Specialized tech talent is the holy grail of recruiting. There are hundreds of jobs boards out there for technology jobs, but sifting through the data for elite candidates often proves unsuccessful and laborious. On top of that, it’s hard to find specialized candidates for specific tech roles.
There is a solution. We’ve put together a list of the 10 best sources for recruiting in the tech sector. We recommend using these resources to build out your sourcing strategy, gain maximum visibility, and track down the candidates you might have missed.
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- GitHub Jobs
Github is an open-source repository site widely used in the tech world. As of January 2020, GitHub reports over 40 million users, all with specialized tech talents. GitHub is organized by technologies, so if you’re looking for specialized talent, it’s easy to find.
On top of that, GitHub’s API is open, so you can contact anyone who has left a public commit in the last 12 months. Github offers an advanced search engine so recruiters can find profiles that match specific keywords, locations, or technical skills.
GitHub users accrue followers, so it’s easy to track down top talent, and pricing is reasonable per listing. A job seeker can search by company, technology, job title, benefits and more, so you can uniquely tailor your postings. The only downside to GitHub is competition: many companies use GitHub as a primary recruitment source.
2. StackOverflow Careers#
StackOverflow is the most popular Q&A site for programmers. As of 2019, it had over 10 million users that regularly post to the site. StackOverflow is all about reputation.
Users build a reputation by answering questions to common or specialized inquiries left by their peers. The more accurate and helpful your answers, the more reputability you gain. So, if a profile has a larger number, it means that they have lot of recognized skill. Users are also awarded badges, such as ‘Guru’, ‘Explainer’, or ‘Critic’. These can offer useful insights into the habits, personality, or soft skills of a candidate.
On StackOverflow, users can feature lists of skill sets using tags, which makes it easy to recruit based on project types, specific technologies, or experience levels. StackOverflow Career can also be used for job postings, just like GitHub.
- Edpresso
Edpresso is an online, community-based dictionary for tech questions. Contributors publish short articles on specialized technical concepts. Edpresso shots must be accepted by the official team, so the answers are reliable.
Every Edpresso shot is linked to an author profile, where they frequently provide LinkedIn connections. Edpresso is organized by tags, so you can search for specific technologies, project types, and languages.
The Edpresso contributors write from all around the globe, so you’re likely to find tech talent that you can’t elsewhere. On top of that, Edpresso has high standards for technical writing skills. You don’t just want to hire someone who can code; you want to hire someone who can help others code better too.
On top of that, Edpresso is relatively new, so it’s not flooded with postings or recruitment efforts like StackOverflow or GitHub. If you are a startup or an organization struggling to compete on larger sites, Edpresso is an ideal resource.
4. DEV Community#
Dev.to is an online community of software developers who write articles, engage in discussions, and post professional profiles. The Dev Community aims to be an inclusive network where developers can share ideas and collaborate.
The Dev Community is organized by tags where you can find job listings, requests for jobs, and articles on specific tech concepts. And since the community is open source, you can access anyone’s profile who creates an article, comment, or discussion forum.
You can also access the top articles of each week to find candidates who stand out from the crowd. A great way to find top talent is to look for articles with the most reactions or comments. Much like Edpresso, the Dev Community is a great place for specialized, global recruitment that differs from the tech giants.
- Geeklist
Geeklist is a lot like GitHub or Stack Overflow with more focus on social networking. It is a global social community where developers can earn GeekCred when they share projects and work they’ve completed. GeekList is built around the idea of gaining street credit, so it’s easy to track down candidates who are recongized for their talents.
GeekList is great for finding candidates that match specific project requirements, since users highlight their accomplishments and projects in an open-forum style. It acts like the Projects section of a resume, so you can easily search through tags to find candidates who already have experience with certain technologies, project sizes, etc.
This site has less members that StackOverflow or GitHub (~500,000 users), which can be useful when other sites get cramped with listings. The only downside to Geeklist is that it’s less focused on job postings and career.
- RubyNow
RubyNow is a niche job board for Ruby developers with over 10,000 job seekers. Currently, RubyNow is primarily used by t VC-funded and startups looking for senior Ruby devs.
RubyNow offers three pricing options based on the needs of your job postings (i.e. length of time on site). And job listings are emailed and Tweeted to users. The RubyNow team is known for working closely with each company on repostings and visibility improvements.
The only downside to RubyNow is its wait time, which is a bit longer that other sites (about 2-3 weeks). But if you can afford the wait, it’s great for building specialized, collaborative teams and tracking down niche Ruby talent you might not find elsewhere.
7. College Alumni Networks#
Recruiting through your college alumni network is a cost-effective way to track down talent quickly. Big sites like StackOverflow and GitHub can be hard to weed though, and many employers find that creative alumni networking efforts are more successful.
Tapping into your organization’s alumni network is a great way to track down candidates you might not find on job listing sites. These networks are a valuable, often underutilized resource. Research even shows that employees found through alumni networks often stay on the job longer.
One benefit of using college alumni networks is diversity of talent. If you reach out to alumni, they can put you in contact with recent graduates, professors, or even their own former coworkers. It also adds a personal touch to your recruitment, which stands out to a job seeker.
Pro Tip: Ask an engineer in your organization to get in contact with their alumni network. CS professors can reach out to their top students or recent graduates!
- Angel List
AngelList is a free place to post tech job listings and source specialized talent. It was created as a source for angel investors to find startups, but it is now used by thousands of job seeking developers.
In the ‘People’ section of the site, you can filter candidates by Job Title, Location, Market, Skills, and more. On top of that, you’ll can access a user’s social networks that they attach to their profile, so you view their work portfolios and resume when provided.
AngelList works differently than other job listing sites by putting you in direct contact with a candidate. In fact, no third party recruiters are allowed. Job seekers are encouraged to speak directly with founders and hiring managers.
9. Your Customers#
Your own customers could become employees, depending on the nature of your organization. Your customer service strategy could become your recruitment strategy. Customers are already invested in your company’s success, so transitions are quite smooth.
It’s also the most cost-effective way to recruit talent. On top of that, customers bring a unique perspective that can be used to improve UI, product features, and marketing efforts. It’s important to check with your company’s policies, as some this kind of recruitment could violate privacy statutes.
Educative, for example, has often turned to our customer base for new course authors, blog writers, and even developer advocates. We maintain open communication with our users to make it easy to reach out and recruit talent.
Pro Tip: To vet potential customers as candidates, consider partnering with Educative to help train candidates for coding interviews.
Educative is used by companies around the globe for talent acquisition. GitHub’s Talent Ambassadors, for example, recently partnered with Educative to aid in candidate success.
10. Smashing Jobs#
Smashing Jobs was born out of the popular web development/design site, Smashing Magazine site. Smashing Jobs is used by web development professionals for job searching. Currently, Smashing Jobs is mainly popular for freelance web designers. It’s an ideal place if you’re looking for Android, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, Animation, and design talent.
On top of that, you recruit through their Smashing Magazine articles, which are often written by top users. The job posting search engine is a lot simpler than other sites, but it is very intuitive and streamlined.
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