A bouncy castle, taking the rollerblades to your desk, daily delivery of cupcakes at 3 pm, Tim Mälzer as kitchen chef and team meetings in the jacuzzi. Everyone has colorful imaginations of the perfect job. And you definitely can demand if you can perform. Particularly developers have particular demands, that can’t be compared to those of employers working in a different field. 

 

Here are seven insights into the intellectual world of developers when it comes to choosing a job. This post is the cheat sheet to make you a dream-employer. Use it wisely (and don’t let them catch you)!

 

1) Salary

Even though money, contrary to popular beliefs, doesn’t rule the world, it is the first thing that developers will look for, when they search for a new job. The majority of developers, particularly with specializations, feel underpaid. Wherefore a transparent approach to salary can only affect the desirability of the position in a positive way. According to an experiment carried out by StackOverflow, job ads that specify the salary range, get 75% more clicks, compared to the ones without. Is it the nice green numbers, that attract the developers like flies to the light? No, it’s honesty.

 

So, clear the air, be fair! (Oh oh, now they start to rhyme too)

 

 

Image Credit: StackOverflow

 

2) Flexible working hours

In our last blog post we talked about the so-called “flow state.” And man, how important it is to allow the developer to organize their time independently, to let them have this flow state. Not having to do a 9-5 takes away a lot of stress, and where stress levels decrease, motivation increases. Moreover, this is an essential factor for developers with family. Same counts for the possibility to work remotely. If you’re not forced to squeeze into a packed, smelly train at peak hour, you have more time and energy to work and maybe even squeeze in a relaxed breakfast.

Click here to read about the benefits of remote work.

 

3) Attractive product

Of course, you think your product is the coolest. As well as your mom thinks her daughter/son is the most beautiful of them all. You should also make it evident for your new potential developer and show him how he contributes to the success of the product. Everyone wants to know what they work for and that their blood and sweat is shed for something meaningful.

 

Image Credit: Quote Fancy

4) Modern technologies

According to a survey, the Tech Stack, so the languages, frameworks and other technologies that are worked with on the job has the highest priority for developers when it comes to job search. The top 3 of the most popular coding languages are Rust (82,3%), Kotlin and Swift, whereas the most sought-after languages are Python, Go and JavaScript. Of course, it doesn’t make sense to use a certain Tech Stack only because it’s trendy. Retrospective, the mullet, and Crocs were sh** trends too. But what’s important here is, to talk with the team about their needs and give them the possibility to propose new methods.

 

Image Credit: Reddit

5) Team

If you already have a “boss” team, you can be sure to attract even more “boss” employees. “You attract what you are”- it’s like a formula. Amongst inspiring team members, developers feel comfortable, motivated and simply like coming to work. It’s important for big companies too, to know how your colleagues work and make their work intertwine with yours like the meshes of a pair Patagonia hiking socks - understandable, right?

 

Image credit: TheNetManCorp.

 

6) Further development opportunities

Without opportunities to develop further, we might still be in the 18th century being amazed by the “Spinning Jenny.” We understand that with significant current demands it might seem hard to consider the development of your employees. But with a systematic approach, you can motivate and therefore raise the proficiency and quality level of your company. Win-win!

 

7) Workplace

This may seem to be a rather unessential factor, but a poorly furnished workplace doesn’t only cause cardiac pain for design enthusiasts but also affects the working atmosphere, motivation and therefore productivity. All of us like to surround ourselves with beauty and whoever spends 8 hours and more at work, has the right to be a little superficial and care about exterior appearance.

 

Google Office Tel Aviv

Image Credit: De Zeen

 

It is safe to say, that sometimes you can trump the competition with a higher salary. Is the salary not sufficient, it may not even come to the job interview. But it also is of great importance to understand how developers work, how they think, to make the position as appealing as possible.

 

And, what can you offer your employees?