Article

Commentary: The ATM industry is hiring!

Ready to make a move? An expert ATM industry recruiter can help ensure it's the right one.

April 30, 2012

By Chuck Goodman, principle recruiter for ATM Recruiter

Last year was a banner year for sales of new ATMs. Vendors will continue to be busy with sales and upgrades until all U.S. machines are compliant with the new ADA regulations.

And with EMV implementation starting up, Microsoft support for Windows XP winding down, and revisions to PCI DSS in 2014 almost inevitable, the upgrade and replacement trend will continue. Deposit automation, innovations such as uGenius virtual teller and other new products and services in self-service devices will also be drivers of overall industry growth.

Due to these factors and the continued expansion of off-premise retail deployments, the demand for qualified sales professionals, product managers, developers, support technicians and other specialists is greater than ever.

With the industry growing, the perception is that good talent is hard to find. Many employers are wary about advertising jobs because they know they’ll be inundated with applications from unqualified job seekers. Are candidates too junior? Too senior? Can we afford to hire experienced people? Can we afford not to? What characteristics do we need to find to be successful selling this or that?

All of these questions need to be answered up front. Unfortunately, the industry is doing a poor job of addressing them effectively and attracting talent from within our industry or from other industries whose members may have similar skill sets.

So from an employer’s perspective, where do you begin the job of hiring and retaining talent? Here's what I recommend:

• Develop a clear and concise description of the five most important skills that the ideal candidate will possess;
• Be realistic about the going rate for a person in this position;
• Make sure you feel comfortable with the candidate on a personal level;
• Treat all job candidates and employees with respect and integrity.

From a job candidate's perspective things get a lot more complicated, and this goes way beyond what resume format to use.

For the candidate the questions are, "How do I find out what jobs are really available?" "How do I get in front of the right people?" "Should I even make a move at this point?"

Even though I make my living convincing candidates they should make a move, nothing makes me happier than hearing that an employee is happy in his or her current position. On the other hand I see the industry's demand for candidates to fill positions that would make a great career move for many.

The continued growth of the industry coupled with the ongoing consolidation of some of its players means that there are jobs posted (and unposted) by ATM manufacturers, ISOs and IADs looking for the right experienced professional.

The challenge for the candidate is matching a skill set with an employer when he or she must submit an application through a company website or an "approved recruiter" in order to be considered for a position.

Online applications or resumes often are scrubbed and eliminated based on pre-determined search criteria established by an individual who doesn’t understand the business or the skills needed for success in a particular position. I constantly am amazed at some of the rambling job descriptions that cram in as many requirements as possible without regard to what is really important.

Additionally, some of the best candidates end up in the circular file simply because they lack established relationships with decision makers who would quickly recognize the talent they seek.

For this reason it is essential for companies and job seekers to align with a recruitment resource who not only has access to the full range of job postings within the industry, but who also understands the business at hand.

Most hiring managers have relationships with one or more recruiters they trust and depend upon to supply qualified candidates. Candidates who work with such a recruiter — one who can be an advocate and representative for the candidate's strengths and qualifications — exponentially increase their chances of getting that critical face-to-face interview.

Between government mandates, new technology, new products and services, and constant consumer demand driving the business, there is much work to be done in the ATM industry. Candidates going after that work gain the best chance of fully utilizing their skills and reaching their goals when they take advantage of expert recruiting resources available to them.