The process of finding the right IT specialists, tailored to the organizational culture and project requirements, can be a challenge. As a recruitment agency, that is operating on the market for several years, we have found out that finding the most specialized ones requires appropriate access routes. The reason for this is the ever-increasing need to employ IT experts in the Polish and foreign IT market. In 2021, the demand for IT specialists increased by 236%, compared to 2020. Furthermore, BLS data shows that the demand for this type of experts may increase to 21% in 2028. On the other hand, the number of job offers in IT, comparing April 2021 to April 2022, increased by over 128%, according to No Fluff Jobs data. In addition, there are forecasts that the IT market will grow by 4.8% from 2021 to 2026.
But what if we want to hire only the best of the best developers at the moment? Is it possible to convince them to change jobs? Which paths are worth considering so that the recruitment processes end successfully? We will answer these questions in this article.
How to find the best software developers?
To find and hire a professional IT specialist, we should start with the appropriate research regarding the position. Important issues worth considering are the financial requirements of experts in the industry and what the current IT job market looks like. The preparation of a report on the IT job market in Poland allowed for the formulation of conclusions that may provide guidance on the requirements and problems of developers. The table below shows the reasons why developers decide to change jobs.
Despite the general satisfaction with the salary received, the overwhelming majority of IT professionals (71%) are open to changing jobs in the near future and almost half of them are ready to do it if they receive an interesting offer. According to their answers, the willingness to make such a decision is mainly caused by inadequate salary (20%), no development opportunities (16%) and unsatisfactory projects (12%). All these issues may lead to the conclusion that these are the areas that should be particularly taken into account when presenting a job offer to an experienced Software Developer.
6 tips to help you hire the best software developers
1. Check the salary level in the IT job market.
Experts who work on B2B, expect a salary increase by an average of 20% when changing jobs. Below you can compare the expected salary increase compared to the experience level of an IT specialist. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that programmers react negatively to job advertisements that do not contain average minimum and maximum salary ranges. If it is possible, it’s definitely worth including them in the job advertisement.
If you are interested in the differences between CoE or B2B in 2022, read our article about the types of cooperation agreements in Poland.
2. Provide the option of working on interesting projects and developing skills.
Programmers are usually very committed and ambitious people who care about the continuous development of skills. You can guess that the best talents will also consider other issues when choosing the final workplace. They can be, among others:
- interesting and technically advanced projects (e.g. with new technologies),
- professional training,
- the possibility of development and promotion in the company,
- remote work,
- flexible working time.
3. Look for the best IT specialists in non-obvious places.
In addition to finding candidates by publishing job offers on advertisement portals, it is worth searching for them via social media. In the article about social recruiting, we wrote about the most frequently used ones. Jobvite’s report shows that social media that sourced high-quality candidates are: LinkedIn (53%), Facebook (33%), Youtube (22%), Twitter (21%) and Instagram (20%). When analyzing Facebook in more detail, it is worth browsing and adding job offers on specific groups. Some of the most popular ones in Poland are: IT Jobs in Poland, Praca zdalna IT, Praca/staż w IT and Praca szuka specjalistów z branży IT.
Talented programmers often share their knowledge by running thematic channels about programming and technologies or by sharing educational posts and triggering discussions. Some IT professionals create blogs or post projects on Github, StackOverflow, or other online forums.
Another way to reach well-suited candidates is to check the lists of experts who appear at conferences or webinars about technologies. Participating at such events may result in a chance to contact (and then hire) the best of the best developers. Another option may be a referral system – maybe a candidate who finally does not accept the job offer will recommend someone who will be interested in applying for the same position?
4. Get to know the candidate’s soft skills.
Interpersonal skills are crucial in the context of shaping projects. Clear communication regarding solving possible problems is the basis for effective cooperation. Advanced technical knowledge may not be sufficient if a Software Developer doesn’t have these basic skills. It should also be remembered that our candidate will have to cooperate with other team members, submit possible ideas or directions for changes, and in some cases even manage the work of other developers.
5. Evaluate the candidate’s technical skills.
Evaluating a candidate’s technical skills is an important step in the context of making a decision about hiring. After all, we have a limited amount of time to actually verify how a programmer is coping with tasks, what the state of his technical knowledge is like and whether he or she will fit the company or a project. However, at this stage, we should also appreciate the candidate’s ability to think creatively and the approach to possible problems. In the case when the answer to the question presented from memory is not 100% satisfactory, but the candidate knows where to look for it (e.g. in an API document), then it’s not worth crossing him out of the possibility of being considered for a given position.
Furthermore, it’s also a good practice to try to find out what the candidate’s attitude towards learning and development is. Analyzing the list of the top 10 programming languages for 2022 can make a conclusion that the IT industry requires a lot of flexibility and it’s difficult to predict which technologies will dominate in a few years. To sum up, it can be a good decision to check a candidate’s motivation to eventually learn a new programming language.
When recruiting highly specialized programmers, it is worth paying attention to the general opinions regarding methods of verifying competencies. The IT job market report shows that personality testing, pair programming and code samples are the least liked methods of competency verification. According to IT specialists, it is best to use a technical interview (29%), a remote task (17%), or an HR/business interview (15%) for the skills testing process.
6. Consider IT outsourcing or the help of a recruitment agency.
If we have tried different ways to reach candidates and we have still not found the right one, it is worth considering IT outsourcing or the help of a recruitment agency.
IT outsourcing firms employ highly experienced software developers. This method allows effective and flexible work management. You can use the skills of the best developers without employing them directly. In this article, you can read about the pros and cons of IT outsourcing.
On the other hand, if you want to hire a specialized Software Developer directly in the company, it may be a good practice to give this task to the professional IT recruiters. What to pay attention to when choosing this type of company? We wrote about this in the article about tips on how to choose the best IT recruitment agency in Poland. Additionally, if you are interested in detailed information on costs, we encourage you to read the article on models of cooperation with a recruitment agency.
Are you looking for the best developers to work on your projects? Contact us and tell us about your needs.