Finding and hiring talented developers takes more work than just hitting "send" on an email. With recruiting tactics of the past proving time and time again to be ineffective, it’s time to learn how today’s developers want to be recruited.
20. Know where and how
developers want to be contacted.
Spoiler: developers don’t love LinkedIn
or Facebook.
21. 52% of developers said they hated being
contacted on Facebook about job
opportunities. 22% of developers
don’t even have LinkedIn accounts.
*according to the 2015 Stack Overflow Developer Landscape
22. On the other hand
of developers said email is
a great way to be contacted.
65%
23. Personalize
your messages
Developers hate receiving mass emails
and copy-and-paste templates, so be
sure to do your research on the
candidate(s) you’re recruiting before
you hit the “send” button.
24. Disclose salary and
company name up front
62% of developers* said that salary is important
to them when they evaluate new job opportunities.
*2016 Stack Overflow Developer Survey
28. Don’t overdo
the bullet points
Your job listings shouldn’t read like a
list of demands. Instead, focus on the
required and preferred skills needed
for the job.
30. Include a punchy job title.
Try including a brief description of the company
and mention the main technology for the role.
This gives job-seekers a sense of what type of work
they’ll be doing.
31. Simplify your skills
and requirements.
70% of developers* told us they’re
self-taught, so avoid listing a formal
degree as a requirement.
*2016 Stack Overflow Developer Survey
32. Let your company
culture shine.
Mention your awesome work culture
or perks to give applicants an idea
of what it’s like to work for your company.
33. Keep it short and sweet.
Candidates will only spend a few seconds reviewing your
job listing, so make yours count.
35. Be flexible
scheduling.
Developers think taking time off work
to interview is one of the most annoying
aspects of the job search, so don’t be
too firm about scheduling them.
with interview
36. Offer remote
interviews.
Again, finding time to step away
from work is difficult for any
developer. If a candidate can’t find
time to come into your office, let
them interview from wherever is
most convenient.
37. Tell them who
they’ll be speaking
Technical interviews are extensive,
so give candidates a heads up about
who they’ll be meeting.
with ahead of time.
38. Introduce candidates
to the team.
Quality of colleagues is important to developers,
so make sure they know they’ll be working with people
who are just as smart as they are.
39. Show them
It’s no secret that developers want to
work on interesting projects, so give
them a glimpse of the products they
might get to build.
live code.
40. Show them
Developers want to know
they’ll have a comfortable
workspace that allows them
to get things done.
their workspace.
41. Fewer
brainteasers.
Our CEO Joel Spolsky says that
knowing the answer to a brain teaser
isn’t a good indicator of whether or
not someone can write quality code.
48. TL;DR
● Recruiting and hiring developers is hard.
● Doing it well is a skill you need to learn.
● To do it well, you need to do five things:
○ Know what developers want
○ Recruit in a personal way
○ Craft killer technical job listings
○ Improve your interview process
○ Promote your employer brand
49. Stack Overflow is the largest, most trusted online
community for developers to learn, share their
knowledge, and advance their careers. More than
40 million professional and aspiring programmers
visit Stack Overflow each month to help solve
coding problems, develop new skills, and find
job opportunities.
Founded in 2008, Stack Overflow partners with brands
and employers to help them understand, reach, and
attract the world's developers.
Want to learn more about
how Stack Overflow can help
you attract, recruit, and hire
technical talent?
Request a demo
50. Thanks!
Want to learn more about
how to effectively recruit developers?
Talk to an expert