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...
