Finding Hidden Talent: Hiring Software Engineers

Finding Hidden Talent:
Hiring Software Engineers
Meghan Maher Katy Smigowski Diana Martz
Featuring

2 | www.labs.openviewpartners.com
Agenda
 What software engineers value most in job
opportunities
 How to target and engage with top technical
talent through events and online
 Best practices on interviewing and delivering
competitive offers to top candidates

The “Battle for Talent” Report
 Features data from surveyed software engineers and
recruiters across the country
 We asked questions regarding:
 Factors considered when changing jobs
 What is the best channel to reach software engineers
 What is most important to software engineers to stay with a
company long-term
 Throughout this webinar we will share key findings and
statistics from the report

What are the main factors
candidates consider when
changing jobs?

What Recruiters Think Matters Most
to Software Engineers

What Actually Matters Most to
Software Engineers

What Factors Retain Software
Engineers Long-Term

Motivation for Making a Move
What Recruiters Think
1. Opportunity to work with
cutting edge technology
(42%)
2. Competitive compensation
(35%)
3. Opportunity for career
growth (10%)
4. Desirable company culture
(8%)
1. Competitive compensation
(29%)
2. Desirable company culture
(23%)
3. Opportunity for career
growth (19%)
4. Opportunity to work with
cutting-edge technology
(9%)
What Software Engineers Think

What Tools Recruiters Believe Are
Most Effective for Recruiting Software
Engineers

Where to Engage with Engineers
Online

It’s A Fact…
• LinkedIn is oversaturated. Supplement your efforts with other
online resources for recruiting such as:
• Twitter, which counts over 90,000 software engineers
as active users, or
• Meetup, which has over 2,300 software engineering
groups nationwide
• 42% of software engineers are contacted by recruiters 3
times/month; 10% are contacted 10 times/month

• Of the software engineers OpenView surveyed,
• 89% indicated they have applied for two or fewer jobs in
the past five years, while
• 74% have applied for either just one job or none at all.
• Software engineers prefer to be contacted by personal email

Outbound Recruiting: Initial
Engagement
 Send
targeted, personalized
messages through
LinkedIn or email
• Get to the point

• Leverage multiple
channels:
• LinkedIn
• Email
• Twitter
• Meetup.com
• “Three Strike Rule”
Outbound Recruiting: Initial
Engagement

Referral Programs
• Referrals are often great hires
• Offer incentives for current employees to tap
their network
– Consider opening up your referral program so
non-employees can make referrals

Recruiting at Events
Open Houses Career Fairs
Encourage your engineering team to attend!

Best Practices for Events
• Think long term: Build your brand
• When hosting: make events low pressure, have a
draw, teach your guests something
• Show excitement for your team and your company

Interviewing Best Practices
 Define and streamline the interview process
 Maintain consistency
 Garner a sense of urgency

Sell Your Company
• How does your company differentiate itself in
the market?
• What are the short- and long-term
opportunities available for someone joining
your company in this role?

Ideal Interview Process
• Recruiter phone screen
• Gather motivations, compensation expectations, and
an overview of experience
• Hiring manager phone screen
• Deeper discussion into the candidate’s
experience, skills, and the role
• Full interview loop
• The candidate will meet with all stakeholders and
complete a technical test (white boarding, code
test, etc.)
• Interviewers debrief and make a decision
• Conduct reference checks
• Extend offer

Compiling a Competitive Job Offer
 Refer to discussions you’ve had with the
candidate about compensation and their
motivations in looking for a new role
 Keep other offers and counteroffers top of
mind
 Be creative if you need to be: Sign-on
bonuses, incentivized bonuses, title, etc

How to Successfully Extend the
Offer
 Be prepared
 Vocalize your
excitement
 Give a deadline
 Keep communication
open

Key Takeaways
• Engage in a proactive, outbound recruiting
effort.
• Tailor your messaging to what software
engineers are looking for in a new position.
• Maintain a sense of urgency with interviews
and offers.

Questions

Contact Us
We’re happy to answer any questions you may have or connect to talk
strategy.
Diana Martz
Director of Talent
dmartz@openviewlabs.com
Meghan Maher
Senior Talent Specialist
mmaher@openviewlabs.com
Katy Smigowski
Talent Specialist
ksmigowski@openviewlabs.com

Additional Resources
 War on Talent Report: The Keys to Recruiting Software Engineers
Successfully:
http://labs.openviewpartners.com/tag/report/
 Talent eBook: How to Build the Talent Factory Your Company
Needs to Scale: http://labs.openviewpartners.com/ebook/get-
more-talent/
 The Recruiter Honeypot:http://www.ewherry.com/2012/06/the-
recruiter-honeypot/
 OpenView’s Recruiting Blog:
http://blog.openviewpartners.com/recruitment-hiring/

Thank you!
Thank you for joining us today and stay tuned
for more Talent Webinars!

Finding Hidden Talent: Hiring Software Engineers

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