferes with the ability to get productive sleep.

Another source of employee exhaustion is mothers who put in increasing hours of both paid and unpaid work each week. Lacking time for necessary self-care and sleep increases feelings of overwhelm and depletion.

As a result, burnt-out employees tend to feel less empowered, be less productive, and not perform their best at work as compared to other employees. They also have lower odds of being promoted.

Leaving behind the 40-hour work week would give employees more time to take care of their personal needs. This would increase employee engagement, productivity, and performance.

Reducing the weekly number of hours worked also would elevate employees who are mothers into more senior roles. This is especially important for companies that have few women in leadership positions.

Want Help with Your IT Staffing?

RightStone can match you with qualified professionals to fill your IT staffing needs. Learn more today.


Charge Up Your IT Career by Upskilling

For the last decade, career advice has boiled down to a simple maxim: if you want a promotion, you need to change your job.

As more top-tier companies work to retain top talent, this advice no longer applies. Now, upskilling is one of the best ways to change the course of your career. By seeking new skills and reaching for new opportunities, you can find ways to move laterally or vertically in your company or into a new one.

Here’s how you can get started with upskilling in your career.

Make It a Habit to Learn Every Month

Upskilling works best when you commit to it long-term. However, you don’t need to enroll in a new certification or course every month. Instead, using bite-sized learning opportunities to pick up a new skill every month can help set you up for career-long learning.

Find something you’re passionate about, and get to grips with it piece-by-piece. You’ll find that you keep your learning achievable while also finding new ways to apply your lessons to your work today.

Learn from Team Members

Digital learning platforms are all the rage among Fortune 100 groups, but they can miss out on important learning opportunities that are right in front of you.

Your team members have more knowledge and skills than you know about. You can work together to ‘knowledge-share’ as a form of upskilling, which allows you to swap technical skills and practice teaching.

Invest in Your Soft Skills

Whether you work with technology or in technology, it’s important to remember that tech skills aren’t everything. Soft skills are also in need of continuous development, and they often get neglected.

Dedicate some of your time to developing yourself as a leader and a co-worker and honing your emotional intelligence. These skills will help you make the most of your tech skills and better position you for new opportunities.

Upskilling Can Change Your Life

Upskilling can do more than help you take the next step in your career. It’s also an opportunity to develop your passions, grow your life experiences, and enhance your ability to work and connect with others.

So whether your current employer offers a complete continuing education program or you need to cobble your learning experiences together on your own, upskilling is a worthwhile investment.

Are you looking to share your skills with the right client?  Visit RightStone’s job board to see what opportunities await you.


What’s the Career Outlook for Developers in 2020 and Beyond

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the future is bright for software developers. Not only is the job outlook expected to grow by 21% between 2018 and 2028, but the career is perfectly suited to remote work, which is good news in 2020.

It’s hard to say what the career outlook for developers will be given the current pandemic and looming economic crisis. The good news is that developers are a core function in the digital economy.

What can you expect for the next year and beyond? Here are a few predictions.

The Tech Skills Shortage Will Come to a Head

For years now, there have long been more in-demand jobs than there are skilled workers to fill them. These two forces aren’t unique to tech, development, and IT, but the scale is something to be in awe of.

It is possible that demand could shrink, but it also seems unlikely given they’re looking for specialist skills. What’s more, in the period just before lockdowns swept the nation, there were 114,000 job openings for software and application developers, making them the most in-demand IT staff in February and March.

Did all of those openings result in a hire? Probably not, but they did exist. What’s more, there was a huge influx in job posts that noted the option to work from home, which signaled that industry knew what was coming.

Expect Contract Work to Pick Up Eventually

If you’re in a top, senior-management position and you’re on the hunt for a new job, then you may find you need to wait. The inability to meet and travel will likely mean there will be an informal senior-level hiring freeze — at least for a while. 

Even still, while permanent positions might slow altogether, you might expect contract work and temporary jobs to pick up. Choosing contractors means employers can skip the long-term commitment and need to pay benefits. It will appeal to employers navigating economic recovery and dealing with tight budgets. 

Though, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economy (CARES) Act Paycheck Protection Program doesn’t allow employers to use loans to pay for contractors. So, the recovery funds might not be spent on your services just yet.

Developers Are in a Strong Position Going Forward

The good news is that developers are an essential role, and you were on an upward trajectory until the pandemic stood in your way. Whether and how those new jobs appear over the next five to ten years largely depends on what happens over the next few months.

Are you a developer looking for work? Contract work may be the way forward, at least for now. At RightStone, our goal today and always is to connect the right consultants with the right clients. Get in touch to learn more about how we’re weathering the storm.

 

 

 


5 Ways to Communicate With Passive Job Seekers

 

It’s no secret that a shortage of qualified candidates to fill highly-specialized roles has been hurting the IT industry in recent years. In their 2019 CIO Survey, the IT outsourcer Harvey Nash spoke with more than 3,000 leaders in the tech industry and found that a staggering 65% of respondents said that labor shortage is becoming a serious problem for the industry. In such a climate, the competition to source, recruit and hire top-talent applicants can be intense. It is also the reason why employers are beginning to adopt tactics aimed at recruiting “passive” job seekers or candidates who are currently employed elsewhere and thereby not actively seeking a new role.

Here are five tips for communicating with passive job seekers who might be a good match for a role within your company:

Strengthen Your Employer Brand

By building your company’s narrative (in the form of mission statements and the voice behind your copywriting, for example), candidates will be much more interested in learning more about you.

Understand Your Organization’s Needs

The more specifically you can define the skills, expertise, and specialties that you need to add to your company, the easier it will be to identify professionals whose backgrounds align with your needs. If a job description and its requirements closely align with their background and skills, passive candidates will be that much more likely to engage with you.

Partner With a Staffing Agency

Staffing agencies specialize in connecting engineers with companies who are seeking new talent. Once you’ve developed and strengthened your employer branding strategy, partnering with a staffing agency can help spread the message, mission, and values to all quarters of the industry to help attract top applicants.

Maintain Communication

Once you’ve established communication with a passive job seeker – whether that was through a staffing agency or by other means – it’s critical to do what you can to keep them engaged and to keep the conversation going. The fact that they’re currently employed elsewhere in all likelihood means that they’re happy in their current position, so excessive communication can ultimately be counterproductive. Rather, you can establish mutually productive communication by occasionally sending them posts that are relevant to their skills, and asking them questions about what their career goals look like.

Streamline the Application Process

Your goal while communicating with passive job seekers is to have them apply for a role. If, after strengthening your employer brand strategy, getting in touch with them, and maintaining your communication with them, they’ve decided to pursue an opportunity with your company, it should be your priority to make the process as frictionless as possible. Don’t have them submit their CV and application through an automated system; keep up personal communication. When they’re interviewing, don’t spend too much time asking them about their experience. After all, you approached them, so you can speed up the process by dropping those questions and instead of answering any questions that they might have.

Looking to Staff Up?

At RightStone, we’re working with IT candidates and top employers to make connections that last. To learn more about how to get connected with top talent, we’re here to help.


Top Reasons Why IT Professionals Leave Their Jobs, and What You Can Do to Change It

Finding talented candidates is a struggle that IT employers frequently encounter. But there is another, lesser-known issue that is causing big problems in the IT industry: employee turnover. According to a 2018 turnover report from LinkedIn, IT has a turnover rate of 13.2%, which is the highest of any modern industry. This is leaving tech companies of all sizes scrambling to find new candidates to fill vacant roles, and spending billions of dollars in the process.

The best solution, however, may not lie in replacing employees that jump ship but rather making changes to your organization that will make them want to stay aboard. Here are a few of the big reasons why IT professionals leave their jobs, and some solutions that will make them want to stay:

Lack of Clear Career Advancement Opportunities – The huge influx in demand for talented IT employees in recent years means that our best workers are always being sought after by competing companies. If those companies can provide them with clear plans for how they’ll be able to advance in their career, and you haven’t communicated such a plan, that’s a huge motivating force for them to accept a new position. To encourage employees to remain in your company, work with your team leaders to devise clear and practical roadmaps for how your employees might be able to climb the ladder of success within your company.

They Are Being Overloaded With Work – One of the major reasons why employees leave a position is because they’re overworked for an extended period. This typically is indicative not so much of an employee’s capabilities but rather of the awareness and leadership skills of their managers. As leaders in the field, the responsibility falls on us to delegate tasks appropriately and realistically to our teams. This includes remaining conscious of employees’ workloads and taking steps to lighten them if we can see that someone is overwhelmed.

They Are Not Being Acknowledged by Leadership – Failing to acknowledge someone’s successes or even to provide honest feedback now and again is one of the surest ways to make an employee feel alienated and unimportant. If this is kept up, and someone continues to have his or her efforts seemingly ignored or taken for granted, you can be sure they will fairly quickly start looking into other opportunities that can offer more supportive work environments. Taking the time to provide feedback and recognize an employee’s contributions, on the other hand, can go a long way towards making them feel like an important part of the team.

Looking to Grow Your Team?

At RightStone, we’re working with IT candidates and top employers to make connections that last. To learn more about how to get connected with top talent, we’re here to help.

 

 


5 Recruiting Tactics That Will Help Attract Top Talent

The rapid pace of development currently being experienced within the IT industry means there is more competition than ever — not only to innovate more advanced tech, but also to recruit the most talented engineers. In order to remain ahead of the curve, it’s crucial that IT companies implement the most effective and up-to-date tactics into their recruitment methods. The pace of change within the industry, however, can make it difficult to stay updated on the current best practices for finding talented candidates.

We’re here to help by providing you with five recruiting tactics that are sure to help your company attract top-talent IT professionals:

1. Be Clear About Mission Statements and Goals: It’s important for applicants to have a sense of the guiding purpose(s) that are driving your company, and how they would specifically fit within that scheme. Increase the chances of having talented candidates apply for open positions in your company by being clear in job descriptions about the mission statement that would define their role, and how that would fit into the larger context of their department and the organization.

2. Let Them Know About All Perks and Benefits: The more perks you’re able to offer, and the more clearly, you’re able to describe them in job posts and during the interview process, the more likely you’ll be to attract talented IT professionals.

3. Sell Your Company’s Scalability: Talented IT job candidates will seek employers who are able to offer opportunities for growth and advancement. When setting out to find new talent for an open position, it’s important to communicate to applicants exactly how they’ll be able to climb the ladder of success within the company. These details will vary from role to role, so it will be necessary to speak with team leaders before you advertise these opportunities in job posts.

4. Streamline Your Recruitment Process: Talented engineers in today’s IT industry are highly valued commodities, so the sooner you can secure a new hire, the better. This means it’s important to streamline each step of the recruitment process as much as possible — including establishing communication, reviewing their background, interviewing, and eventually hiring them.

5. Incentivize Employees to Help With Sourcing: When it comes to finding talented engineers, your existing employees could be one of your strongest assets. By offering incentives (either financial or benefits-based) for employees to connect your recruiting team with talented job candidates, you’ll be ensuring that your team helps to provide you with IT professionals that are in their network and looking for new roles.

Do You Want to Find Top Talent?

At RightStone, we’re working with IT candidates and top employers to make connections that last. To learn more about how to get connected with top talent, we’re here to help.


5 Tech Trends That Are Helping HR

 

New technologies are reshaping every dimension of IT, and the industry’s recruitment practices are no exception. In 2019 and beyond, emerging digital tools like social media and predictive analytics are revolutionizing the ways in which HR departments are being connected to top-talent engineers.

Here are the five technology trends to be on the lookout for that are improving HR tactics in IT:

1. Social Media: Though social media platforms are nothing new to society at large, HR has been adopting novel uses for them that are changing the recruitment process. With the enormous reliance on social media demonstrated by younger employees entering into the workforce, more and more employers are advertising jobs and using these platforms to get connected with talented candidates.

2. Online Staffing Firms: Staffing firms are companies that specialize in connecting job candidates with employers in any industry. In the case of IT, staffing firms are an especially powerful asset to utilize during the recruitment process, because they have the skills and resources to dig deep through the candidate-pool to find talented engineers that would be easily overlooked by traditional HR methods.

3. Predictive Analytics: HR departments throughout the IT industry are implementing data analytics software into the recruitment process in order to quickly analyze candidates’ experience, qualifications, and the chances of their long-term success in a particular role.

4. Mobile Apps: There is a skyrocketing reliance on smartphones for candidates who are searching for jobs and submitting applications. In response to this, an increasing number of companies are developing their own mobile apps which candidates can use to more easily submit applications and receive a personalized response from HR.

5. Cloud Tracking Systems: The sheer number of applications and employee data is often too much for any single HR department to keep organized. Thankfully, cloud-based applicant tracking systems are a powerful tool for recruiters to keep large quantities of applicant data digitally organized, accessible, and updated.

Ready to Staff Up?

At RightStone, we’re implementing these new and exciting technological tools in order to help companies reshape their recruitment practices. If you’re ready to begin modernizing your tactics for connecting with top talent, drop us a line.