From start to finish, the lifecycle of a job in tech revolves around three things: money, reputation, and relationships. This is according to Hired, which earlier this year published its Global Brand Health Report querying tech pros from across the United States. In addition to gauging which companies are most desirable, it asked what factors lead candidates (and later employees) to both engage with and leave a company. In broad strokes, money remains key. Some 55 percent of tech pros report they consider income most when applying for a job, and 62 percent say they engage with a company because they’ve been told the salary range straight away. When it came time to leave their last job, 74 percent of respondents say a “higher base salary” elsewhere drove their decision-making process. A company’s reputation is also important: 45 percent say it was critical to their initial job application, while 46 percent say a dim view of the company kept them from responding to recruiters or accepting an interview. Similarly, 45 percent say a “recognizable company name” caused them to engage, which also suggests they’d heard good things about those firms. Around 37 percent of Hired’s tech pro respondents say they leave their jobs because management doesn’t value them; 27 percent say they were interested in the team at a company when applying, and 49 percent say a personalized message caused them to engage with the company during the recruitment/interview phase. Another 36 percent report they were turned away by a “negative company culture,” something easily discernible via sites such as Glassdoor or Blind. If we examine those findings, one thing is clear: Recruiters work hard to forge a bond, but can be let down by a company’s lack of stewardship for the relationship they built with a candidate. It’s the classic "everything was fine until I got the job" scenario. There’s also an interesting narrative regarding the work tech pros do: 29 percent say a challenging technical problem enticed them to apply for a job, and 64 percent say they leave because another company offers them “new problems to solve.” Around 41 percent say they’re turned away because they are just “not interested in the mission” of the company wooing them, which is indicative they’re not interested in the work, product, or challenges offered. Tech pros want what most in other disciplines do: Good pay, challenging work that interests them, and a company culture that engages and supports them. Dice’s own survey underscores Hired’s findings; we found 64 percent of tech pros are open to leaving their job, and that number climbs to 95 percent if we examine everyone that would jump ship. Similarly, 40 percent of tech pros want a promotion or more money doing what they do, and nine percent just don’t like their coworkers; 19 percent tell us they don’t feel supported by management. All told, tech pros don’t have unique issues, but tech's job market is much healthier than many other professions. Companies are in a far more precarious position; there’s no hiding from a bad reputation or rotten culture, and survey data shows tech pros are pretty good at identifying warning signs – and have no issues leaving for greener pastures.