Software Sweatshop

Looking for your next rock star developer? A Java developer, is a Java developer, is a Java developer. The only real difference is how well they can solve a problem. Developers are easy to find, but people who understand what you're trying to do and are fanatically committed to do things better isn't. This post was inspired by my own experience with other software entrepreneurs hiring software developers (.NET, Java, PHP, Ajax, Ruby on Rails, etc.) and a great post called How to Recognize a Good Programmer

We talk to lots of startups that outsourced development work... and now they're disgruntled and unhappy with their vendors. So when we work with clients our developers have to be super sharp (to make up for the natural bias against cheap offshore developers) Our focus isn't on technology as much as it is on our problem solving attitude. We're not the biggest, we're not the cheapest, and we aren't rocket scientists... but we're tenacious as heck.

On the flip side, hiring developers is a headache. We run into the following problems:

1). Chicken and the Egg: Newbie developers are a good long-term investment, but there's a steep learning curve associated with hiring and nurturing them into superstars. But it's better for us because it increases our retention and builds company loyalty. The trick is to nurture the programmers so they feel more confident in their abilities and more fulfilled at work. It sometimes requires us to see more in them than they see in themselves.

2). Ego Check: Experienced developers have big egos and have usually picked up a lot of bad habits over the years. Breaking these habits isn't worth the headache. We've actually had some very humble, well seasoned programmers come on board. They're real gems and serve as role models for the younger guys. Sometimes even having heavy hitters like them around makes everyone else in the office feel better... "well if he works here then this company is really going somewhere"

3). Hit the Road Jack: Bad developers like to inflate their credentials and salary histories. We've gotta be really meticulous here and test them like crazy.  We look for developers who have a "work first, money second attitude" This doesn't mean that we hire cheap developers, it means we hire people that fit our culture. We've had to fire people that weren't committed to building a great company. They were lazy and were dragging down the entire office (even though they were decent programmers).

4). Oh Yes, There Will Be Blood: All-star developers aren't sitting on the street with a 'Hire Me' sign on their forehead. We have to build a company that attracts great talent... or at least people with the potential to be great. It costs a lot of money, but it's worth the investment in the long-term. There is war for talented software developers, and in high demand places like India, Singapore, and China... it's getting bloody. Luckily, emerging outsourcing destinations don't have to deal with the attrition/talent shortage. With any luck, by building a stellar company that attracts good developers, they'll beat a path to our door (I sure hope so).

5). Where Do You Think You're Going?: Once you've got great developers, you have to keep them stimulated or they'll drop you like Jessica Simpson dropped Nick LaWhatsHisFace. The pressure is on me (the marketing wing of the house) to find clients that are doing cool, innovative stuff.

6). Time to Step It Up: Convincing our good developers to graduate into PM's and coach the next generation of talent. This requires more convincing for some than for others, but it means we have to understand their true aspirations. The list goes on... but it definitely keeps us busy. We're currently looking for 3 developers at our offshore center in Pakistan. It's  bittersweet because Pakistan's outsourcing industry is still in its infancy so attrition isn't as bad as in India... but finding good talent is still pretty hard.

Hiring, aggressive, solution-oriented problem solvers ain't easy... but it puts food on the table. Unless I invent the next million dollar fad a la Pet Rocks, Sea Monkeys, Tickle Me Elmo... I'm gonna have to keep figuring out how to hire good developers.