A simple change will help you hire software engineers faster

One of the most common complaints from engineering managers today is hiring. Everyone believes that the market is hot and that it is extremely difficult to hire.

I ask you this, are you saying that you are not able to hire 50 people from the 4.9 million software engineers in the US? Once you put this into perspective, it should be doable. Difficult, but doable.

Managers want hiring to just magically happen and get frustrated when it does not. Here is what you need to do to make this happen.

Document target numbers and your winning strategy

Capture the hiring funnel. A typical process looks like — application, recruiter screen, technical phone screen, onsite, offer, outcome. Find out the drop rate at each stage of the funnel. If you do not have such numbers, safely assume a 50% drop at each stage. This means that in order to hire 50 engineers in a year, your application volume can be calculated backtracking the process.

Outcome (50), offer (100), onsite (200), phone screen (400), recruiter screen (800), application (1600).

Get 133 people apply to your roles each month! to hire 50 engineers this year. Your winning strategy is simple.

Gather your team

Recruiters, sourcing team, managers, interviewers, compensation team, scheduling team and just about anyone who is part of this funnel should know the documented plan. I you realize that you never had a team, form one. Setup progress reviews on a regular cadence. Celebrate the wins!

Personally source a few candidates

Finding candidates and getting them to apply is part of your role. However, most managers either rely on the organic applications to their ats or delegate it to the recruiting team. At larger scale, delegation is fine, but every manager should have their funnel of candidates even if it is small. Engage on Linkedin, attend meetups, participate in forums to bring in a stream of new applicants through your efforts. This will help you with the pulse of the hiring process.