Rebecca Franks

Embedded developers with niche skills are like gold dust. If you find one, don’t hesitate... hire them quickly. I see over and over that these specialists are often snapped up by companies that understand their value. That means your hiring process needs to be not just fast, but also enticing. Competitive salaries, interesting projects, and a clear path for career growth are essential if you want to attract and retain this top talent. Speed and flexibility in hiring can make all the difference 🙏 The companies that adapt their recruitment strategies to move quickly are the ones that will come out on top.

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These two founders of a FinTech start up were struggling to hire their final software developer.... This was a critical hire to help the development team execute on their road map for the coming months. But no success, and time was ticking. We were invited in after their current chosen agency had shared 8 (!!) candidate profiles, none of which had been successful. The result? 🏆 1 CV sent in total. ⏰ A 26 day turnaround from CV sent to offer (holidays and 4 stage process contributed to this) Here's how we saved them time and effort, but not necessarily money... → Understood how important it was to find the right culture fit. Someone who was ambitious, self motivated and proactive in problem solving. but could also hit the ground running. → Advised that whilst 4-5 years experience was, in their opinion, essential, someone with the right attitude at 2-3 years experience could also work (the developer hired had 2.5 years experience) → This wasn't going to be a financial move for a developer, so we took time to understand their vision, their mission and the culture they were trying to create, so we could sell this back to potential candidates. It's no surprise that we were more expensive than all the other agencies in the mix. But wouldn't you rather have full trust in agent for the sake of a few extra ££. Having faith that you will make that business critical hire so productivity can be increased where it matters - actually coding and building your product - is priceless. Here's what the software engineer had to say about working with me? 👇 Place.

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Talking with loads of #ios and #android engineers and leaders since my return from holiday last week. It seems there's still lots of questions around how long will it take the market to pick up! I'm getting asked 'Is it just the iOS market that's slow?' Err no, certainly not. 'Will the Android market pick up this year?' I don't have a crystal ball, but I do have optimism. "It cant stay slow forever!" I reassure them. There will be a bounceback! Let's talk..... When do you think the iOS and Android recruitment market will pick up? Are you already seeing the greenshoots of recovery? Have you got some inspirational words of positive stories to share with your fellow devs? Please let me know when you're commenting whether you're in the UK, Ireland or Europe! #androidengineer #iosengineer #uktechjobs #mobileapps #bounceback

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👨‍🌾 Groove Armada To $3B In Funding - AI's Farming Impact 👨‍🌾 I'm sure many people reading this will have seen Andy Cato's appearance in Clarkson Farm's latest season and were impressed with his WildFarmed business idea - but have seen how AI tech is helping to push this? A major driver for AI adoption is the aging farmer population and shrinking labor force, which threaten the viability of the agricultural sector. With fewer young people entering farming and laborers seeking less demanding jobs, innovative solutions are crucial - leading to $3B being raised for farmers looking to go carbon free! AI tools, such as drones, GPS, and self-driving tractors, are already transforming farming practices. John Deere's See & Spray technology, for example, significantly reduces herbicide use and costs. With substantial government support and industry investment, AI promises to enhance crop yields, lower costs, and promote sustainability. As the global population grows, these advancements are key to meeting future food demands. 🌍✨ #AgTech #GreenTech #SmartFarming

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In case you missed it while prepping for Flag Day 🇺🇸 Happy State of Engineering Management Report Day happened this week! The annual thought leadership piece from Jellyfish has dropped. Hear from Engineering leaders, managers and frontline ICs .... we cover a range of topics that matter to great R&D leaders. Key Points: 1️⃣ Engineers are now strategic partners! 🙌 2️⃣ Burnout continues to be a challenge 😱 3️⃣ The talent shortage is spiking back up. 4️⃣ Many teams have embraced #AI 🧠 5️⃣ Others have legit concerns about AI ⁉ If #developerproductivity #genAI #engineeringexcellence are important to you .... have a read! (link in the Comments)

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😵🤓"DevOps Engineers are not the assistants of Developers"🤓😵 I spoke to the Director of Engineering of a FinTech organisation yesterday, about the relationship between DevOps Engineers & Developers🧑‍🤝‍👩🛠️ They explained to me, that in some cases DevOps Engineers in their team had been made to feel like the assistant to their software development counterpart😵 Furthermore, they went on to point out that DevOps Engineers use a set of tools and processes to make things happen, so that the Developers can do their jobs, and everyone has EQUALLY important roles to play🤓🤓 This led us to discuss the importance of how to maintain a happy team environment, where all roles are appreciated equally. They put it down to a few key areas: 🎖️Recognising that everyone in their team has an equal part to play 🎖️Everyone needs to own their individual workload 🎖️Nobody is to pass work on to others 🎖️Praise & recognition is given to the team as a whole and not individuals 🎖️Focusing on building a system that is beneficial to the business If you have any thoughts on this please drop me a message, I'd love to discuss this📲 #DevOps #Developers #Cloud #tethr

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If you’re an engineering leader, this report about the current state of tech has some great insights. It’s super fascinating to see what the current common themes are.

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What’s the JavaScript market like?? Is a question asked on pretty much every call I have at the moment. ✅ The JavaScript market is slowly bouncing back. We’ve seen an increase in job flow, also in direct adverts from both agency and client side which is great ( mostly on perm ). An uptick in perm roles is usually a good indicator of a strong market and contract will soon be to follow. Candidates are getting involved in multiple processes at once. ✅ Time to hire still seems slow. Interviews are taking longer and feedback is delayed. Clients are saying they are wanting to hire but wont move promptly on signing things off/starting the processes or making offers. ✅ There are more experienced candidates on the market. A lot of contracts weren’t extended so there are more people looking. ✅ Seasoned contractors are more open to taking an interesting perm role. In short, things are slowly but surely improving. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions. #hiring #JavaScript #UK

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70% of my C# network said they'd pick their coding language over their industry. That’s the kind of passion C# developers have🌟 Building a team of passionate C# developers isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. From attracting talent to engaging them in interviews, finding the right fit takes effort. But when you do, the impact is extraordinary. And let's be honest, passion is the difference between good and great code. Because at the end of the day, passion is the difference between good and great code. Check out my tips for hiring in my latest article [link in the comments] #CSharp #TechPassion #HiringTips

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Hey all you amazing engineers - Check this out ⬇️⬇️⬇️ In a surprising twist, Jellyfish’s latest engineering management report has revealed some eye-opening trends in our tech world. A whopping 90% of engineers—from code wizards to DevOps believe their teams are key players in shaping business strategy. Yet, a staggering 66% of them have faced burnout in the past year. Talk about running on empty! 📉 But that's not all. Despite the recent waves of layoffs in tech, 60% of engineering managers and executives are waving red flags over a talent drought. They’re finding it tougher than ever to scoop up the qualified candidates they need. It seems like even the brightest minds need a bit of a recharge these days. 🌟💻 Check out the full scoop here! Jellyfish ThinkBIG https://lnkd.in/emrRBhDy

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🎙️ What could you learn from Google and launching Waze in the UK? The short answer is a lot! The longer (and more wonderfully told) answer will be ready for you to hear at 07:30 tomorrow. Finlay Clark is one of the good guys in tech, and this conversation is pure gold for anyone looking for a stellar career at the sharp end of tech. Here's some soundbites for ya: 💬 "The real magic happens at the intersection of innovation and strong relationships." 💬 "Every big risk has led to an even bigger reward." 💬 "Leadership isn’t just about guiding others, it’s about inspiring them to achieve more than they thought possible." 💬 "Staying true to your values isn’t just good ethics, it’s good business." 🎙️ Will you be tuning in to hear the Podfather Tolu Adebekun and Fin talking all things career growth? #WMYT #WhatMakesYouTick #TechLeaders #CareerStories Tick Talent Gaia Musotti

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💥Jumping straight out of a long weekend into a multiple new Partnerships In Product. Later this week we will be releasing opportunities with new and existing partners across AI Engineering, Product Marketing, Product Design and Co-founder opportunities. Keep your 👀 peeled on our In Product page as we get started in sharing these opportunities with you later this week. #ai #engineer #productmarketing #productmanagement #productdesign #techforgood #startup

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The best start-up advice is often the simplest: - Do things which don't scale - Solve your own problems - Speak to users more What else would you add? Let me know in the comments 👇 -- 🎬 Clip from podcast with Avin Rabheru MBE 🔔 Follow Alfie Whattam for more like this

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We’ve spent the last couple of weeks filtering down over 90 applications for our software engineering roles so here’s some of the good practice I’ve seen: 👉take the time to create a good quality application. When there are so many candidates looking, it is much better use your time doing fewer applications well than spamming lots of roles in the hope that something sticks. 👉 if they are asking for x-years experience in something (or another key criteria) make sure it’s easy to see that you have it (or clearly explain why you think you have the equivalent in your cover letter). When there are so many candidates there isn’t time to deconstruct all the experience in someone’s cv in case they fit. 👉 write a cover letter explaining why you want the role and how you fit (or could grow to fit). Every cover letter I read gave me more depth into the candidate and helped me understand what they would bring to the role. 👉 use the layout to highlight the key skills you bring - it really doesn’t matter if it’s 1 page or 2 pages and whether you have columns or any other fancy bits - just make it easy for me to scan read. 👉the more you can quantify (with numbers) what you’ve done or the value you’ve delivered, the better. The numbers don’t have to be big - they just give me an idea of the size and scale of what you’ve been involved in. And finally, I know it’s tough getting a rejection but please don’t take it personally. I’ve seen some amazing applications come through, but they’ve just not been right for what we need. #jobapplications #careers #cvtips

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The evolution of Timbyr - Part 2 " Build it and they will come " - Utter bollocks! I couldn't have been more wrong. Having settled on the name, inspired by Grindr and Tinder, the app developers combined put in 8000 hours of work, two years of design, build and anticipation, we finally had a product live on the app-store. A day I dreamed of turned into the ultimate nightmare, I had put so much energy, enthusiasm, cash and belief into this product. I called every single client, candidate, industry friend. Timbyr is live and we were ready for them, that the future of recruitment had landed, there was no need to thank me, just doing my job. BIG FAT ZERO was the number of downloads on day 1 and 2 The end of week one, we had 3 sympathy downloads. "Build it and they will come" Screw you Kevin Costner - crest fallen, dejected and faced up to the chicken and egg conundrum. Candidates wont download the APP as there are no jobs. Clients wont download the jobs as there are no candidates on the APP and my client mates won't download the APP because they don't like change. AAAAARRRRGGGG. - I have just spent a SEVEN FIGURE SUM, 2 years of my life and it took two weeks to get double figure downloads. I wanted to quit, I wish I never started this stupid project, what a prick. I honestly didn't know what to do next ....................... Get into the mindset of my target market, what would it take for my clients, my mates, my industry contacts to download my app? Was it friendship, camaraderie, loyalty, sympathy, curiosity even? 😂😂😂😂 Absolutely not. It was chance to win a Jetski, something for nothing, thats what they all wanted. What was another $10k having spent over a million? It was worth one last throw of the dice and I nailed it. I paid for and branded a Timbyr jetski and announced I would give it away in 3 weeks, to be in with a chance, download my APP. 3 weeks later - 500 + downloads and one lucky winner George Tarabay $10k lighter and a new best mate, Timbyr was in business. Dylan Thompson Jordan Daniel Kelly Horsfield Samuel Chambers Luke Mitchell Scott Litchfield Nell Harris Josh Callagher Josh Gaschk David Francis

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🌟 Check in: searching for React Native/React engineering roles 📈 TL;DR; still going strong with optimism! (mostly) G’day! This iteration of the great hunt has been a bit drier than what I have experienced previously however, I remain optimistic and energised to find the right role where I can make a meaningful impact in an interesting problem space. Whats yo stats?! Weirdly the numbers align with that of a post during my last round of interviewing: ❌ Unsuccessful: 6 - Comprising of rejections, retractions and ghosting. it’s not you, it’s me (maybe :D). There is always something to learn from a failure - bank it and advance! Some will remain on my radar for future rounds when the timing is right. 🚀 Open: 11 - I am fortunate to be progressing with some interesting companies and excited to see where these go! What else ya been up to? - Joined further recruitment platforms; I am now testing the waters with haystack and wellfound (links in the comments). - Amended CV content and structure 3/4 times - Created a cover letter template - this seems more of a requirement than in previous rounds and I wanted something that stood out similar in appearance to my CV. - Studying - with each company employing different stacks and methodologies, there is much to brush up on. - I caught up with some peeps in a similar boat who are building exciting things for themselves - inspiring stuff! I may follow their lead. While this interview process is quite demanding, I am looking forward to taking some time to enjoy the content and inspiration from frontendnation, which runs today until the 7th. Is anyone else tuning in? let me know which talks you are looking forward to. If you would like to discuss opportunities, or a fellow engineer looking to chat through anything of interest, please feel free to reach out. That’s all from me, catch you on the flippity! #lookingforwork #opentowork #fullstack #JobSearch #SoftwareEngineer #CareerJourney #react #reactNative

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89% of hiring failures are due to poor culture fit, not lack of skills. Have you ever hired someone who has the embedded skills but just didn’t gel with the team? Unfortunately it can happen more often than you think. Hiring isn’t *just* about finding someone who can code; it’s about finding someone who fits your team. I think technical skills can be taught but a mismatch in culture is impossible to get over. If you're struggling to get the right culture fit for your team, ping me a message and we'll find the right people for you.

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In 2024 I've helped more Software Engineers from FANG (is it MANA now?) companies move onto their next challenge than I've done before. Awesome. It always feels great to help people get their new job. I think this is for 4 reasons. 1. These companies have gone through restructuring at a rate they have never been through before. Even if Engineers are still in place, they are concerned about long term job stability. 2. RSU's locked Engineers in on high annual total earnings that no one could compete with. With share prices adjusting to market pressure, Engineers have more options. 3. These businesses are now no longer at the cutting edge of tech, consolidating and focusing on core product lines and killing off new or risky product development they are not the centres of innovation they once were. 4. We had remote working and now there is a big return to the office. This works for some. Not all. If you are in the market for hiring the top tier of Engineering talent (not that this is defined by someone working at Apple/Amazon etc) now is a great time to go to market. If you're looking for a new role, although the market is slower than it was in 2021/2022. There are some great businesses looking to hire, especially so since the start of 2024. Get in touch if you'd like to learn more. Happy jobsearching everyone.

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𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀: "I think we have higher number of leavers in autumn" "Our external workforce costs are increasing" "We are slightly over budget" 𝗚𝗿𝗲���𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀: "We expect 5 leavers in September and we have only published 2 job postings yet" "Our external workforce will cost us €54k more in July than in June" "Due to a higher engineering compensation than budgeted, we are 2,3% over budget" 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 + 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲! If you current workforce control looks like the one below - consider a change ✌️

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