Daria
Lead IT recruiter in Lucky Hunter

How to Recruit 4 Frontend Developers
in Just One Month

In the IT sphere demand exceeds supply. This is a kind of axiom that plays into the hands of specialists and makes life much harder for employers. Using the example of the successful filling a job opening for a frontend developer (one of the most in-demand positions on the IT market), we decided to prove that there are no impossible tasks.

The case will help you to understand the questions: how and where to find a qualified Web Developer in limited time.

The Task and Difficulties

In November 2018 an American grocery company turned to us demanding to find four middle frontend developers in a month. Experience with React was the prerequisite. In truth, the task is not simple. We identified 5 major difficulties that we had to face.

It was clear that we were facing a really difficult task, but our perseverance, a deep understanding of the IT-sphere and knowledge of IT recruiting life hacks helped us to cope with challenges quickly. So, to fill the positions, we:
1
Demand

It was a startup. Due to the fact that in 2020 a large number startups went bankrupt, many IT specialists began to be even more cautious about venture projects and were reluctant to consider vacancies from young IT companies.
2
Deficiency

Besides the fact that frontend developers are requisite for nearly every company, they are nowhere to be taken. Not long ago "Indeed" has conducted a study to identify the scarcest IT specialists. It turned out that the frontend developers were in the TOP 10 of the most difficult to fill positions.
3
Specific Knowledge

The customer needed not only to find an IT specialist; he needed competent in React developer. The research article "Frontend tooling Trends for 2017", posted by Sitepoint, provides data on the demand for various libraries and frameworks. For frontend developers, the use of React turned out to be uncharacteristic.

Only 37% of developers use this framework, and only 29% of them are satisfied with the framework. The researchers also indicated that only 0.1% of all websites were developed using React.
4
We were working in parallel with in-house HR managers

Consequently, we had a stop list of candidates, which complicated the search for specialists.

How we Solved the Problem

Difficult task means interesting task. Our technical recruitment did not despair because there are no impossible tasks for us. First of all, we transferred the project to the category of "urgent". What's that supposed to mean? The fact is that when we face such problems and have very limited time frames, we use additional means to fill vacancies, including additional specialists.

It is not realistic for one person to find all possible candidates, including those who are not searching for a job, to interview specialists, to deal with candidate flow. Therefore, we have involved not one, as usual, but three professional IT recruiters.

Probably the most important step in solving the problem was feedback with the customer. Our client contributed to the promotion of the case as much as possible: he was always in touch, selected candidates in a prompt manner, sorted through the resume, and gave comments. This is really important. A special thanks for this to our client.

What Have We Got

Despite the parallel search for candidates by internal HR managers, our recruiters have filled job vacancies. The reason lies in the knowledge of the specificity of IT specialists' selection. For the successful filling a job openng, we have processed 231 applications of candidates, 42 of whom we have personally interviewed. 25 CVs have been shown to our Customer, 16 of them our client has selected and subsequently interviewed. Offers were made to five job-seekers. Four candidates agreed.

Summary

In order to fill four job openings for the position of a front-end developer, we needed:
  • active search for candidates who were not actively looking for a new position;
  • 3 experienced IT recruiters;
  • 231 candidates;
  • 40 interviews;
  • well-coordinated work with the customer;
  • a bit of perseverance.
No magic.
To fill job opening for the position of IT talents is not an easy task. Nevertheless, by personal example we have proved that this is more than real. In theory, each company can find the right specialist for its team, but in practice, quick and efficient filling a job opening takes place when professionals are involved.

If you need to fill a complex IT position and hire software developers, we are at your service.

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