The competition of hiring high quality IT experts is predicted to be much stricter this year. CareerBuilder revealed that 54 percent of entrepreneurs plan to hire full-time talents for their IT department, going up 29 percent from last year.

This condition also applies in Indonesia. Lately, more and more startups are looking to hire the best talents, particularly those which have just got invested. If you’re one of those, then following these five suggestions would be a wise decision.

1. Do an aptitude test

Traditional recruitment process which involves resume review and interview isn’t good enough to grab the real potential of your applicants. A survey by HireRight towards 3000 professionals found out that 88 percent of their respondents lied in their resume.

Give them a small test. This is the best way to make sure that the candidates fit your company’s culture and, more importantly, objective.

2. Allow remote working

In searching for the best IT talents, don’t let location limits you. In Remote, 37Signals’ Founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson explained that limiting your search to only people in your area hinders you from hiring the best talent. In fact, Smartphone, tablet, and apps have enabled people working together from distant places.

3. Find talents from areas with few opportunities

Indonesia is an archipelago, many talents live outside Jakarta, and even Java Island. By reaching those areas, you indirectly find a solution to the problem of urbanization faced by the government.

4. Don’t underestimate fresh graduates

Hiring experienced talents is really tempting, but they would cost you much more than what you pay for fresh graduates. Try looking at their potential, not merely experience.

If you find a good quality of leadership, teamwork, and problem solving in your applicant, hire him. Google is known for their method of recruiting employees, which is by giving the applicants math problems. Not to find the brightest, but to uncover their ability of solving problems, and experience has nothing to do with it.

5. Focus on your company’s objective

As the market gets stricter and more competitive today, it’s applicants who have the privilege to choose for the right company, not the other way around. Average salary and remuneration won’t be enough. This is where the company’s objective and culture play, as they might be an effective tool to draw the attention of applicants.