Find and Attract Remote Development Talent

G2Guide’s Segun Osu Explains How to Find and Attract Remote Development Talent

Remote hiring can provide fast access to talented developers and whole teams. This is a summary of a session given by Wework Labs mentor Segun Osu, director at G2Guide.

 

The rise of remote dev teams

Remote is the new default for startups and high growth firms. Software development teams at Zapier, Salesforce, Trello, InVision, GitHub and more are remote by design.  

 

When hiring remotely, focus on team fit over individual allstars

High performing teams can be hundreds of times more effective than average teams.  Individuals star performers are not the solution. The team is. When assembling your remote team, achieve faster and more predictable results by hiring ready to work units.

 

Where to find great remote developers

According to HackerRank, Russia and China, produce some of the most highly ranked developers in the World.  In our experience, Eastern Europe and Asia produce talented developers, many of whom are keen to explore newer tech stacks to improve productivity, reduce development time and cost. 

 

How much they cost

Remote developers will cost less overall than on-site hires.  Due to higher living costs, developers in Europe and the U.S are more expensive than those in Eastern Europe and significantly more expensive than those in Asia.

 

Focus on potential and flexibility over experience

You need developers who are willing to keep on learning. Therefore, flexibility rather than age and experience are the most important predictors of success.

 

Think strategically when you’re hiring remotely

Consider the location then the team.  Think about time zones, language and stability.  How scalable is the team? What’s their level of agile maturity? (See full checklist below.)

Use a wide range of different channels and filter aggressively.  The process is similar to attracting employees – they are keen to work for the best.  To attract great teams, as an employer, you will need to develop a good online reputation and/or have a strong global brand.