Hire Back-End Developers: 11 strategies and niche job boards
As a hiring manager or HR professional, you may have questions on how to find that top back-end dev talent. That’s what we’re going to break down for you today, with our expert tips and resources. Along the way, we’ll discover the best places to source top talent, from job boards and freelance platforms, to developer communities and specialized back-end platforms. Everything you need to navigate the recruitment process.
But before we launch into it, let’s learn a little about the role. After all, you can’t know how to find the talent without knowing who they are and what they do.
Strategies and websites to find back-end programmers
Why hire Back-End Developers for your team?
Back-end development, also called server-side development, focuses on building all the parts of a website or application that you can’t see. They’ll write code that allows browsers and databases to communicate and help ensure a website performs optimally. Throughout their work, they’ll focus on all the parts that make up the back-end: databases, application programming interface (APIs), architecture, etc.
They often work alongside the front-end developer who handles a website’s visible aspects, such as the UI. Both will collaborate on web development projects to bring them to fruition.
They’ll need a variety of skills to be successful in their role, from proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Javascript, or Ruby, to knowledge of popular frameworks and databases. Overall, they need to have excellent problem-solving abilities and good communication skills to be able to flourish in their role.
There are lots of benefits to hiring dedicated Back-End Developers for your business. This, of course, includes the technical expertise we mentioned above, but also faster and more efficient development, better security for your website, less technical debt, easier integration with third-party services, and scalable infrastructure. And given that there are now 4.9 billion active internet users worldwide, it’s essential you get your web presence in order.
Where to find the best Back-End developers for your team?
Job Boards and Freelance Platforms
So, now that you know a bit about their role and why they can be useful for your company, it’s time to show you how to go about hiring them. We’ll begin by taking a look at a few of the most popular platforms.
You’ve definitely heard of this social media platform. In fact, it’s the most popular tool for recruiters. 98% of hiring teams use it to post job listings and source candidates. But what’s so great about it? How can it help you find the perfect back-end dev?
Where LinkedIn really excels is in its search features. Say for example you need a specific skill. Well, hit ‘Java’ into the search box and you’ll be presented with a list of candidates with this skill. You can then narrow your search down even more by sorting by industry, location, education, etc. Just be sure to keep inclusivity in mind throughout.
You can also make use of their tool, LinkedIn Recruiter, to facilitate the process (giving you access to advanced search filters such as ‘years of experience’), or Boolean search which makes looking for candidates a whole lot easier. Once you’ve found your ideal candidates, be sure to craft tailored and personalised introductions when you reach out to them.
🔖 Related read > The 14 Best Sourcing Tools for Technical Recruiters
Indeed
Next up, we have one of the largest job boards, a platform you likely already have experience with. But you might not be using it to its fullest potential. So, what features does it offer for sourcing and hiring Back-End Developers?
First, of course, is the ability to post jobs for free. By making sure your job descriptions are top-notch, you’ll be well on your way to drawing in top applicants. Indeed also has a built-in ATS to help you sort through talent.
But you can also target relevant candidates by using their resume search tool. This is a great way to find passive candidates who aren’t actively looking for a new job.
If you still struggle, you always can make use of their targeted ads and sponsored jobs. These may provide the visibility you need to find the front-end developer you’re seeking.
The jury is still out on whether LinkedIn or Indeed is better for sourcing candidates, but you don’t need to worry about this. Just know that when combined, they make a highly effective sourcing strategy.
🔖 Related read: A Complete Guide to Back-End Developer Job Description
Upwork
This freelancing website is great for connecting businesses and freelance Back-End Developers around the world. With over 18 million freelance contractors, you’re sure to find someone for your needs.
The platform boasts a variety of features that’ll make vetting and collaborating with freelancers easier. That includes their Talent Scout program which matches the most skilled freelancers with clients. It also includes the website’s project management capabilities that allow you to set up milestones and to-do lists, set weekly hourly limits, offer mid-contract feedback and more. All of this protected by contracts and a secure payment system so you can collaborate with complete confidence.
Developer Communities and Forums
What if we told you there are websites that put millions of developers at your fingertips? That’s right, communities and forums belong in every technical recruiter’s toolkit. Let’s take a look at a few of the most popular options together.
Stack Overflow
If you’ve hired or worked with programmers before, you’ve probably heard of this community which is something of a godsend for them. They’ll often use it to find answers to their most puzzling questions, a vital tool for troubleshooting. It works like many other Q&A websites such as Quora or Yahoo Answers only the content focuses on technical matters.
Given that there are over 100+ million monthly visitors to the site, many of them developers, it’s only natural that it becomes the ideal place to search for talent. But how do you go about it? You can either search for skilled expertise by using tags, or you can use their dedicated recruiting service that allows you to search and sort developers like you would on LinkedIn. If you have the budget, their premium service certainly seems like the way to go.
GitHub
Another hugely popular space where developers like to congregate and collaborate, it works a little differently to Stack Overflow. Here developers can remotely work together, with the ability to store, track, and collaborate on projects. There are over 40 million users, so it’s another excellent place to build your talent pool.
Where do you begin? Well, by making a free account, of course. Then you can use their search tools and sort potential candidates by language, location, and followers. You can even search by programming language. Once you’ve found someone you like the look of, you’ll then want to check whether their profile includes an email address or another way of getting in touch.
It goes without saying that you need to leave an impression in your introduction, as competition for tech talent can be fierce. In any case, this platform is an amazing resource to have in your arsenal.
🔖Related read: How to Use GitHub to Find & Hire Developers in 2022
Dev.to
A smaller platform, with around 1M members, it’s still a good place to search for developer candidates. This networking site allows users to write their own articles and learn from other developers. For recruiting you’ll want to select a tag (perhaps the skill you are interested in, e.g. Python), select an interesting discussion, and then check out the author’s profile. There you’ll often be able to see their skills, location, past projects, and more. All that’s left is to reach out to them.
Specialized IT and Tech Job Boards
Don’t neglect IT-specific job boards, which while having fewer users, are still just as effective for finding top talent. In fact, these niche spaces can often help you better target qualified candidates.
Toptal
This freelancing marketplace is a great place to head to when you want the best of the best. That’s because they offer extensive screening of applicants (with skills and proficiency assessments) to ensure only the top 3% get in. What’s more, you don’t need to manually search for candidates this time as you’ll be automatically matched with an expert tasked with shortlisting developers for you. If you’re looking to save time and resources and find only the best candidates, Toptal is the way to go.
Hired
Another talent marketplace that takes the headache out of sourcing tech talent, Hired has a few key differences to Toptal. First, it caters to both full-time and contract-based work. It also has a less strict screening process and is primarily focused on the United States. Just like Toptal though, it has automatic candidate matching, claiming to save you 45 sourcing hours per hire. It also has other interesting features such as a bias reduction mode, skill assessments, and the ability to see candidates’ salary expectations and work preferences.
🔖 Related read > Technical Assessment Best Practices
Dice
Considered one of the top recruitment engines, this platform primarily focuses on full-time and contract work. Like the two previous options, it has AI-based matching to help you source talent with ease. It also has an advanced resume search. Where it really shines, however, is its Open Web social recruiting tool. This garners information on millions of candidates from 50 social sites to add more in-depth information about the professionals whose resumes are on the site. It even uses sites like GitHub to highlight candidates’ tech projects and interactions with peers. An excellent way to take the legwork out of building your talent pipeline.
Other Strategies to Find and Hire Back End developers
Before we finish up, let’s review a few last-minute strategies you might not have thought of. Sometimes the answers to our recruitment challenges are right in front of us.
Local Tech Meetups and Events
A method that wasn’t a possibility during the pandemic but that can now be leveraged once more is in-person conferences, meetups, and events. These can be great for networking and gaining insight into the industry at the same time. Speaking at these events can also help improve your employer branding. There are, of course, many different types of events that may be of interest to a recruiter, from casual mixers and hackathons to job fairs and conferences. For help finding the right event for sourcing passive candidates, try simply searching, ‘tech event + [city name]’ or have a look on Eventbrite, Tech Meetups, or Meetup. Be sure to follow up with any leads promptly after the event.
Related read > Employer Branding: How to Make Your Company Irresistible to Developers
Company Career Pages and Referrals
Last but not least, it may be a good idea to optimize your career pages if you haven’t already. This means providing an easy application process, linking to social media pages, implementing responsive design, and working on your SEO. In short, doing whatever you can to provide a positive candidate experience. Be sure to also consider internal methods for sourcing candidates such as by leveraging employee referrals. After all, your current employees are often in the perfect position to know who would make a good culture fit on the development team.