Attention SaaS Companies: Stop the Salary Wars for Early and Mid-Career Talent—Expand Your Talent Pool Instead

Product-market fit is essential, but it only matters if you can hire the right staff to scale and sustain that growth. In today’s SaaS industry, hiring the talent you need is easier said than done. Due to rapid industry growth, demand for early and mid-career professionals far outstrips the supply of adequately skilled workers. As a result, you’ve likely experienced fierce competition from other companies vying for the same candidates, often leading to bidding wars and inflated salaries.

But what can you do? It seems like a catch-22—you need to staff your teams to meet demand, but the talent pool is shrinking. However, instead of chasing the same talent everyone else is after, consider the following alternative approaches to sourcing and developing talent to expand your talent pool.

Expand Your Search to Alternatively Credentialed Candidates

One of the most effective ways to broaden your talent pool is by looking beyond traditional degree holders. Candidates who have developed their technical skills through non-traditional pathways—such as internships, coding boot camps, workforce development programs, community colleges, and self-directed learning—often bring unique skills and perspectives to the table.

According to a survey conducted by HackerRank, over 30% of developers working in the industry today are self-taught, and many CTOs agree that while computer science degrees provide a solid theoretical foundation, they often fall short of delivering the practical, hands-on experience required to succeed in a fast-paced SaaS environment. By expanding your search to include candidates with alternative credentials, you may find hires better equipped to hit the ground running and contribute to your team’s success immediately.

Offer an “Informal” Apprenticeship Program

Another approach to overcoming the talent gap is to create your pipeline through an informal apprenticeship program. This model allows you to hire for aptitude rather than experience, giving you the flexibility to train candidates in the specific skills that your business demands.

Many universities struggle to keep pace with the rapidly evolving technology landscape, meaning that even recent graduates may not have up-to-date knowledge of new programming languages, tools, and frameworks. An apprenticeship program enables you to mold talent according to your company’s needs, ensuring they are proficient in the technologies and methodologies that matter most to your business. This approach helps you avoid overpaying for talent and fosters loyalty and a more profound commitment to your company among those who benefit from such opportunities. (Learn more about “informal” apprenticeships)

The Bottom Line: Refocus on Hiring for Skills, Not Traditional Proxies

If you’re a talent acquisition leader in the SaaS industry caught in the fight for talent, there’s a way out: build a skills-first hiring mentality. By focusing on the skills that candidates bring to the table rather than the prestige of their alma mater, you open up your talent pool to a more diverse and potentially more capable set of candidates, and you can build a more robust and resilient talent pipeline. This approach helps you avoid the pitfalls of salary bidding wars and ensures that your teams are staffed with the right talent to drive your company’s success.

In a hyper-competitive industry like SaaS, where the battle for talent is fierce, those who adapt their hiring strategies to focus on skills and potential rather than just traditional credentials will be the ones who ultimately succeed. It’s time to stop competing on salary and start expanding your talent pool—because, in the end, the best hires are not always the ones with the most impressive resumes but those who bring the right skills and attitude to your organization.