For me, the easiest part of running a dev team is finding good people, getting business. In my agency, it's a little bit less natural for me, but the people super easy. But I hope that even though it's easy for me, I still can do a good job of sharing how I do it and making it a little bit easier for you. Before it comes to even putting up a job posting, there's two big things you can do.

Before it comes to even putting up a job posting, there's two big things you can do to make the hiring process significantly easier. First of all, make yourself known. Get out there, talk about your company. Uh, teach in your respective area, share, give back, donate, uh, contribute sponsor things. Help people know who you are and also be a great place to work so that they want to work there.

and also be a great place to work so that they want to work there. As you're building this reputation, it's not just a reputation that you do good stuff on the internet, but that brings attention to you. And then people start asking, well, what is it like to work there? And they can talk to your current employees. And so if it's a great place to work,

And they can talk to your current employees. And so if it's a great place to work, they'll tell everybody else about it. The second thing is be active in the community just socially. So go to conferences, go to meetups or create your own meetups. Hang out on Twitter, watch live streams, or connect on GitHub with what the, you know, who's working on the packages that you're working on.

or connect on GitHub with what the, you know, who's working on the packages that you're working on. Getting to know people before you need them to come to you does a ton of good for you. The rest of the sections of this video will require you to at least have a baseline understanding of what job you're actually hiring for here. And it's funny in jobs to be done, we say, what job are you hiring the tool to do?

And it's funny in jobs to be done, we say, what job are you hiring the tool to do? But right now, I actually mean the human. What job are you hiring this human to do? What roles and expectations do they have? What are the systems and structures of their team? And if you take a look at a previous video here, I talked about how to structure your dev team, you need to have that structure so you can know what you're hiring this person into.

to have that structure so you can know what you're hiring this person into. Is it a junior role or senior role or a mid role? Uh, is it a CTO? Are they more technical project manager instead of actually programmer? Is it front end? Is it back end? Is it full stack? Are there additional technologies you need to them to be experts at? There's so many things you need to define.

to them to be experts at? There's so many things you need to define before you can write a job posting before you can evaluate if somebody's good enough for that job. So before you even start any of that, what's the actual job? All right, now that you understand the job you're trying to hire for, you can actually start building your job posting. You wanna define the specific job as narrowly

start building your job posting. You wanna define the specific job as narrowly as you can really kind of talk about what the ideal will be. And we'll build a posting from there. And it might expand out some, but start with who's your dream candidate? Like brainstorm, you know, who could this person be that really provides everything you want? Think about what good code looks like for your organization or a good member of your team looks like.

Think about what good code looks like for your organization or a good member of your team looks like. And what characteristics do you really value? Like at Tighten, we like self-taught full stack developers who have a whole suite of other interests and experiences who show great attention to detail and are extremely capable verbal and written communicators. You know, that's the thing that we're looking for. And so our job posting is gonna

You know, that's the thing that we're looking for. And so our job posting is gonna be asking about those things. And of course it would also be great if they are, you know, experts at DevOps or whatever else, but like those are our kind of top priority things. And then what you wanna do is separate out your must-haves from your nice to haves, and you wanna make that must have list as short as possible. And the nice to have list can be

and you wanna make that must have list as short as possible. And the nice to have list can be literally as long as you want. And your must-haves are probably gonna be things like Laravel programmer, JavaScript expert, database management guru, you know, uh, you know, Ubuntu manager. You know, the nice to haves are gonna be more things like, uh, you know, stuff that it's valuable, but you don't have to have it.

uh, you know, stuff that it's valuable, but you don't have to have it. Experience with Azure. Um, experience with machine learning can speak Portuguese, you know, whatever else it ends up being. And the must haves often also are gonna include some things like the time zone they work from, or their working hours, the ability to travel fast, internet, uh, you know, a decent camera. Things that, you know, if we don't have that,

internet, uh, you know, a decent camera. Things that, you know, if we don't have that, it's gonna be actually a deal breaker. Nice to haves will be other things that are, you know, based on experiences or specifics that you know, they can learn on the job, but they have less to learn if they have those. Then this job description, you also wanna talk about the company. Why would somebody want to work there?

you also wanna talk about the company. Why would somebody want to work there? You know, the job description is for the job that you are posting, but you want the right people to apply. And the more discerning person, the one you're more likely to want is the one who's gonna care more about your company. And what's your culture like? What's unique about your mission? Um, your people, you know,

What's unique about your mission? Um, your people, you know, like why are you a better job than where they are right now? Or the other options they have available to them. And in the same direction, you also wanna share about the benefits, but as much information as you possibly can about pay, uh, tangential benefits, uh, fun aspects of company culture, things that will attract them, um, especially table stakes, such as like, does it have a 401k, does it have insurance,

that will attract them, um, especially table stakes, such as like, does it have a 401k, does it have insurance, health insurance, stuff like that. But you know, it really is special and sometimes legally required if you can even talk about the amount of pay that they're gonna get or other financial benefits they're gonna get. Now throughout this job posting as much as possible, you want to use real language. I kind of choked over the word guru

you want to use real language. I kind of choked over the word guru earlier, but don't do that. You don't wanna use sales bro language. You don't wanna call people wizards or whatever else. You just talk about what they do. Uh, talk about what they're going to be doing, um, and what you want from them. And, you know, sort of describe this person in normal casual language like you talk and also talk about yourself in

And, you know, sort of describe this person in normal casual language like you talk and also talk about yourself in normal casual language. Here's who we are, here's what we do, who's, here's who you hopefully are, and here's what you hopefully can do. And the last thing I really wanna say is you should set a timeline for the applications and when they're due. Uh, the, one of the things that's hardest about this process is lack of clarity and explanation of what people can expect as they kind

that's hardest about this process is lack of clarity and explanation of what people can expect as they kind of walk through the application process. And a way you can really help them is to say, uh, all job descriptions must look like this and they must be due by this point. And you can tell even further if you want, you can talk to them about what the entire job application process is gonna be like, but you don't have to, in a job posting, at least you should say, this is

gonna be like, but you don't have to, in a job posting, at least you should say, this is what we need from your application and this is when it's due. And one last tip, if you are having trouble write, writing a job posting, especially if you have multiple roles in your company, uh, it's very valuable to write a single kind of like baseline programmer job description and then kind of scale that up and down based on seniority.

of like baseline programmer job description and then kind of scale that up and down based on seniority. So for example, at Tighten, if we say, here's what a mid programmer needs, uh, for a senior programmer, we'll modify it to say they can do that without supervision, you know, without a lead on top of, uh, you know, their code. Or if we're talking about a more junior one, they can say they can do those things with assistance. So that basic job description of just

they can say they can do those things with assistance. So that basic job description of just what a normal mid-level program programmer can do is often the easiest thing to write first lair jobs is the best place to find people who are dedicated to the craft of Laravel. For the people who are spending time in places, whether it's conferences or meetups or on Twitter or wherever else where they're working together and connecting with other people who do Laravel and they're really focusing on their ability

and connecting with other people who do Laravel and they're really focusing on their ability to do Laravel well, those folks get into the Lair jobs world because Lair Jobs is sponsoring those things and they're actively involved. So the best way to find the best people is on layer of jobs. So now it is time for you to evaluate job applications. Well, one thing I would recommend doing at the beginning is to find something that anybody, not your most senior hiring person,

to find something that anybody, not your most senior hiring person, your most experienced person, but basically anybody who can read, can evaluate for, and then have them triage your initial applications, assuming that you have hundreds, which is often the case. Something like, only accept people who live in this area or only accept people who specifically name that they can do these particular technologies. And you wanna have those folks, not just yourself,

that they can do these particular technologies. And you wanna have those folks, not just yourself, but those folks helping you on a rolling basis. So every day or a couple times a week, have all the triage people look together at all the applications and filter out the people who don't fit those baseline lists. And those folks also should have freedom, especially if you're one of those people to add some kind of a special label to the people that really excite you,

especially if you're one of those people to add some kind of a special label to the people that really excite you, where you go, oh no, this is someone we really wanna pay attention to. And that'll make life easier later. Once you're done with that, hopefully you're down to 30 to 60 good options. If you have less than 20, that's great, just have your initial interview with all of them. But you're likely to have 20 plus people

just have your initial interview with all of them. But you're likely to have 20 plus people who end up in that circumstance. And so now I would go through and spend more attention and you, the hiring manager should be the person spending the most attention looking through that list and picking your favorites. And you wanna think about things like personality and vibe, uh, their unique experiences or for any other aspects

and vibe, uh, their unique experiences or for any other aspects that you'd know would be valuable in this role that the triages might not have known about, you know, their history of working in a particular tech stack, or, uh, are you familiar with their reputation nor did they make a package that you really respect or whatever else. The, the goal is to try and get it down to somewhere between 10

The, the goal is to try and get it down to somewhere between 10 and 20 people at this point. Anyone who's not moving on to the next stage, email them now a form email to every single person is fine, but don't not eat and mail them. Don't leave them hanging. Send a quick email that says, thank you so much for applying. We won't be moving forward with your interview at this point.

We won't be moving forward with your interview at this point. So they at least are aware that they're not just sitting waiting for you. Um, and I do have one just kind of small pet peeve. I didn't know where to fit it in the talk, uh, in the episode, but I just wanna share this now. Uh, a senior non Laravel developer, uh, is not a senior at a Laravel job. And that's something I'm mentioning at this point.

is not a senior at a Laravel job. And that's something I'm mentioning at this point because you want to evaluate it and it might look like they're senior. You say, only accept people who are senior developers who have x number of years. Well, if all those years are all that experience working in a non Laravel space, that doesn't mean they can step instantly into your senior Laravel position.

that doesn't mean they can step instantly into your senior Laravel position. Uh, so that doesn't mean don't talk to them, but I wanna flag that as a concern. Senior Laravel developers have senior Laravel experience And now it's time to conduct your interviews. Most people have multiple rounds of interviews, often 10 and 15. I would say figure out what works for you, but try as hard as you can to keep it

I would say figure out what works for you, but try as hard as you can to keep it to less than five interviews for every single person if possible. And before the interview, there might be a step you wanna take. One thing we like to do is coding challenges where we say, Hey, can you take on this coding challenge and come back, spend no more than four hours on this? You know, so we don't feel too bad about making them spend

and come back, spend no more than four hours on this? You know, so we don't feel too bad about making them spend a week working on something. Uh, give them, you know, hope, preferably the ability to do at least over a weekend so that if they say, you know what? I'm supposed to do this, you know, after I do my day job and then go home and be a parent, and then I'm exhausted at the end of the night and try to find time with my spouse,

and then I'm exhausted at the end of the night and try to find time with my spouse, and now I have to fit four hours in. Give 'em at least a weekend. Um, and then evaluate that. And sometimes you may or may not have that as a part of the interview process or you might evaluate before you send 'em the interview, but at some point it's time to actually talk to them in person. And at Tighten, we do our first short call for that 10

to actually talk to them in person. And at Tighten, we do our first short call for that 10 to 20 people that I call the, the not an ex murderer chat, which is just like a casual conversation. You could call it a culture fit, but I'm a little wary of that. And the main goal is just to say like, can I have a conversation with you? Can you communicate well? Do we actually enjoy being on a call together?

Can you communicate well? Do we actually enjoy being on a call together? If anybody doesn't make it past here, send them a form, email rejection right away. Don't hit these next moments of rejection or acceptance without letting them know the rejected people know that they're no longer in the running. Then you're onto a technical interview. At Tighten, we go for a short, relatively well relatively short, a very practical interview

At Tighten, we go for a short, relatively well relatively short, a very practical interview as close as possible to real life. So it's more gonna be about, uh, reading code, which you can do effectively in a call. Unless writing code, which nobody can do effectively in a call with somebody staring at them without access to their normal tooling and everything like that, it's not gonna work.

to their normal tooling and everything like that, it's not gonna work. So we're also not talking about things that you wouldn't do as a part of the job. So we're not doing linked lists on whiteboards or any of the other kind of Google and Facebook and Apple type challenges that have nothing to do with our day-to-day job. The goal is to find out can this person in a reasonable scenario do the things we need them

The goal is to find out can this person in a reasonable scenario do the things we need them to do in the day-to-day job? And so find things that have been pulled from actual challenges that you run into at your job and then ask them about them. And the goal here is to get down to probably three to five people or even less that you could hire. The goal is saying every single person at the end of this, you know, period, I could hire them today.

The goal is saying every single person at the end of this, you know, period, I could hire them today. I don't know which one's exactly best, but I definitely can imagine them working for us. Send a form email or even a personalized email to the remainder of your 15 to 20 people saying, thank you so much, it didn't work out this time. And then sit down and give these last few people just some time to think about, you know, talk through it with the team, with your spouse, take a walk.

time to think about, you know, talk through it with the team, with your spouse, take a walk. Maybe even do one more interview with other team members so that they can kind of give an input if it's not super clear. And just think about what would it be like to work with this person day to day? Who are you excited about joining you? You know, what aspects of this process have led you to say, oh, I don't even know that this was something I originally valued,

oh, I don't even know that this was something I originally valued, but when I've seen it in this person, we want it here. And allow that to help different people bubble up until you eventually know who that one person is that you're gonna hire. And finally, you've got your person, it is time to send out a job offer. Now at Tighten, we don't actually send out the offer immediately.

Now at Tighten, we don't actually send out the offer immediately. What we do is we send out a more informal email to kind of hash out some details. And so we'll say things like, let's work on the specifics of the pay if we have not figured them out by now. Let's talk about timing. Uh, one thing I often recommend with people is if you can afford to do so, encourage the person who is joining your team to take one to two weeks off between their

encourage the person who is joining your team to take one to two weeks off between their previous job and working for you. Uh, it's basically free vacation, assuming they can handle it financially 'cause they're not getting paid during that time. But often facilitating when our vacation is gonna be can be really difficult, especially in the us. And so it's something that people don't think about that it's actually fine to just wait a couple weeks to join.

And so it's something that people don't think about that it's actually fine to just wait a couple weeks to join. Uh, and usually when we're in the hiring process, we're not absolutely so urgent that we can't afford to wait one week or two weeks for them. And so that's a really great way for them to have a little bit of breathing space, but also for you to get somebody joining you after a few weeks of rest versus after the crazy last couple weeks.

after a few weeks of rest versus after the crazy last couple weeks of transitioning it out of another job. Once you get all these specific details figured out, it is actually time to send out that formal offer letter. So you put it together in whatever tool you're using. It's the, the very legal official offer. And you know, once you get all the details in there, you send it out. And this should be exciting and also kind of scary.

details in there, you send it out. And this should be exciting and also kind of scary. You know, we're always nervous when we're sending out an offer. It's like, I kind of watch those people waiting to see if they're gonna get signed to a football team. And obviously it's not that big of a deal, but we've offered a job to someone who we're really excited to join, and now we're just sitting here kind of checking our phones every five minutes

to join, and now we're just sitting here kind of checking our phones every five minutes to see if they said yes. You know? And that's, it's really a big deal. And I, I hope that, you know, folks who apply to our job who are down to those last rounds are also in that same place of like, am I gonna get the job? Are they gonna offer it to me? So when they say yes, celebrate, celebrate yourself, celebrate with your team, celebrate with them.

celebrate, celebrate yourself, celebrate with your team, celebrate with them. Tell them how excited you are to have them, and then it's time to hand it off to the onboarding team. And you have one last responsibility left, which is to send the, uh, the emails to the remaining three to five or two to four at this point, people who didn't get the job, but who you could have imagined working with you. This is not a form email, this is a personal email. These are people who have been through many rounds

This is not a form email, this is a personal email. These are people who have been through many rounds of interviews with you and you also want to hang onto those relationships with them next time. I mean, the next time you need to hire, do you wanna work through 500 applications or pick one of these people who you've said today, yeah, I'd be happy to work with them. Right? And you know them and you've been thinking about your interview experience.

Right? And you know them and you've been thinking about your interview experience with them for the months or years. It is between, that's a person you want to hang on to their information. So send them a kind, uh, gentle email where you express your desire to work with them down the road and apologize that it's not this them this time. And now take a break, go for a walk,

that it's not this them this time. And now take a break, go for a walk, celebrate with your team. You did a lot of work. And hiring is a lot of work. And even though of course the people getting hired are not hired or having a little bit more of an up and down, it's important to understand the drain it puts on you to do the hiring. And so when you're done, you don't just go back to work, like take a little bit of time off and celebrate it.

And so when you're done, you don't just go back to work, like take a little bit of time off and celebrate it. You did it.