attract tech talents

How to

and retain them

Anne Collet 

the quest for the holy grail

SOFTWARE IS EATING THE WORLD

developers, developers, developers...

demographics are against you

demographics are against you

demographics are against you

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Science Foundation

demographics are against you

demographics are against you

demographics are against you

demographics are against you

know your audience

developers - who are they?

Computers (= hardware)

are machines that

can be told what to do

developers - what do they do?

developers - what do they do?

programs (= software)

are telling them

what you want them to do 

developers - what do they do?

programming languages

 

vs

 

BINARY INSTRUCTIONS

developers - what do they do?

developers - what do they do?

developers' day-to-day tools

developers - what do they do?

behind the various programming languages,

developers - what do they do?

a common logic : algorithmics

The fizzbuzz example in RUBY

http://rosettacode.org/wiki/FizzBuzz

developers - what do they do?

The fizzbuzz example in Java

developers - what do they do?

front-ent    vs    back-end

dynamic website, aka web application

developers - what do they do?

Front-End languages

content
+ structure 

style

dynamism 
+ usability 

developers - what do they do?

developers - what do they do?

Back-End languages

+

developers - what do they do?

Mobile-Native languages

developers - what do they do?

mobile apps are web apps

Building things

developers - what drives them?

tinkering

developers - what drives them?

technology

developers - what drives them?

team

developers - what drives them?

nice work environment

developers - what drives them?

...  stupidly well paid!

developers - what drives them?

have an impact

developers - what drives them?

Where to look for them ?

not there

here : events

here : online platforms/tools

here : communities

How to approach them ?

know yourself

What are your company values ?

know yourself

What is your company culture ?

know yourself

What is your company culture ?

startups    vs    Corporations

Advantages

(-> to be proud of) 

Disadvantages

(-> to start to tackle) 

  • flat structure
  • lots of responsabilities
  • room for creativity
  • good package
  • trainings offered
  • budget for new investments
  • insecurity
  • lack of resources
  • bureaucracy
  • slow decision process

one bullet - NO bullshit

PS: sorry, developers have really bad opinions about recruiters... 

one bullet - NO bullshit

 

  • be honest (about yourself, the job, the company)
  • let the technical team handle the selection process

How to identify the good one ?

if You are not technical

Don't speak technical

the good one ?

examples of interview questions

the good one ?

  • [check the basics/technical skills but then spend more time on]
  • What resources do you use when you’re stuck? 
  • What are your day-to-day tools?
  • How do you continue to enrich yourself and grow?
  • What communities are you active in? How do you contribute (open-source development, mentoring,...)
  • Are you participating in hackathons?

offer the final candidate to

come & work with your team

for a week as a freelance

the good one ?

evaluate through pair programming

the good one ?

mindset > expertise

the good one ?

ability to Deliver

the good one ?

How to retain your talents ?

3 key factors

retain talent

retain talent

retain talent

Offer them to learn and to grow!

retain talent

From this perspective...
 

Thank you

See you soon !

How to attract and retain tech talents

By Le Wagon Brussels

How to attract and retain tech talents

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