Your company needs software developers, and your applicant list is blank. Or, even worse, you’ve been wading through applications and interviews with software developers with no luck of finding one that is right for your company.
You’re not alone. The hiring process is daunting, and there’s no surefire, quick-start guide to finding the best candidates on the market.
Great software products are created by great software developers. At Geneca, we know this because we’ve hired countless developers over the years who have helped our business grow and succeed–and a few that haven’t.
What have we learned? Let’s share our top tips to find and hire the best developers for your team:
Seek Referrals from Employees and Colleagues
Talented people often know other talented people. Whether it be from college courses, previous positions, online networking, or other channels, your employees and colleagues may have contacts who have similar skillsets.
When asking for referrals from a person who knows you and your business well, you have a better chance of finding and hiring developers that fit your needs and your culture.
How can you encourage referrals in your company? Consider establishing an employee referral program. Encourage employees to submit referrals by offering rewards, whether it be in the form of bonuses, additional PTO, or other gifts.
Not only will employees appreciate the rewards, but asking for referrals can also make your employees feel that their opinions are respected when their developer recommendations are considered and even hired.
Write a Strong Software Developer Job Posting
Whether you pass it around through word of mouth or make it publicly accessible through job boards and websites, a strong and enticing job posting is essential for attracting software talent.
Provide Relevant Information
Your software job description should correctly and adequately explain the position, daily activities, and skills or experience needed for the job. Think of every question a candidate may ask to see if they qualify to be hired for the position, such as:
- Do they need to have any certifications?
- Is there a specific software development tech stack or programming language they should know?
- What level of software developers are you looking for and how many years of experience should they have under their belt?
- Is the position for freelance developers, contract developers, remote developers, or in-house developers?
Your job posting should also describe your company, its main service or product, its culture, and your mission. Include information like:
- Past or current software development projects your company is working on
- Goals for the upcoming year
- Priorities and values for the company and its employees
- Attributes and traits of the typical employee at your company
- Past achievements
By including information about the position and your company, software developers can determine if their skillsets and their goals and personalities are a match for you and your company.
Highlight Perks
Once software developers have determined if they’re qualified to be hired and would be a good fit for the position and the company, you’ll want to reel them in with company perks and highlights.
To ensure developers finish the application process or reach out for more information, include enticing company benefits in the job posting. These may include:
- Flexible working hours
- Hybrid or remote work, whether optional or across the company
- A flexible dress code
- Competitive salaries
- A comprehensive benefits package
- Regular consideration for bonuses, raises, and growth
- Workplace perks, such as workshops, courses, or learning funds
This list is not comprehensive. Consider what your current developers love about the company and include those benefits on the job posting.
Be Honest
While there are certainly a ton of great things about working for your company, it’s important not to sugar coat it during your search. In order to hire the best software developer for you, you want to be straightforward about expectations.
Do you need someone that can be available on the weekends for emergencies? Will the right developer need to have a good grasp of their client’s industry to be successful? Is there something you can’t offer, like work visa sponsorships? Are you hiring for a remote position but expect the new hire to be able to travel in for orientation?
Include anything relevant in your posting to weed out software engineers that might be great at what they do, but wouldn’t necessarily be a good fit for your business model. It’s best to be upfront rather than put time and energy into top talent that can’t meet your company’s long term needs.
Set Yourself Apart
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in computer and information technology is projected to grow 13 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations.
With that kind of demand, top talent in the tech industry has a variety of options. How do you stand out from other companies looking for developers? Take some time to consider what makes you different and even ask others in your company.
Are you able to offer unique opportunities for your new hires? Do you have a strong sense of culture and community? Do you do work frequently in a really interesting industry, or use a hot new technology that many others don’t yet?
There’s something for everyone, and your unique offerings will entice the right developer to you and keep them there.
Require Interview Assessments
When reviewing potential developers to hire, most companies will inevitably require standard in-person or phone interviews. In addition to those standard interviews, companies can take advantage of technical interview assessments as a great way to determine if a candidate meets your requirements for technical skills and knowledge.
By requiring a standard interview and a technical assessment, you have the best chance of making an informed, comprehensive decision on the best candidate to hire.
What does a technical interview assessment look like? A technical interview assessment will vary depending on the company and the position or project you’re hiring for. However, at Geneca we focus on two key items:
- Make the candidate do the job in front of you.
- Be consistent with every interview and every candidate.
We’ve found that many interviewers don’t focus on these two areas, and it leads to the loss of great candidates or the hiring of candidates that aren’t right for the position.
Make the Candidate Perform the Job
What does it mean to make developers “do the job” during a technical assessment? To put it simply, it means you give them real-life scenarios or problems that are either directly related to the project or are similar in problem solving and critical thinking skills. Then, you’ll have the developers work through those problems in front of you, either in person or via video call.
Making this part of your technical assessment benefits you in multiple ways. First, you’ll be able to assess how a candidate performs under pressure.
That’s why we don’t allow our candidates to work on a problem outside of a technical assessment; it takes away the critical element of pressure, which shows us who that person truly is, how well they can problem solve, and if they’re capable of efficient critical thinking.
You’ll also be able to determine if your candidate has the aptitude for the work they’ll be doing. At Geneca, we put more emphasis on our candidates’ ability to learn than their knowledge or skills pertaining to specific languages and technologies.
Why? Because technology is constantly changing. The programming language you use for one project may not be the same one you use for the next. It’s more important to find developers that are adaptable and quick to learn than those who have the specific toolset you’re looking for in the moment. Focus on their ability to learn over their current knowledge.
Be Consistent
Whatever questions you ask in your technical assessment, make sure they’re consistent across every project and every candidate. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself hiring a wide range of developers with no solid benchmark and wondering why your first developer was a perfect fit but the second one didn’t stick.
By staying consistent and asking the same questions every time, you’ll be able to either:
A) Hire great candidates consistently.
B) Realize the reason you’re not hiring great candidates is because of the questions you’re asking.
Then, you can use that information to either continue what you’re doing or pivot and change your questions to better fit your company’s needs.
Look at Previous Software Development Projects
When considering software developers to hire for your open positions, don’t underestimate the importance of a strong portfolio. All potential developers should be able to provide examples and descriptions of software development projects they’ve worked on in the past, whether they be educational, recreational, or professional.
Once their software development work has been presented to you, consider the following questions:
- How does this work/project relate directly or indirectly to the work they would be doing for our company?
- What skills and knowledge were required to complete this project?
- What, if any, obstacles would the candidate have to overcome to complete this project?
- Was the project completed with a team? What did the candidate contribute and how did they work seamlessly with teammates to complete the project?
If the answers to these questions aren’t obvious in the portfolio, they can be great points to incorporate into the interview process.
Portfolio pieces can also help you avoid discounting recent graduates because of a lack of work experience. University computer science programs often assign students projects with real-life applications and challenges, meaning recently graduated developers may still have experience relevant to your company and the position you’re advertising for.
Plus, recent graduates can often offer fresh perspectives and may have varied experiences through other camps, groups, clubs, and classes that could make them the right developer for your company if they are hired.
Keep Your Social Media and Website Up to Date
During the recruiting process, it can be easy to forget that you and your company must sell yourself to your developers, just as the developers must pitch themselves to you if they want to be hired. You want your company to be viewed as enticing and desirable. The best way to achieve that goal? Market yourself online.
Keep Your Postings Updated
To find and hire great software developers, you’ll have to let them know that you’re looking. In addition to posting on job boards, create images or text posts to share to your social media, letting your network know what positions you currently have open.
If you don’t already have a careers web page on your company website that lists openings, job descriptions, and application instructions, now may be the best time to build one. You can keep the page updated as you open and fill positions.
Remember: Job boards are great for exposure, but if developers are already on your website, you want to keep them there!
Share Case Studies
Is your company project-based? Do you create software for multiple clients? Showcase what your company does by creating and posting case studies and project portfolios to your website and social media.
By doing so, software developers can get a feel for your company before applying. Perhaps when browsing your case studies, a certain project will catch developers’ eyes or they’ll realize you use many tech stacks that they enjoy working with.
Posting case studies can be a great way to recruit new talent, so don’t forget to devote some time and attention to this area of your online presence.
Need an example? Take a look at our company case studies.
Make It Easy to Apply
If you’re actively looking to recruit and hire new software developers, keep your application process simple and easy to follow. Start by making your application page or portal easily visible on your website, whether with a tab on your navigation bar or an attention-grabbing button.
Once you’ve guided them to the correct location, make it easy for them to drag and drop or upload an application or provide an easy-to-use online portal where they can answer your application questions. Don’t forget to add a way for them to include a PDF or link to their portfolio, so you can see their previous work.
There are countless job opportunities available for software developers, so make sure your application process isn’t so complicated that it makes developers turn away for simpler options.
Team Up With Great Software Developers Today
Is hiring freelance developers, contract developers, remote developers, or in-house developers the best option for your business? Or would your company benefit from working with a team of great software developers that’s already been formed?
At Geneca, we hire, train, and build up software developers that excel in all areas of software, from coding to project management. Contact us today to see if our development team is right for your project.