Top to Bottom Tech - Building an in-house Tech Team

In this article our Senior Tech Recruiter, Jack profiles an example of where him and his team partnered with a business to build an in-house Tech team.

In 2020, The Candidate were approached by a niche eCommerce business to act as their exclusive recruitment partner as they transition from an SME into an international presence. With a vision of expanding their development team from a sole Lead Developer into a Development department, the business was keen to cement their place as an international brand through outstanding customer experience and world class systems. Beginning in 2020 with an exciting roadmap, the team needed to expand their technical resource, from the initial Lead Developer and an external agency, into a forward-thinking business unit. Fast forward to December 2020 and the close of an extraordinary year, through the assistance of The Candidate, the business now boasts an exciting development department full of talent, passion, experience, and knowledge. Primed for growth into international markets from their UK base, the development team now consists of a Software Development Manager, a Lead Software Developer, 2 x Senior Software Engineers, 1 x Senior Web Developer, 1 x React Developer, 1 x Back End Developer, a Software Engineer, and a Graduate / Junior Developer.

The Challenge: Proactively approaching the UK market to secure the best Development team and enable international growth of systems.

The Result: A talented Development department, ranging from Software Development Manager through to Graduate Developer, all working in unison to create international systems and bespoke software solutions.

The Process

The first point of call, our Tech team and the Hiring Manager (Lead Developer) for our client scheduled an in-depth call to discuss everything recruitment. The aim of our initial call is to ensure that we as consultants fully understand your roles, business, culture, strategic vision, technical stack, future requirements, and personality fit in the team. As a long-term partner in your business growth, it is our job to ensure that any candidate you speak to is matched on all aspects of your business. Despite the need to grow unanimously across the technical stack, we devised it to be essential to secure a recruitment map which aligned the roles most essential for growth to be secured as a priority. After approaching our national network of active and passive candidates, we generated a shortlist for each available role whilst ensuring that each position complimented the needs of the business from culture fit to progression requirements. Using the combined experience and knowledge across our Tech Recruitment Team, we challenged our candidates throughout the process to take control of their opportunities and join a business which would truly allow them to thrive.

As in any recruitment campaign, there are always successes and challenges. Recruiting throughout COVID; consisting of multiple lockdowns, decline in candidate available and faith in the market, reduction of candidate availability further in a typically candidate short market, adjustment to entirely remote processes, all caused individual challenges of their own. Despite the technical setbacks and challenges faced by an unprecedented recruitment environment, our dedicated team rose to the challenge. Managing to secure the talent of candidates ranging far and wide across the UK, our team ensured we have successful recruited experts ranging the full technical stack.

The Technical Stack:

React.js used as a majority Front End JavaScript framework with Vue.JS as a minority system.
.Net Core & .Net Framework implemented as Back End frameworks from the Microsoft stack.
CI/CD Pipelines & Cloud Infrastructure managed through AWS.
TeamCity & Octopus utilised for deployment.
MySQL and SQL Server introduced as a Database Management System.

What Did the Client Say?

Tee, Lead Developer and Hiring Manager throughout the process, said:

‘‘The Candidate has been amazing throughout; they found the perfect candidates for my team and company. Very friendly, helpful, and really knowledgeable, they went above and beyond to really get to know what I was looking for. I would definitely recommend!’’

What Did The Candidates Say?

Sam, successfully placed Software Development Manager and now acting Head of Department for the business, said:

‘‘The Candidate were friendly and extremely helpful throughout the entire process. They approach recruitment with honest, professionalism and a compassionate nature. Not only did The Candidate keep me updated, but they also helped me from our initial call through to negotiation. I will always be happy to recommend the team to anybody looking for support across Tech recruitment’’.

Muhammad, successful Senior Software Developer who now mentors Junior members of the team as he continues his pathway into a Lead position, said:

‘’I cannot praise highly enough the service and support I received from The Candidate. I was new to the world of tech job hunting and they guided me and advised on what I needed to do. Within the week, the team had placed me in a new role which I was never expecting to be offered and has helped push my career ahead a couple of years. I cannot thank them enough for all their support and help. Even when the deal was done, they were checking up and making sure I was doing well.’’

Emily, a talented Software Engineer who joined to bring a wealth of Back-End expertise, said:

‘‘The Candidate have such incredibly attentive and professional recruiters, and I could not recommend better. There were very helpful in finding me a new job (especially during lockdown) and were always to hand to answer any queries or provide reassurance. Would recommend The Candidate in an instant.’’

Are You Looking To Recruit Into Your Tech Team?

Whether you are on the search for a sole Developer or looking to build a Next-Generation Technology Department, from a Head of Development through to Junior Engineers, the team at The Candidate are on hand to help. Boasting a track record of placing entire development teams to niche contractors, our thorough and passionate team will find you the talent to transform your vision into a reality.

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