How to Find and Hire Senior Software Developers With a Difficult Tech Stack

Hiring a senior software engineer is already hard enough. But searching for a specialist with a complicated tech stack may turn into an endless cycle of tries and failures. 

For example, the DevOps methodology appeared not so long ago, just in 2007. It took some time for it to shape. That’s why the quantity of Senior DevOps Engineers is not so high. 

The same thing can be noted about Senior Ruby Engineers. With its help, it is easy to create new high-performance web platforms. And there is still a high demand for Ruby On Rails engineers for MVPs and prototype development. Many developers know Ruby, but fewer foresee their career growth as a framework specialist, as it lost popularity and most developers switched to mastering Java or C#. Another thing is that most of there were a lack of Junior Ruby positions in the companies because they wanted to have smaller and more efficient teams. That resulted in a lack of specialists. 

Senior JavaScript Engineer with the ability to work with Next.js and React is also quite a unicorn who is hard to chase. Next.js is a relatively new framework, so most developers can barely have 2 years of experience using it in production. As Next.js was designed to supplement React, Next.js developers are React developers. 

The truth is that most of the specialists are not seeking new job opportunities. Besides, they learned to value their time. And the problem is not about them being too self-centered. For the great competition out there, they receive dozens of offers daily. Most requests are constructed in a way that doesn’t give them the information needed to consider the proposal and just take their time to go through it. So the senior developers are less likely to respond to such messages. 

So let’s figure out how to attract the best candidates even with the most complicated tech stack. 

Tips&trics on how to hire a developer? 

People who master specific technologies and have up-to-date experience exist, but sometimes you should count the risks of waiting for the right candidate. If you can, consider having two positions if the stack is complicated, splitting the tool between two developers. 

If it’s crucial to have one candidate, be ready to receive fewer applications and wait longer. 

Use those tips to make a brief and attractive description suitable for the senior candidate with a specific tech stack that is hard to find. 

• Focus on technical concepts 

Senior developers with a complicated tech stack are more likely to be interested in your project’s technical concepts and tech solutions rather than in the technologies you use. If you tell how you utilize technologies for problem-solving, it will be more appealing to the seniors. For example, instead of just saying you are using Ruby on Rails or Next.js, explain how your company is problem-solving with their help. 

The whole picture will attract seniors who are likely to be more proactive and offer best practices in their field, while just describing the technologies you use will appeal to tech-oriented and less experienced people. 

• Don’t put too many desired and “nice-to-have” skills 

You are already searching a candidate who is one in a million. While junior candidates and those who master less complicated stacks may ignore some of the requirements just to get experience, more experienced candidates may be more critical of themselves and discerning. They may not apply to the position just because of that. Try to write only crucial requirements, as skillful specialists can quickly master other tools. Try to avoid trivial technologies. 

• Stick to the market rate 

Do the research and put a realistic rate of how much such a candidate will cost you. Developers with complicated tech stacks will ignore the low rate salaries, as well as they will ignore too high salaries, as it will look fishy. The other thing is that you shouldn’t put a wide range, as it shows that your company doesn’t exactly know what it wants and the candidate will assume that you are just wasting his time or that he has to prove that he is worth being paid according to the higher rate. 

• Give you an offer for a proof-reading by a tech expert

Hiring a high-quality candidate requires a serious approach. Sometimes the person who writes the job offer has no clue about some details. For example, you may need 5+ years of experience in technology that has existed for less than 3 years. Or you may add incompatible tools. A person with technical background can easily catch those mistakes.  

• Keep it short

Don’t write too much. In the era of Instagram and TikTok, no one wants to read miles of text. Furthermore, it may sound like you are lying. Underline the main things and grasp the attention with actual facts, not false promises. 

Start the recruitment process before actual recruiting

Two main things will help you track the suitable candidates even before an actual offer. It will help you find the right ones faster and be attractive to candidates overall. 

First of all, work on your employer’s brand. Whatever the candidate hears about your company or product is a huge bonus. If the candidate you want to approach is already interested in your work, you will likely recruit him faster. 

In this case, it is helpful if your developers participate in conferences. It may take time and effort, but it will pay off. Also, consider having a tech blog, which will tell about your product, its architecture, design decisions or even failures. It tells a lot about the culture in your company and attitude. If you can be honest about mistakes, you can tell how your developers handled the problem and what they learned from it. 

The other thing that will help you find suitable candidates is to follow developers’ blogs. By following them, you can see their background, way of thinking, problem-solving approach and experience. 

Browse open source code projects on GitHub and SourceForge may help you find the right candidate. Moreover, you can see your candidate’s code samples even before approaching him. 

Yet again, attending conferences is not only about showing your talents but also about finding the talents. Relevant tech conferences open the door to a pool of highly qualified candidates. You can establish a direct connection, and even if they are not ready to take your offer, they can recommend other competent colleagues. 

Be transparent

The overall rule you should follow during your recruiting process is transparency. With years of experience, Senior Developers have an eye for irrelevant information. Don’t overpromise, and stay clear on the work benefits, perks, home policy, and salary.

Don’t try to attract the developer with new outstanding technologies. It is exactly what differentiates a skilled and experienced developer from the junior one. The first ones will be interested in solving business problems and your recent projects rather than the tools you use. 

Be clear on what the recruitment process looks like, and especially provide a candidate with a date you can give him a response.