Let's Build A Mountain! Step Four: Time to Go Fishing!

In 2022 I was laid off from a tech job just before layoffs became the cool thing to do. What followed was a year of job-searching hell that showed me that both traditional and trendy recruiting practices are as well suited to the current tech landscape as a cheap pool floatie is to river rapids. Companies aren't getting what they need, even with a glut of candidates on the market. Candidates can't land an interview, even with companies begging for talent.

It sucks for everyone and it doesn't have to. Join me for a boots-on-the-ground guide to navigating this mess.

We're finally on the last step of building a mountain of candidates! To review, there's five steps:

1. Don't be unattractive. (Fishing in the right spots is very attractive!)
2. Write a bulletproof, accurate job posting. (You wrote it!)
3. Offer thoughtful compensation. (And don't forget to tease the the funky token of initiation!)
4. Promise that a human is absolutely, 100% going to read every candidate's application materials. (You did add this to the posting, right?)
5. Go fishing in the right places. (We're finally here!)

If the right people can't find you, they can't apply. If they can't apply, you can't build a mountain.

So, story time. I was working with a company that mentioned that they just weren't getting very good applications for an open position. Lots of underqualified people. Lots of completely unqualified people, not the gush of candidates they'd expected, given that they were offering a solid salary, better-than-average benefits, and a fully remote role. The job posting was great, hit all the high notes, wasn't too long. The team had written it and they knew it was accurate and fair.

I asked them where it was posted.

It was posted on their website. And only on their website.

Sure, the various processes that come through and scrape job postings would eventually come through and help advertise the position to a wider audience, but a website that got less than 300 hits per day (the product was primarily sold through Google Play, so very few customers hit up the website) wasn't going to drive a ton of people to the careers section. The company was also not a big name in their industry, so people weren't necessarily going to be looking for a job there – it just wasn't top of mind.

In other words, the company was fishing with beautifully baited hook, but in a shallow, small pond. I suggested they place the job posting on LinkedIn. The job was filled about a week later.

Where are all the techies at?

Well, at home, in pajamas and a hoodie, cruising LinkedIn, Indeed, and Otta. Sure, some are on specialty sites and Slack-based job boards, but nearly everyone is on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Otta. It might seem expensive to branch out and post on these websites, but bad hires will cost a business far more than these tools ever can.

LinkedIn and Indeed have the added bonus that your team can seek out candidates and invite them to apply, if things aren't growing as quickly or as high as you want them to. But it's unlikely you'll need this feature if you've done your homework. However, it's a nice feature if the search is sluggish.

All of these websites have the ability to drive traffic to your job posting on your website, but if at all possible, I recommend making it easy to apply. You'll want to collect a resume, and maybe a cover letter, but anything you can do to remove barriers to applying for the position is critical in building a mountain of candidates. Otta has a particularly great interface, and I recommend using their system to have candidates apply. It might make comparing them to LinkedIn, Indeed, or Website candidates a bit odd, but I think it's just great and worth the extra effort. Furthermore, I don't recommend using the custom questions on LinkedIn or Indeed. Just collect a resume/profile and maybe a cover letter. All the other questions are meant to allow machines to do some of the sorting for you, and remember for this process, human eyes are going to be doing the processing, not machines.

LinkedIn, Indeed, and Otta are the big places to fish. It's worth the price of the “permit” to take yourself there. However, two more small things – placing a job posting on these job boards is akin to opening a floodgate. It might be very tempting to turn it back off. Don't. Remind yourself that you want a mountain. A big mountain. A huge mountain. Let them pour in. It's also going to be really tempting to close that flood gate in the first day or two, when it's most active. Don't do that either, unless you are specifically looking for someone to start yesterday. For more experienced people who suit more experienced roles, they probably have a job and they need a few days to put their application materials together. It's worth waiting for these late comers, as they will likely be your top candidates. Let the flood gate stay open for two weeks.

Don't fear the mountain that results. It may seem intimidating now, but it's a mountain of resources. Trust the process for conquering it, and let it grow large.

But what about the local fishing hole?

Tech people know people, and making sure that people have a chance to throw their friend's hat in the ring is important. Resumes that come in from this process should be handled a bit differently during sorting. One option is to put them in the “phenomenal” pile during the sorting process, but marked in some way so that resume reviewers know they were specifically recommended by current staff. In the case of a tie during the sorting, the recommended person should win. The other obvious option is to fast track all qualified, recommended people straight to the first interview. There is supposed to be a benefit to a network, and I think it behooves a company to maintain a special track for recommended folks, as they are known quantities in some way, and that really counts for something.

All in all, it's pretty simple to go fishing in the richest, best-stocked lakes, but it's not necessarily cheap. Take a deep breath, pony up the cash, and get out there. You'll be glad you did. You'll catch fish you never even thought you could attract, let alone snag.

So, I was going to stop here, because I really though companies just needed help finding the tech talent they needed, but I've recently had several conversations that have shown me that people on both sides of the table are having lukewarm, uninspiring interviews. No one likes this, and I've realized there's a pretty simple fix. So stay tuned for a guide to high-energy, fun screening interviews that everyone will like and will lead to far better outcomes.?