Berlin's job market is candidate-driven. To stay competitive, companies need to understand the candidates, their needs, wants, joys and pains. And then, they should incorporate this knowledge into their recruitment process. Unfortunately, we often see that companies and candidates are not on the same page when it comes to hiring. To back up our observations with data, we ran a survey asking tech professionals about their recruitment journeys. We hope that the findings, along with individual stories, will help Berlin-based companies reconsider and improve their hiring practices.

1. SURVEY
REPORT
2018
Recruitment Journeys
from Berlin Tech
Made by Caissa Global

2. 2 3
ABOUT US CONTENTS
WHO WE ARE
Caissa is a technology recruitment agency focused on
scaling businesses in Berlin and beyond.
WHAT WE DO
We provide companies with talent market insights, consult
them on talent acquisition strategies, and help them find
and hire the best-fitting professionals.
In our work with tech candidates, we support them
throughout the entire recruitment process and ensure they
fulfil their career aspirations.
HOW WE WORK
• We endorse and cherish diversity in the workplace.
• We understand the technologies that our candidates
work with.
• We approach our candidates only if there is a suitable job
opportunity for them.
• We act as our client’s brand managers and advocates
when communicating with candidates.
• We don’t do sales. We don’t do numbers. We do mutually
beneficial long-term relationships.
THE SURVEY 4
THE QUESTIONS 5
RESPONDENTS 6
REACH-OUTS FROM RECRUITERS 8
AGENCY vs INTERNAL 11
FRUSTRATION WITH RECRUITERS 12
FRUSTRATION WITH THE PROCESS 15
SATISFACTION 16
INTERVIEW TYPES 19
ACCEPTING THE OFFER 20
CONCLUSION 23
HOW WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE 24
TEST YOURSELF 26
GET IN TOUCH 27

3. 4 5
THE SURVEY THE QUESTIONS
As a recruitment agency, we can tell you that with certainty.
The times when candidates competed for a position are
over. Now that there’s a shortage of tech talent, local
businesses have to compete for new employees.
To compete effectively, companies need to understand the
candidates, their needs, wants, joys and pains, as well as
address them during the recruitment process. They should
be transparent in terms of requirements and flexible in
terms of time. But what we see is slightly different from
how it should be. Often, the recruitment process is broken.
To back up our observations with data, we ran a survey
asking tech professionals about their recruitment journeys.
We hope that the findings, along with individual stories, will
help Berlin-based companies reconsider and improve their
hiring practices.
Here are the questions that we’ve asked our respondents
using Google Forms:
GENERAL INFORMATION:
• Where do you live?
• What is your current employment status?
• What is your job?
• What is your seniority level?
• How many years of experience do you have?
• What is your main technology/language?
EXPERIENCE WITH RECRUITERS:
• How many recruiters reached out to you over the last 1
month (approximately)?
• How many of them were third-party/agency recruiters
(approximately)?
• What frustrates you the most when recruiters reach out
to you?
RECRUITMENT PROCESS: THE UPS AND DOWNS:
• What is the most stressful part of the application/
recruitment process?
• Can you remember the last time when you had an
outstanding recruitment experience? What made it so
great?
• What would definitely persuade you to accept a job offer?
How would you rate the following steps of the hiring process
from 1 to 5? (1 – most useful; 5 – waste of time)
• Screening interview
• Technical interview
• Home assignment
• Whiteboard interview
• Pair programming session
• Day in the office
• Lunch with the team
BERLIN’S JOB MARKET
IS CANDIDATE-
DRIVEN.

4. 6 7
RESPONDENTS
75 %
BERLIN
Berlin
Germany (not Berlin)
EU
Outside of EU
85 %
FULL-TIME
Full-time
In-between jobs
Part-time
Freelancer
63 %
SENIOR
Senior
Mid-level
Junior
Intern
35 %
5-10 y
5 -10 years 35.7 %
10 + years 33.3 %
2 - 5 years 21.4 %
0 - 2 years 9.5 %
75.7% of our survey participants were Berlin-based (a total of 84 respondents). To keep our
findings location-relevant, we will focus on their experiences only.
Although our respondents came from different backgrounds, most of them are full-time
employed, senior or mid-level, with 5+ years of experience.
Job titles and technology stacks vary. A significant part (29.8%) of the respondents work
as Backend Developers. The most popular technologies/languages are JavaScript and
frameworks, Java, Python, PHP, and Ruby.
30 %
20 %
10 %
0 % 29.8 % 16.7 % 15.5 % 8.3 %
4.8 % 3.6 % 3.6 % 2.4 %
B
ackend
D
ev
Full-stack
D
ev
Tech
M
anagm
ent
Frontend
D
ev
Softw
are
A
rchitect
D
evO
psM
obile
D
ev
D
ata
Scientist
O
ther
15.3 %
30 %
20 %
10 %
0 % 23.2 % 20.7 % 11 % 9.8 %
JavaScript
Java
Python
PH
P
R
uby
O
thers
6.1 % 29.3 %

5. 8 9
REACH-OUTS
FROM RECRUITERS
0-10 times
per month
0-10 times 57 %
11-30 times 31 %
31-50 times 7 %
51 + times 5 %
57 %
0-10 times
per month
0-10 times 57 %
11-30 times 31 %
31-50 times 7 %
51 + times 5 %
57 %
5
10
21.5 17.1 16.3 11.8
10+ 2-5 0-25 -10
Reach-outs by Seniority Reach-outs by Years of experience
15
20
25
5
10
20.1 15.2 13.7
2.5
Senior Junior InternMid-level
15
20
25
Reach-outs by Main technology
5
10
26.6 26 17.8 15.5 14.2
Python JS PHP JavaRuby
15
20
25
In general,
every weekday,
a senior developer
gets a proposal to
apply for a job.
”A tech professional gets, on average, 17.9
recruitment messages per month. In our last year’s
survey, it was 16.4 monthly reach-outs.
It changes with people’s seniority, experience, and
main technology/language.
For example, seniors were contacted more often,
on average, 20.1 times per month. Those with 10+
years of experience — 21.5 times/month.
Among developers, those fluent in Python were
approached the most (26.6 times/month).

6. 10 11
”
AGENCY vs
INTERNAL
People in tech are mostly contacted by third-party recruiters. On
average, 74.79% individual reach-outs came from agency recruiters.
LAST YEAR
Last year, we conducted a survey focused solely on communication
with recruiters. We learned that around 72.9% of recruitment
approaches came from agency recruiters, which is similar to this
year’s result.
COMPARISON OF REACH-OUTS PER MONTH
3/4
of individual
reach-outs come
from agency
recruiters.
50
100
150
200
OVERALL REACH-OUTS
AGENCY REACH-OUTS

7. 12 13
We asked our respondents to name up to 3 things they find the
most frustrating about recruiters. They could choose from our list
of 7 options or/and suggest their own one(s).
This way, we learned that people in tech complain the most
about:
• irrelevance of jobs suggested to them (67.1%)
• lack of attention to their professional profiles (57.3%)
• overly generic messages (56.1%)
20 %0 % 40 % 60 % 80 %
They introduce
non-relevant positions
They don’t read
your profile properly
Their messages
are too generic
They try to get your CV before
telling you what the job is
They can’t answer your questions
about the hiring company
They don’t understand
the technology
They don’t reply
back in agreed time
67.1 %
57.3 %
56.1 %
37.8 %
19.5 %
17.1 %
11 %
FRUSTRATION
WITH RECRUITERS
FRUSTRATIONS WITH RECRUITERS
They waste my time with
phone calls where they
gather information that
could easily be found on
Linkedin.
”

8. 14 15
What are usually the biggest pains of a recruitment process?
To answer this question, we asked the respondents to pick up top
3 things that stress them out during the application or recruitment
process.
We can point out two major problems:
1. the hiring process is either too complex or to time-consuming
(or both)
2. there is a lack of effective and timely communication/feedback.
10 %0 % 20 % 30 % 40 %
Test assignments
take too much time
The recruitment process
takes too long
There are too many steps
in the recruitment process
HR and the hiring managers don’t
exchange interview feedbacks
Interview questions are too
generic / irrelevant to the position
You did not get a chance
to meet the team
Hiring managers don’t provide
timely feedback
The tech team is not involved
in the recruitment process
The application process
is unstructured
The interviewer is not well
prepared for the interview
The entire process
is too formal
42.2 %
34.9 %
33.7 %
33.7 %
25.3 %
24.1 %
16.9 %
16.9 %
13.3 %
12.0 %
8.4 %
FRUSTRATION
WITH THE PROCESS
STRESSES OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS
There is no real feedback:
“We decided to hire
another candidate”.
It says nothing about why
a company didn’t want to
hire me.
”

9. 16 17
SATISFACTION
What are the ingredients of a great recruitment experience?
To find out, we asked an open-ended question and got replies from 69%
of our Berlin-based participants. Based on their responses, we identified 8
categories of factors that make one’s recruitment journey feel good:
10 %0 % 20 % 30 %
Speed 25.9 %
25.9 %
24.1 %
20.7 %
17.2 %
15.5 %
15.5 %
13.8 %
Relevancy & practicality
Consideration & Care
Feedback & Communication
Meeting the team
Professionalism
Transparency
Informality
INGREDIENTS OF A GREAT RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Me, the CTO and the
team lead discussed the
latest news regarding
our tech stack, working
instruments, most
impressive failures in our
careers.
”
A positively outstanding recruitment experience is:
• When the process is fast
• When the questions and assignments are relevant to the actual job
• When the candidate is treated well (decently, humanely, in a friendly
way, like a human being)
12.1% of people said they had no good recruitment experience so far.

10. 18 19
INTERVIEW
TYPES
Now, we wanted to understand the attitude of tech professionals
toward different types of interviews/stages of the recruitment
process:
• Screening interview
• Technical interview
• Home assignment
• Whiteboard interview
MOST USEFUL TYPE OF INTERVIEW
MOST USELESS TYPE OF INTERVIEW
Whiteboard
interviews were
named the most
time-wasting stage
of the recruitment
process.
”
• Pair programming
session
• Day in the office
• Lunch with the team
We asked to rate them from 1 (“very important and helpful”) to 5
(“useless and time-wasting”). Based on the number of “1s” and “5s”
and made the top 3s.
10 %0 % 20 % 30 % 40 %
Technical interview
Day in the office
Home assignment
34.9 %
27.7 %
22.0 %
10 %0 % 20 % 30 % 40 %
Whiteboard interview
Home Assignment
Pair programming
24.4 %
14.5 %
13.4 %

11. 20 21
ACCEPTING THE
OFFER
20 %0 % 40 % 60 %
Salary 73.2 %
46.3 %
35.4 %
30.5 %
24.4 %
22.0 %
17.1 %
15.9 %
Experienced / Senior colleagues
Flexible office time
Strong company culture
Financial security of the company
Working remotely
Freedom to choose technologies
Number of holidays
8.5 %
7.3 %
Horizontal hierarchy
Pension plan and insurance
A balance of factors is
important: salary, the team
fit, a good mix of experience
within the team, the work
and the role, tech direction
and vision, easygoing
attitudes, the company
and what it does, the office
and its location, flexible
office time and working
arrangements.
”
Ben, Senior DevOps Engineer
Finally, we were curious about the job offer acceptance factors. So we asked: “What would
definitely persuade you to accept a job offer?”
We were not very surprised to learn that 73.2% of survey participants picked Salary as the
main offer acceptance factor. More senior colleagues and Flexible office time (2nd and
3rd) don’t seem to be as important as the money.
It’s worth noting that nobody mentioned ping-pong tables and similar entertainment
tokens. Meanwhile, some companies sincerely hope to use them in job ads to lure
developers.
OFFER ACCEPTANCE FACTORS

12. 22 23
Recruitment is
ultimately a branding
exercise. It gives an
insight into how you
function as a company.
CONCLUSION
First of all, an average tech professional
gets around 18 messages from recruiters
monthly. That’s 4 jobs per week! And it
becomes more intense for developers
with greater experience. What’s more,
jobs that are pitched to people in tech are
too often irrelevant to them. Sometimes,
recruiters don’t have the tech knowledge;
sometimes, they simply don’t bother to
read one’s profile.
Even when the job is right and the person
attends the interview, there are pitfalls
awaiting them. Most frequently, test
assignments are too time-consuming,
and it takes very long to move from
one stage of the hiring process to
another. And then, because of the
broken communication within the hiring
team, the candidate is asked the same
questions again and again. Or, there are
tests that take way too much time to
complete and are even not related to the
actual job.
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM
THE SURVEY?
”
Considering all the pains that developers
deal with in the process of switching
jobs, there’s no wonder they seem picky
and financially demanding.
To hire effectively, there needs to be a
mutually beneficial recruitment process,
both for companies and candidates. Such
a process is well-defined, logical, and
transparent. So that, if you are a recruiter
or hiring manager, you understand it,
follow it, and can communicate it to
candidates.
If you are applying for a job, you should ask
the hiring company what the recruitment
process is and what is expected of you
in that process. This way, you’ll be both
better prepared and able to save lots of
time.

13. 24 25
HOW WE MAKE
A DIFFERENCE
LILY UZUNOVA
At Caissa, Lily
successfully combines
her coaching experience
with her tech industry
knowledge as a
Technology Recruiter.
Starting her career in
corporate finance, has
seen both the corporate
environment and the
startup culture from the
inside.
Having lived in multiple
locations (Bulgaria,
the Netherlands,
London, and currently
Berlin) and worked in
various fields, Lily puts
great importance into
challenging herself,
taking risks and learning
from experience and
from the people she
surrounds herself by.
IONUT ROGHINA
Ionut has been
troubleshooting
recruitment with
Caissa since 2011. He
believes that third-
party recruiters can and
should make a great
positive difference for
the candidates and
companies they are
representing, with the
condition that they
become smarter users of
their services.
Ionut’s goal is to be
the most professional
technology recruiter
you will meet. You can
tell him from others by
his strong moral values,
deep understanding of
technology, dedication
to building long-term
relationships, expert
market knowledge and,
equally important, true
passion for his work.
EWELINA KUZMICZ
Ewelina is Caissa’s
Technology Recruiter
and a master of
boolean search. With
a background in social
research, she has always
had a strong focus
on asking questions,
designing research tools
and analysing data. She
now uses her skills to
connect professionals
and companies.
The unprecedented
growth of technology
and its interplay with
business fascinates
Ewelina. She finds it
thrilling to participate in
this process by meeting
and connecting people
from IT, e-commerce
and online worlds.
ALBIN BANKUTI
Albin is an expert in
targeted executive
headhunting and
business development.
His specialty is
connecting executives
and entrepreneurs with
startups and major
players of the digital
world.
Having deep knowledge
of the tech and
e-commerce industries,
combined with his rich
experience working with
businesses in Europe
and Asia, Albin proves
to be highly adaptable
and efficient. He is a
dependable and loyal
colleague, known to
work to a high business
ethics standard. In
his free time, Albin
volunteers for events
like TechStars Demo
Day and TechCrunch’s
Disrupt.
CAISSA IN
NUMBERS:
10 years of
existence
9 employees from
7 countries
3 offices in 2 time
zones
10 languages
spoken
50+ years of
recruitment
experience
combined
AGA AJCHEL
Aga has joined Caissa
as a Talent Sourcer
for tech roles. She is
so passionate about
technology that
she even holds a
Bachelor’s Degree in
Computer Science. Her
background, interests,
and abilities give her
the advantage to really
understand technical
requirements from our
clients and evaluate
candidates’ skillset.
Aga genuinely believes
that, in order for
people to be happy
and fulfilled at their
workplace, it’s important
to improve cooperation
and communication
between employees and
management.
Twitter: @ionutroghina
LinkedIn: /ionutroghina
Twitter: @kuzmiczewelina
LinkedIn: /ewelinakuzmicz
Twitter: @AlbinBankuti
LinkedIn: /albinbankuti
Twitter: @LilyanaUzunova
LinkedIn: /lilyana-uzunova
Twitter: @Aga_Caissa
LinkedIn: /amajchel
KONSTANTY SLIWOWSKI
Konstanty, Caissa’s
Managing Director, has
been involved in the
staffing industry for a
decade and a half. He
established Caissa with
the intent to incorporate
executive search flow
and procedures into
technology recruitment.
This means providing
clients with a more
effective, quality-driven
and, above all, people-
focused headhunting
service.
Konstanty is driven
by working to a high
business ethics standard.
He is a believer in
human interaction and
true opportunity.
Twitter: @KSliwowski
LinkedIn: /sliwowskik

14. 26 27
GET IN TOUCHTEST YOURSELF
1. How many people did you or your company interview in the last year?
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How many people did you hire in 2018?
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How many people rejected your job offers? Do you know why?
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What was the shortest time to hire at your company?
________________________________________________________________________________________
5. And what was the longest?
________________________________________________________________________________________
6. How many steps are there in the hiring process?
________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Who agrees upon a new hiring process at your company?
________________________________________________________________________________________
8. How do you log feedback from interviews? How do you share it?
________________________________________________________________________________________
9. How do you address candidate expectations during the hiring process?
________________________________________________________________________________________
10. What do you do during the hiring process to showcase your company as an employer of choice?
________________________________________________________________________________________
11. How do you manage candidate feedback?
________________________________________________________________________________________
12. What are the steps you’re going to take to improve your current hiring process?
________________________________________________________________________________________
HOW DO YOU RECRUIT ?
CAISSA LTD
133 Whitechapel High
Street
E1 7QA London
United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 3581 3835
CAISSA EUROPE GMBH
MINDSPACE
Friedrichstraße 68
10117 Berlin
Germany
+49 (0)30 55235980
@caissa.global @caissaglobal
@caissa-global@caissaglobal /caissa-ltd

15. What is your next move?