In recent times, hiring technical talents requires being comfortable wearing many-hats of varying colors and sizes. Even though you have served more than a decade in the same industry, identifying the right software developers can be tricky for both the employer and recruiter. Good software developers are harder to find, not only because it takes time and research to find the best developers, you’re also competing with other business owners and entrepreneurs for their services.
So, what exactly attracts these highly sought-after software developers? There are no shortcuts to this and will require pulling more than one lever to get them to be a part of your organization. Here's the details to this proven funnel hiring strategy:
1. First Things First, Build Your Employer Brand
According to reports, software developers in Silicon Valley get contacted by different recruiters at a frequency of 10 to 15 times a week. If we go by these statistics, it means in order to get noticed you need to start optimizing your career page, drafting sleek job descriptions, generating attractive content and sharing them on social media. Basically, building your own digital footprint.
Why is this important you ask? Well, according to a LinkedIn report, 70% of people who follow an organization on LinkedIn and other social media pages say that they would consider working for that organization if given a chance. Now you know why we prioritize this!
2. Provide Great Work Culture and Vision
For experienced software developers, work culture is highly valued aspect when deciding who they’d like to work with. Software engineers, especially the most sought-out ones prefer working in an organization that has an important, relevant and believable progress of work. It helps them align their own identity with that of the organization and encourages success. This keeps them motivated with work and gives them a corporate mission to work towards when navigating multiple projects with looming deadlines.
3. Then, Know Where to Look
Once you're done with the pre-requisites, you can now work out on where to look based on the talent you need.
For example: If you're looking for JAVA developers in the USA, then you should pull up the talent pool report for the industry:
Boston, New York, San Francisco are some of the hardest places to recruit Java developers as the demands are highest here. On the other hand, places like Philadelphia and Minneapolis are good places to start as hiring competition dwindles.
So, how do you hire quality software developers, and ensure they’re the right fit?
A. Present meaningful work challenges
If you're thinking of a role that includes problem solving, writing interesting code and enjoyable breaks—most software developers look for this in any organization. People are more willing to join a company with reputable evidence that employees are happy and engaged in their work.
B. Reply fast to good applications
While the process of job applications can be difficult, there can be upto six month delays till the applicant gets a reply from the employer. This makes the applicant move to another job and grow indifferent to the previous organization. This also creates a negative reputation of the organization. So, if you receive an application from a qualified candidate then reach out to them right away.
C. Networking with real programmers across the world
There are several online programming communities that your programmers can join and learn from. These programs help them learn from each other as well as present them with new challenges every time. One of the best ways to find skilled coders is to join their hangouts and show a genuine interest in their craft. This may be through online forums, however some employers have even attended Hackathons with candidates to see their skills, as well as get to know them as a person.
D. Coding challenges are welcome
Now that you've got an apt candidate from the previous three steps, you should provide a specific coding challenge. Now here you need to understand that a Google search for programming tests won't yield in anything relevant as there's a great chance that the candidate would have encountered the problem before. As an employer, you can work with your programming team to create a test that is relevant to the role and will act as an initial screening for qualified candidates.
E. As an employer, you're being interviewed by the applicant as well
Since these highly sought software developers are in talks with several organizations all at once, they’ll be weighing up your business's culture, opportunities and additional perks. According to reports, 49 percent of professionals surveyed said that the most important thing during and interview is that they get all their business questions answered.
Conclusion
Now that you know that hiring a good software developer for your organization is a two-way process, you should appreciate that clarity and feasible hiring methods bring out the best amongst the applicants. Here are some hiring mistakes you need to avoid:
- Hiring without testing coding and problem-solving skills
- Creating overly complex job descriptions and other hiring content, write in plain English!
- Relying entirely on job boards
Best of luck!
