Top software engineers. Everyone wants to work with them, including probably your company. In an increasingly tough market, it can be hard to differentiate your company from others. In this article, we’ll delve into the reasons software engineers choose to make a move and how your company can use these reasons to cut through the noise and get them to see and hear your opportunities.

Software Engineer Mentorship Programs

What: Software engineers often want to learn as much as possible. They happen to be curious about their career and often look to colleagues to expand their knowledge.

Why: In order to become either more proficient at their current role or move into a leadership role, engineers (like all of us) want to glean expertise from those who went before. Mentors can offer both companionship and understanding.

How: Offer mentorship opportunities within your company. Bring up this program during the interview process and perhaps even share details of the program on your career website.

Software Engineers Care About Culture

What: Share company culture with potential hires. Attracting more software engineer candidates can come by leveraging your company culture. Try to create an inclusive environment for everyone. This will help employees feel valued and part of the team.

Why: 47% of active job seekers cite company culture as their driving reason for looking for work.

People are now looking for companies with an engaging and warm environment. Company culture is now a make-or-break experience for many candidates. Make sure you foster a sense of community in your company culture.

Did you know leveraging your company culture can help you attract and maintain top talent in the #softwareengineering industry? Explore @angieverros’s latest article here: Click To Tweet

How: Have a company full of kickball-loving, picnic-having cosplayers? Celebrate that! Is your culture more reserved and serious? That will appeal to some people as well. No two companies are the same. Whatever your internal culture is, celebrate that. Don’t try to create a culture you don’t have. However, if your culture is toxic for certain groups or broken in some way, work on building that back into something you can be proud of.

Software Engineers Value Connections

What: Find hiring talent at local developer meetups or technology events/conferences in your area.

Communities outside of work can really increase your hiring impact, especially when you leverage them. By investing in these communities through sponsorships, participation, and even potentially hosting, your company can show it too, values connections.

Why: 85% of positions are filled through networking. People are used to seeing things recommended to them and jobs are no different.

How: There are tons of software engineer communities you can reach out to. Getting your name out to the engineering communities can go a long way. Aim to build a long-term relationship with these communities and to have their members know who you are, and you are the place for them to develop their careers.

Software Engineers Enjoy Remote

What: Consider hiring for remote positions (applications often come in when they know the position allows for distributed work). Now while it’s true that not every person (or software engineer) wants to work 100% remotely, it is a former “perk” that is now almost a requirement (for employers.) If you can afford to hire remotely or offer hybrid solutions, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

Why: Many employees have become accustomed to working remotely, and it was no small investment by companies to meet this need when it suddenly became a necessity. According to FlexJobs’ 10th Annual Survey, 58% of respondents report wanting to be full-time remote employees post-pandemic, while 39% want a hybrid work environment.

How: Expand hiring into global markets where engineers are plentiful and great deals can be made for relocation or housing costs. Regarding current employees, believe in your team members by giving them more responsibility over time thereby building their skillset to find the most qualified software engineer capable of filling any position at your company. Allow team members time to groom new talent internally through collaboration which will save hiring costs in dollars but also time.

Offer Software Engineers Opportunities to Learn

What: Offer employee training and continued learning for all your employees.

Why: While no area of expertise is unchanging, software engineers in particular are in constant danger of losing their relevance. By offering them the opportunity to continue their learning journey at your company, you increase the chances they’ll stay and grow with you.

Offering value to your employees goes beyond their salary and benefits. Think about offering flex time, free food, or #WFH options. Read more here: Click To Tweet

How: Offer employee training. This will attract new candidates as they will have peace of mind knowing they do not need to know everything and training to company standards. Additionally, it is attractive to potential candidates to have the opportunities to learn from others who have been in the field for a while 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development.

There are lots of ways to ensure you can attract the right kinds of software engineering talent to your organization. Here are a few more ideas:

• Use referrals to fill key positions by incentivizing employees to find new talent or suggesting current team members for hiring consideration. This can be a great way to seek leadership skills within your company especially if the candidate is the perfect fit for the position.
• If hiring locally, have hiring managers visit colleges in their areas to speak with students about potential job openings and opportunities available at your company.
• Try changing the expectations for your roles. Many studies conducted that stated that women will not apply for jobs unless they are 100% qualified. However, Forbes says most candidates only need to meet 40% of the requirements in the job description to get hired.
• Clarify your job advertisements. 72% of hiring managers claim they provide clear job descriptions, but only 36% of candidates agree.
• Consider offering additional value in your company to attract potential employees. These can be as simple as providing job perks and health benefits including 401K and competitive salaries. Additional benefits may include flex hours, free food, vacation time, and work-from-home options.
• Sell your position as an opportunity for growth instead of solely a job. Income is important but, candidates want to grow and learn while in a role. People are seeking more than just coming and going from work. Sell yourself as the opportunity for workers to grow and learn. Employees said the three most contributing factors to quitting their jobs were a lack of career advancement opportunities, low pay, and the absence of a salary pay raise.
• Offer challenging work. Employees do not like boring work. A recent employee recognition survey found that respondents mentioned interesting work (74%) and recognition and rewards (69%) as the top factors that keep them at their current employers.
• Offer access to leadership. Providing access to leadership is a way to attract and retain your next software engineers. Additionally, you can offer opportunities to represent the company at industry and trade events. 78% of business leaders are focused on improving their engagements with employees.
• Focus on recognition. Giving feedback goes back to growing and learning as a professional. Also, offering rewards and achievements ensures they know they have a future with you. 63% of employees who receive recognition are very unlikely to look for a new job.

Creating a place where any employee wants to come work can be intensive. But by looking at what software engineers, and people in general, want from their careers and employers, you can more accurately focus on creating a workplace people will love.

Need help getting through to your future software engineers? Vaia has helped companies big and small create great workplaces and recruit high-caliber talent for years. Set up a free consultation with one of our recruiting experts to learn how we can position, attract, source, hire and help you retain your future workforce.