To ensure its growth, a startup needs to find customers as much as it needs to hire good people. Yet, often, we find that the leaders of these companies give this speech " We'll worry about recruiting later. For now, we're focused on the product ".

And when it comes time to urgently recruit, it's often panic.

Have this in mind  there is no magic button that will immediately find a talented individual who is going to be a perfect fit for your needs. And this is especially true if your need is for developers !

On the other hand, there is a method, relatively new in France, that allows you to prepare for this moment : the 'Inbound Recruiting.

If you don't know what Inbound Recruiting is, I suggest you download our eBook right away which covers this topic in detail.

To put it simply, this segmentation Inbound and Outbound (which could be imperfectly translated into French as Entrant et Sorant) comes from Marketing.

In the case of Inbound Recruiting, it's about implementing a number of actions, mainly related to online content, with the goal of making yourself desirable as a employer to the talent you seek.

Inbound Recruiting therefore focuses on building and strengthening the relationship between the company and future candidates.

When we talk about future candidates, we're also (and mostly) talking about passive candidates, i.e., those who aren't necessarily looking for a job.

This is primarily intended to strengthen the employer brand (a company's ability to attract as an employer).

 A strong and consistent employer brand helps attract and create attachment in the candidate.

Let's take a telling example : Google. This small American startup in 1998 became a global giant by building an employer brand of unparalleled power.

Every talented developer in the world dreams of working at them.

Thanks to this power to attract the best talent, the Mountain View company has been able to develop very high quality products and ensure its sustainability.

Why wouldn't you do the same ?

If your answer is : " Because it will cost me way too much " then you haven't considered the Inbound approach.

We're not saying it's always free, but given what's at stake - recruiting what will add value to your business - it's very cost-effective.

Here are some examples of tips that can make a difference in getting positively noticed by developers :

1. Take an hour a week to answer questions online

Before you even think about launching your blog, make yourself useful ! Visit sites like StackOverflow, Quora, GrowthHackers or any other website dealing with a topic where you feel comfortable and answer questions left by users.

Of course, sign your answers with your company name. By doing this, even if it's just for an hour a week, you'll appear as a value-added contributor, which will benefit everyone. 

  Highlighting knowledge and expertise is the heart of Inbound Recruiting.

2. Write articles about things you've learned

Many people think it's pointless to write a post on a topic because " everyone already knows ".

You'd be surprised how many people you'll teach something completely new by posting your " evidence ".

Have you recently tried a new technology and think you have something to say about it? Do you have any tips you can share about managing a team? Maybe you just used a particular marketing technique that yielded unexpected results ?

Share this with the audience because in this demographic, there are sure to be future candidates who will be thrilled to have found this information.

3. Celebrate birthdays in unique ways

Your future candidates will necessarily want to know what the atmosphere is like in your startup.

If you send out an exclusively " work work work " image, it may not appeal to everyone - especially since that mindset is not exactly what is expected of a startup !

Show that you know how to have fun by highlighting your employees on their birthdays, for example (if they're okay with it), or by organizing fun events for your company's anniversary. Here are some ideas.

As they say in gamification : " Don't forget the fun ! ".

4. Organize a hackathon around topics you are passionate about

Hackatons are events that bring programmers together to complete a project in a timed competition format.

Different teams compete to complete a program in an allotted time, usually 48 hours over a weekend. For example, every year the city of Montpellier organizes an innovation competition as part of French Tech.

Hackathons are a great way to find potential candidates while showing them what working at your startup is like.

Think about documenting and recording the event. The resulting material - videos, photos and developed apps - will serve as great content that you can use for your blog or make available as open-source projects.

5. Hide " little surprises " in your product or website

We all have a child's soul!"

To attract developers, you'll need to adopt certain developer codes. Now many of them like to hide little geek jokes in their programs.  Do the same ! Here are some examples :

• Have a creative 404 page like this one.
• Write a custom page header for your recruitment section
• Create a mini-game that can be accessed on your site through a Konami Code 
• Hide messages that will only be readable in your HTML code

6. Give small talks

Are you familiar with the excellent Meetup ? It's a social network designed to bring together groups united by a common interest, such as app development.

Go see if there is a group that matches your interests (or create one if it doesn't exist) and hold a small conference of no more than 30 minutes.

Not only is this an easy way to get exposure, but you'll be able to physically meet potential future candidates.

Get started with Inbound Recruiting for startups ! IF you want help implementing these tips, feel free to leave us a comment or contact us via our form.