26.08.2021

Introduction to Nixor and Our Process

At Nixor, we work with developers and software engineers every day and as a result, we know them inside out.  

We understand and appreciate that developers are naturally passive due to the surge in demand for their talent in the current tech market. The high demand for software engineers essentially means that recruiters have to go to developers directly rather than developers coming to recruiters, making engaging and hiring them, that little bit more difficult. 

Due to this demand for talent and the passive nature of the candidate pool, you are likely to have experienced the following: 

  • Minimal and/or low quality CVs
  • Candidates cancelling or not showing at interviews
  • Salary negotiations or salary ‘jumps’ throughout the recruitment process
  • Offers extended but rejected by candidates
  • Candidates already in a position and not actively looking for a role
  • Recruiters “disappearing” after the first week or two

We’ve seen this happen time and time again and we understand that sometimes it can feel like there’s no way to get around the developer recruitment rut.

We’ve worked with a huge variety of developer talent over the past ten years and, as a result, we’ve developed a 12-step process to help our clients engage, manage and secure the best developer talent in the market and help them overcome these recurring pain points.

Our unique 12-step recruitment process is a successful tried and tested method for securing the best developer talent around. The results speak for themselves. When we work in partnership with recruiters and hiring managers using our 12-step hiring process we have an astounding 98% success rate.

Here’s a glimpse into how we do it:

1) We initially provide you with an in-depth analysis of the market - As mentioned, developers sit within a marketplace that is consistently in high demand. As a result, we know developers are passive in nature and not necessarily looking for a job. If they are looking for a new role, they know they will have an abundance of choice. Thus, developers are only interested in roles that match their personal and professional criteria to a tee, which can sometimes be specifically niche.   

2) We let you in on how a developer’s mind works- To engage successfully with software engineers, you need to fully understand their unique motivations and aspirations as well as their own personal requirements. Passive developer candidates think, behave and work differently so need to be nurtured throughout the recruitment process. You need your communications to resonate deeply with them and their pain points to encourage them to learn more about your job opportunity.  

3) We learn about your company, the role in question and your company culture: To be able to engage our developer talent pool, we need to fully understand how your company functions, the ways you like to work, the role requirements in question and your company’s culture. As a result of this exercise, we can effectively and efficiently match our developer talent to the exact needs of your company.   

4) Next up, we want to know why someone should join your business: Every company has unique selling points but are these specific to developers? During this stage, we find out the reasons why our developer talent should choose you over another competitor and why your business is the best place to work. We also want to understand what your aims are for the future and how a new developer hire fits within your ambitions. We take the time to talk through with you what your future looks like as a business and what your aspirations are for the future. Moreover, we want to know how a developer will positively impact your plans for growth and what responsibilities they will have for driving the vision for the business.   

5) We work closely with you to define an in-depth job profile and job description which is branded and marketed in the style of your business: We “redesign” your job specification to ensure all the elements that really matter to a developer are referenced to and highlighted clearly. Our job specifications include key references to your company's cultural alignment, upcoming projects and products you are working on, opportunities to learn new technology, your team dynamic and your working environment and of course the opportunity for career progression within your company. On average, when we help clients ‘redesign’ their job specifications, we receive 4 times as many interested candidates.  

6) We define your internal processes and responsibilities before candidate sourcing begins. We work in partnership with you to define and agree on what your hiring process looks like so you can be more competitive in the market. Moreover, we address at what stage you would like to speak to the candidate and confirm decisions such as who would be signing off a candidate at a particular stage. This ensures that we are all on the same page moving forward and have a robust strategy for a successful recruitment process.  

7) We help to source developer candidates from our talent pool that directly align with your business requirements: Over the past decade, our marketing, training and systems have all been designed to help us build a significant pool of developers. Therefore, we can easily find candidates who meet your requirements across the board.  

8) We fully interview all candidates, but also help you align core values and motivations. We’ll also guide clients through the feedback process to keep the best talent engaged right the way through the hiring process.  

9) We’ll arm you with as much possible information about each candidate, so you have all the information you need to make an informed decision, but also to secure the people whom you deem are suitable for your business. During the process, we’ll also continually reaffirm the motivations and expectations of developers to ensure they’re still right for you.  

10) We’ll support you with salary negotiations and offer handling where we continuously re-affirm the motivations of candidates so that we don’t get into a bidding war. The longevity of a placement relies on all parties being aligned for all the right reasons, not just regarding salaries.  

11) We help navigate notice periods with you and successful candidates: It is common within competitive markets, such as the developer industry, for candidates to hand in their notice after accepting an offer and their current company to make a counteroffer to keep them. Therefore, it is incredibly important that we help to keep the candidate engaged to ensure they actually start on the day they have confirmed.    

12) To finalise our recruitment process, we assist with the initial onboarding of successful candidates: As a friendly voice who has communicated with the candidate throughout the recruitment process, Nixor are in a perfect position to ensure that candidates are prepared for their first day.  

Do you want to nail your next developer hire with our strategic support? Get in touch to talk through how we can support you.