How to effectively recruit software developers?

As a large company specializing in software developers outsourcing, we have created an effective recruitment process. With over 350 software engineers on board, we feel competent to share our know-how on the effective recruitment of software developers.

During the recruitment, we have three levels of candidate verification. The first level is the verification of competencies. The positive thing about competencies is that they can be increased, but there is a requirement for a certain minimum level of competencies in a particular position.

The second area of candidate validation is team fit. The third area is the verification of values – ensuring that the candidate’s values match the organizational culture.

What is the purpose of verifying competencies in the recruitment process? 

Quite obviously, it is to check the candidate’s competencies and see if they fit the vacancy. In other words, it’s to make sure the candidate has the necessary knowledge and experience. 

But that’s not the only reason. If an applicant is not a good fit for a given position, or there are better candidates, perhaps they are a perfect match for another job. You might return to this person in six or twelve months if you open recruitment for a similar job. A careful observer learns a lot about a candidate during the interview, e.g. about their motivation. You can get to know them and see if they match the team.

Moving on to the process of competence verification, before you design the materials and the process itself, it is helpful to identify the assumptions. I have seven assumptions that determine the materials and the competence verification process.

1. Measurability, comparability and repeatability

No matter the day, month, or even year, no matter who is conducting the process (there can be several people), it should be possible to compare the candidates and check the correlation between competencies and finances in one recruitment process or in a certain time frame, for example, six months.

Without comparability, repeatability, and measurability, there is no way to do this. The idea is that candidates with similar competencies should have similar competency assessment scores, regardless of a recruiter and their mood, regardless of the day, month, year, etc. Of course, this is the Holy Grail of measurability, comparability, and repeatability. It’s never perfect, but that’s one of the assumptions and something to strive for.

2. Flexibility of time management during the recruitment

If a candidate doesn’t meet the requirements and it is impossible to hire them, there is no point in continuing the recruitment process as it is a waste of time for both parties. It is worth designing the recruitment process in a way that ensures flexibility in time management.

3. Realistic measurement of competencies

It is important to avoid hasty conclusions based on several answers to some difficult questions. You need the right approach to verify competencies, and to map a candidate out and see if they are average, good, or very good in particular areas. It is worth presenting the findings in numbers to reflect the level of knowledge and experience. Of course, you need common sense. Every person is different, and you do not want to label people, but figures provide great insight.

 4. Possibility to review results after a certain period

You may use software such as ATS systems. You can also use tools like Dropbox, OneDrive, Excel, Word, Google Drive or a notepad, however such approach might prove too general.

You can’t go back to it, it’s vague, there are no details. I also warn against perfunctory notes kept on a computer or (even worse) in a notebook. Some people think it is inappropriate to come with a computer, they perceive it as ignorant and distancing behaviour. It’s 2021! No one should be offended if a recruiter comes to an interview with a computer. We sometimes meet a candidate again after a considerable period of time and it is useful to have access to information about their skills and experience, check the questions they were asked, and their recruitment score.

5. Additional information

You can extract a lot of additional information during the interview with a candidate. An experienced interviewer can see certain things, such as motivation, development potential, fit to the organizational culture. It is worth including this in the recruitment process, so that at some stage there is a possibility of obtaining such information.

6. The Pareto principle in recruitment

A good process should be advanced enough to minimize the number of mismatched recruitments, and at the same time, easy to induce a positive candidate experience. However, when improving the recruitment process, you may get to the point when it gets too complicated. There’s no denying it – wrong hiring decisions simply happen, but they should be avoided.

7. Identification of key areas of knowledge to review for the position

Verify what a candidate should know, which factors are crucial (“must-haves”) for this position.

Software specialists recruitment 

In this article, we focused on one aspect that successful recruitment would not be possible without. While every company should customize their processes, it’s a good idea to look for benchmarks and select suitable elements.

A documented process and dissecting repetitive tasks is key. You can test it and implement improvements as your business grows. A structured process enables measuring the progress and scaling. 

You don’t have to deal with it by yourself, though. Outsourcing can be a much more efficient option, and we can help you with that.