This article has been updated on February 20th, 2023.
To hire a software developer and a talented one at that is akin to winning the lottery, especially in today’s competitive market. It’s like the Hunger Games out there! To quote, “We fight, we dare, we end our hunger for justice.” — but for developers instead 😛
And no, the answer is not “competitive salary”. Step 0 is to attract developers before moving on to interviewing or hiring them. Recruiters, ask yourselves this—What do developers want from their job? Is it a better work-life balance? Personal growth potential? Or flexible schedules? Walk a mile in a developer’s shoes to understand what they look for in an ideal job opportunity and what makes them happy. Then you’ll be one step closer to attracting and hiring the cream of the crop out there! A few vital benefits to offer include –
Developers crave flexibility. They like to identify their most productive hours and set their work timings accordingly. Offer remote/hybrid working models for your devs with the option to structure their workday around their needs—the 9-5 model is slowly becoming a thing of the past. If their company stood by rigid work schedules and returned to working from an office full-time, people will switch jobs in a heartbeat as seen during the Great Resignation.
In a post-pandemic world, mental health is no longer “a good-to-have perk”. It’s become a priority. Therefore, promote self-care and stress management by providing mental health counseling and diet, exercise, and wellness coaching. Managers are not mental health experts but they can point their developers in the right direction—encourage them to seek help from the resources available. We, at HackerEarth, are pre-registered for 1to1help, an emotional well-being Employee Assistance Program that helps employees prioritize mental health. They conduct regular sessions on achieving work-life balance, managing anxiety, why taking care of mental health is important, and so on. This is not an exhaustive list by any means. Here are some more employee perks and benefits that can attract developers to apply to your organization. 👇 <link to Abenity’s blog>
While there is no one-size-fits-all rule for hiring the right developer, we have attempted to list down the basic steps for hiring software developers for startups. Hope this helps!
Start by listing the technical skills needed for a given role. This will vary based on your project, whether you need a full-stack developer, backend developer, or someone specialized in a particular technology.
Next, determine the soft skills needed for the role. Not only does your candidate need to be technically proficient, they should also possess certain soft skills like communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and adaptability which will help them work in tandem with your team and company goals.
Ensure you’ve allocated sufficient funds for hiring; keeping in mind industry standards, experience levels, and regional variations in pay scales.
Remember, offering equity or profit-sharing can be a way to attract top talent if you’re short on funds.
Attend tech conferences, hackathons, or local developer meetups, and grow your developer network. Employer branding and personal branding go a long way in helping recruiters and companies connect with the right talent.
Make use of online platforms like LinkedIn, Stack Overflow, and GitHub which developers use frequently..
Ask your network, including other founders or professionals, for referrals.
Provide a brief about your startup, the product, and its vision.
Clearly mention responsibilities, technical and soft skill requirements, and any benefits or perks.
Indicate whether remote work is an option, as it can widen your talent pool.
You can read our handy guide on crafting better and inclusive job descriptions here.
Resume Screening: This initial step helps you identify developers with the required skills and experience.
Technical Tests: Use platforms like HackerEarth to test the candidates’ coding skills.
Cultural Fit: Beyond technical skills, ensure the developer fits well with your startup’s culture and values.
Technical Interview: Dive deep into their technical knowledge, past projects, and problem-solving capabilities.
Behavioral Interview: Gauge their soft skills, teamwork, and adaptability through situational questions.
Founder’s Interview: As a startup, having one of the founders interview the candidate can help gauge cultural fit and provide the developer a clearer picture of the company’s vision.
While budget constraints might be a reality, ensure you offer competitive compensation based on industry standards.
Consider offering non-monetary perks like flexible hours, remote work options, or professional growth opportunities.
Have an efficient onboarding process in place to integrate new developers smoothly.
Provide them with necessary resources, tools, and introduce them to the team.
Before you get all gung-ho about hiring developers, know what your requirements are. The more specific you are, the better filters you have. A laundry list of skills will only put off developers from applying. Consequently, divide your requirements into must-have and good-to-have skills. A defined set of skills will help you start looking in the right places. Also, this clarity in what you’re looking for will come through in your communication. Read our informative guide on how to write job descriptions that work to understand how ambiguity can harm you. For example, do you want a database developer or a front-end developer? Are you sure you are not confusing a web designer with a web developer?
Once you have defined your hiring needs, gathered inputs from all stakeholders, and agreed on candidate specifications, the next step is to set up your search strategy. Sourcing refers to proactively identifying people who are:
Also read: Get your copy of the social recruiting checklist today to help you tailor your strategy for each social media platform!
GitHub: GitHub is an online project-hosting service site where developers share their open-source projects. Once you have a public account up and running, you can get contact info, the number of followers, GitHub contributions, and repositories. Stack Overflow: Stack Overflow is an online community for programmers to learn, share their knowledge, and advance their careers. Basic details and summaries about programmers are accessible; use the right filters to refine your search. For passive candidates, check out the Careers section. Remember to engage in meaningful discussions with people of interest. Reddit: Reddit is an online community where users submit content, such as text posts or direct links, in very specific “subreddits.” Developers and thought leaders ask questions and discuss technology-related topics here. This can be a valuable source of highly skilled programmers. Note that Reddit has its own Boolean search terminology.
💡 Pro tip: Github, Stack Overflow, and Reddit can be excellent sources to find talent when you’re sourcing for niche/specialized roles.
Quora is a Q&A site that facilitates social interactions and interesting conversations. You will need to first build your reputation, for example, by answering questions on hiring. You can identify domain experts by going through topics of interest and initiating conversations. Although Quora may not help you source candidates directly, it will help you design a more relevant strategy to hire a software developer for your startup effectively.
A promising tool for recruiting, Glassdoor exerts a huge social influence on job aspirants. People go on Glassdoor to write or read anonymous reviews about companies and company life. So, this is where you need to build an awesome employer brand while being honest and transparent. Recruiters can gather valuable metrics from this site.
Meetup.com unites people with shared professional interests. You can find potential candidates without having to go to any events as many of the meetup groups and attendee lists are public. Once you’ve made your interest list and filtered your candidates, you can send them a personalized email. Also, developer events can give you an opportunity to network with the most sought-after technical experts. You can make connections and build mutually beneficial relationships with them.
Hackathons are amazing places to network with exceptional talent and industry experts. You can skillfully build a talent pipeline of hardworking, smart, and passionate programmers by attending the right events. Virtual, external, and internal hackathons have all got great advantages to improve your talent pipeline. For instance, if you run a global hackathon or a hiring challenge with HackerEarth, you get the chance to get your company in front of 7.6 million qualified developers. Now that’s an ocean of talent that you can attract and possibly hire from, for your startup! You can also opt to conduct an internal hackathon to engage your existing developers, with minimal bandwidth drain.
Also, read: How Hackathons Can Help You Attract, Engage, Hire, And Train Top Talent
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Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Google+ |
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GitHub |
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Stack Overflow |
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Quora |
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Glassdoor |
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Meetups and Developer events |
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Hackathons |
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Now you move on to screening the candidates. In traditional tech hiring processes, you invite applications, screen manually, interview shortlisted candidates, and finally hire. This process could go on for months on end. But this process is not cost-effective, scalable, or very accurate. And when you’re out to hire a software developer for a startup, you generally don’t have a lot of time before you have to close those open roles. Someone once said, “Tech startup hiring can be something of a ‘Rush Hour’, the movie experience. Your hiring needs are mostly unplanned and a lot of things are happening all at once.” They’re not wrong. Time is of the essence and you can’t afford to manually screen your applicants. Applicant tracking systems and other tech recruiting tools have made recruiters’ lives so much easier by cutting down on the cost, time, and effort they invest in attracting, managing, and retaining employees. Some companies, such as HackerEarth, offer coding assessment software that helps you screen developers effortlessly via customized coding tests that are automatically evaluated. Detailed reports give you a near-perfect picture of what these people can really do. Moreover, you won’t be accused of any kind of bias and you can cut down your time-to-hire by half! Don’t take our word for it. One of our clients, Tallan was able to speed up their technical screening process by 50% with our product. We enabled them to automate their screening process. Now could screen hundreds of candidates at a go, accurately. P.S. Technical screening is an important step in the funnel and one that can easily go wrong. Learn how to master it with these expert tips. 👇
Also, read: The Definitive Technical Screening Guide
It is a two-way street. Both the candidate and you are going to be making some decisions here. Once you have “ideal candidates” in your clutches, you try to decide if they:
Hire for their knowledge of computing and flexibility than experience. Don’t ask for a programmer with 5 years of Java, two years of SQL, and 1.5 years of Hibernate experience. Instead of this shopping list, find ways to explore their area of expertise and online presence (portfolios/GitHub). In addition to that, ask them general questions and ask them to critique a platform or system, or code. Engage in a dialogue with them about it and that can tell you a lot about their mental agility and problem-solving ability. If you are a non-tech person, it is best you get someone (programmer, mentor, consultant) with some know-how to help you interview developers. For example, if you wanted to hire a Java developer, what should you ask and what you should look for? Like auditioning for a role in a play or a movie, you can make a prospective hire work with your team on a live project. Nothing reveals people’s real characteristics until you go to war with them, and every day at an early-stage startup is going to be very war-like. (Think Hunger Games, again 😛)
Also, read: Essential Questions To Ask When Recruiting Developers Part 1 and Part 2
Startups face a unique set of challenges when hiring software developers. Unlike established companies with brand recognition and larger budgets, startups often struggle to attract top talent. A primary challenge is financial constraints; with limited funds, offering competitive salaries becomes difficult. This also means startups may not have the resources for extensive hiring processes or the luxury of time.
Furthermore, the volatile nature of startups can deter candidates seeking job stability. Developers are often looking for roles where they can grow professionally; the perceived risk associated with startups can be a deterrent. Another challenge is the intense competition for tech talent. With tech giants and numerous startups vying for the same pool of developers, standing out becomes pivotal yet challenging.
Cultural fit is also crucial in the startup environment. Finding someone who not only has the technical skills but also aligns with the company’s vision and pace can be a daunting task. Lastly, due to the lean nature of startups, each hire plays a significant role, adding pressure to make the perfect choice. Addressing these challenges requires a mix of creativity in recruitment strategies, clear communication of the startup’s vision, and fostering a welcoming company culture.
Conventional ways of reaching out to developers looking for jobs and convincing them to join your startup aren’t going to work. You need to get the developers interested. Startup founders need to take a marketing approach to find developers. Additionally, be in places you think the developers you’re looking for will be present—meet-ups, IRC chatrooms, hackathons, and dev conferences. Don’t just rely on copy-pasting generic job descriptions on job portals and expect the applications to come pouring in. Put the word out—your company’s message, the fact that you’re looking for developers out in these circles, and what you’re trying to solve. Follow the tips we’ve mentioned in this article and you should get some fantastic hires or at least expand your network to a large extent.
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It is important to understand that the “perfect candidate” who possesses all the skills one would like is a myth. Hence, break down your list of skill requirements into two categories. Essential or must-have, or non-negotiable skills which are crucial to the role. And adjacent or good-to-have skills which an employee can pick up on the job over time. Must-have skills include:
Adjacent skills can include:
Hiring software developers faster can be challenging, but there are several steps you can take to streamline the process:
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