8 Proven Methods to Source and Screen Software Developers
Publié le 12 September 2022
Hire the most qualified candidates for your software development job with 8 proven methods to source and screen software developers.
Software developers are employed in a wide range of industries. These include technology, manufacturing, systems design, as well as finance. Given the ongoing growth of the tech sector, it has led to increased competition between companies to find and hire the most qualified job candidates.
Everyone wants to employ the best software developer to work for them. According to USNews, there will be a 22.2% employment growth for this position by 2030. This equals 409,500 new jobs, which is a lot of competition for employers.
Just imagine – for almost every one of these jobs, the priority will be to attract one of the few amazing software developers available on the market. Hiring managers aiming to recruit the best candidates for software development jobs need a smart strategy to beat your competition.
If you want your recruitment metrics to be excellent i.e. enjoy high retention, as well as higher quality of hire, you need to take action to make this happen. That being said, this article will tell you about 8 proven methods to source and screen software developers for your company.
Methods for screening software developers
8 Methods To Source and Screen Software Developers
- Conduct interviews and evaluations with smart testing tools
- Check and confirm their referrals and recommendations
- Check the candidate’s portfolio and published projects
- Offer an amazing employee benefits package
- Create an engaging job description
- Place job ads in relevant places
- Reach out to qualified experts on social media channels
- Get referrals from your professional network
Let’s say that you already have some resumes and applications from potential candidates and you need to know how to begin. This is a very demanding job position, which makes it vital to choose a candidate with the right skill set and experience. Here are some methods for screening the candidates for the position.
1. Conduct interviews and evaluations with smart testing tools
When it comes to software development, education and training are just part of what makes a good employee. There’s also the matter of experience and technical skill, which you can only determine if you do proper testing.
Many companies these days use costly tools like Codility to create and process their tests. Codility tools can be used to create tests within a very short period and assess their top candidates.
These programs offer tons of features that you could use, as well as high-quality templates for you to customize. Their tests facilitate the evaluation of the computer science knowledge of the candidate, as well as their soft skills and problem-solving capabilities.
One of the most useful ways to uncover the best employee is to include assessments in your final selection process. Now that this is very easy thanks to such tools, any hiring process should include assessments, especially in the tech industry.
2. Check and confirm their referrals and recommendations
Most employers today make it a practice to check each eligible candidate’s social media profiles, or do a Google search on them. This can result in finding some of their previous work, as well as help you learn more about who the candidate is, their personal interests and any other useful information.
On top of that, it is wise to dedicate some time to running background checks, such as checking their referrals and reaching out to companies they worked for to see what they think about the candidate.
Yes, this will take some time but it is worth it. There are tons of things that you can learn from a person’s online presence, as well as the people they’ve worked for in the past. It’s important to ensure the candidates not only have the right skills and abilities, but are also the right fit for a supportive and positive workplace culture which will move your company forward.
3. Check the candidate’s portfolio and published projects
Many software engineers, especially the ones with years of experience, will have their own site or public portfolio where you can check their personal projects. This will show you how creative they are, the quality of their work, and what projects they value the most.
When the person applies for the job, they’ll most probably share a link to their portfolio or website with you. Take your time to scour the published projects – this is the biggest proof of the quality of work the candidate can deliver.
If a candidate has good projects and their testing results fit with what you’ve seen in their portfolio, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what they are capable of doing for your company.
Methods for sourcing good candidates
What if you haven’t found great candidates to screen or want to attract more talent before you make your choice? Here are some great methods for sourcing the best developers today.
1. Offer amazing employee benefits
A quality employee benefits package is one of the most important things when you’re trying to attract more people to want to work with you. It’s also a great way to boost employee morale. By offering your potential and existing employees the benefits they deserve for the work they do and the value they add to the organization, you are making them happier, more productive, and more likely to want to continue working for your company.
These days, many people put benefits first in their list of priorities, followed by compensation. According to a Glassdoor survey, even 80% of employees will prefer great benefits over higher pay. This means that without a good benefits program, you cannot attract the best software developers.
Benefits packages can cost a lot when you add many things to them, but it is worth it. With the right package, you can reduce the candidate selection time and hiring process, keep your employees engaged and productive, and minimize turnover and the larger costs that come with it.
Employee benefits can include everything from good health insurance, increased paid time off, the opportunity to work remotely, flexible scheduling and more. Consider a rewards program, workplace meals, gym memberships, longer breaks, paid vacation days and other benefits which will appeal to potential employees.
2. Create an engaging job description
The problem that many companies have when they are hiring new people is that they fail to create a proper and engaging job description.
Unless you create a good and clear job description, you cannot attract more people to apply to work for it. Candidates don’t like vague or confusing job posts. You need a good description that engages and attracts the best talent by clearly spelling out the important details of the job, the qualifications and the potential rewards.
To do this, we recommend creating a candidate profile before you start your search. When you know who exactly you are looking for, you can create an engaging, accurate description that will attract precisely people that fall into that criteria.
For example, figure out what are the frameworks and technologies you require that your candidate knows. Decide what their job will include: whether they’ll maintain a platform or develop applications, etc). Decide on whether they’ll need to possess other qualifications that will ensure they are the right fit for your organization and be sure to include these in the job description.
3. Place job ads in relevant places
It’s not just about creating those ads – it’s also about where you put them. You can use a variety of platforms where people apply for work or share their resumes. This includes blogs and online postings, open-source projects on websites like GitHub, as well as events like conferences, job fairs and other hiring events.
You should also remember that your current employees are a great source for potential job candidates. Those are the people that already work in the industry, so they probably have their own network of colleagues, people they studied with, and know through professional circles. Employee referrals are the most productive source for great new hires, says a study.
Make sure to place your job ad on relevant places such as websites where software developers look for jobs, forums where they discuss work, etc.
4. Reach out to qualified experts on social media channels
Don’t forget about recruiting through social media channels as well. Professional social media networks are a great place to spread the word around about a new job opening. Chances are, many of the software developers are active on at least one social network, so your odds of reaching out to many of them are pretty high if you use this method.
Platforms like LinkedIn are specifically used to hire talent and find jobs. Scour the channels that developers use, look for available candidates on LinkedIn, and reach out to them directly to see if they are interested.
5. Get referrals from your professional network
Last but not least, an amazing source for great candidates is personal networking. If you’ve been working in this industry before, chances are you met some good potential candidates, or know people who can recommend them to you.
Your company’s network can bring you the strongest leads. People who’ve applied to work for you before might just be the perfect fit for the job you are offering now, even if they weren’t selected for another job in the past.
Are you ready to find the best employee?
Hiring great talent can take time and requires effort, but it can pay off. Only the right person for the job will fit perfectly into your team and your company’s culture will help you achieve your goals, and will meet your expectations. By using 8 proven methods to source and screen software developers, you will be able to recruit the most qualified person with the skills, experience and work ethic needed to help move your organization forward.
