That feeling when you post a job and get 200 applications in 24 hours? Exciting, until you realize 195 of them are completely wrong for the role. Meanwhile, the brilliant developer who would be perfect for your team? You did not even receive one such application.
The truth is the best candidates are not desperately refreshing job boards, they’re busy building stuff. So how do you find them?
Change your way of approach, the old way of recruiting is like shouting into a crowded room and hoping the right person hears you. What if instead, you learned to whisper in the right ear?
Think of it like this, You’re a wildlife photographer – you need to know where the rare species hang out, what they eat and how to approach without scaring them off.
1. Go through their GitHub it’s like their Personal Diary
If you want to know what a developer is really capable of, look at their GitHub, it’s where they show their actual work, not just their work history as everyone looks well polished in Linkedin but GitHub is the raw and real personal diary.
Also after going to Github instead of just looking for a Python Developer look for people who have recently contributed to projects using your exact tech stack,see who’s solving problems similar to yours, Look at their work, don’t just count stars, read their code comments, check how they structure projects.
You’ll learn more from 10 lines of their code than from 100 resumes and when you find someone impressive, don’t just copy-paste a recruiting message , star their project, comment on something specific to show you have actually gone through their work and to make your reach more genuine.
2. Stop selling: Start sharing
The best candidates don’t want to be sold to – they want to be inspired to become the company developers talk about. Instead of always chasing, give them reasons to notice you.
To become magnetic you can let your team tell the story: Your engineers are your best salespeople. Have them write about technical challenges they’ve solved.Share both successes and failures and talk about that time your database crashed and how your team fixed it. Developers respect teams that are honest about what they’re learning and also real stories from real builders beat polished corporate messaging every time.
Open source something and contribute to projects, show you’re part of the community, not just trying to hire from it
3. Hang out where they actually hang out
The best candidates are in niche communities having real conversations not just updating their LinkedIn profiles.
Where to find real conversations:
Stack Overflow: Look for people giving thoughtful, detailed answers, someone who takes time to help strangers often makes a great teammate.
Discord & Slack communities: Join channels for specific technologies your team uses. Like Dribbble for designers, Kaggle for data scientists, GitHub for developers, go where their passion projects live.
The key isn’t to post jobs – it’s to participate genuinely by helping people, sharing knowledge and building real connections.
4. Your secret weapon is the team you already have
Your current employees know more amazing people than you ever will. But “send us your friends” doesn’t work.
Make referrals actually work, be specific about your requirements, make it collaborative you can even host a “talent hunt” session with pizza while having everyone look through their networks together.
Important point to Note: If your referral process requires filling out forms, nobody will do it, make it as easy as sending a text.
5. Look for the talent in unusual places
Some of the best talent doesn’t come in traditional packages.
Widen your view to:-
- Bootcamp grads, they often bring fresh perspectives and incredible motivation.
- Career changers might have problem-solving skills that put experienced developers to shame.
- Not everyone wants to be a manager, some of the best engineers just want to build great products.
Finding great tech talent isn’t about having the biggest recruiting budget. It’s about understanding what makes developers stick, which is respecting their craft and building genuine connections. The developers you actually want to hire will notice the difference.
And the magic ingredient behind all this is start with something real you noticed about their work, be honest about who you are and what you’re building, show curiosity about their interests, not just their availability.Ultimately, winning at talent tech recruitment isn’t about finding the perfect candidate, it’s about being the kind of place they’d want to find.
