Talented, Episode 7: How to Build and Scale your Tech Team with Engineer Branding

Periods of high-growth, combined with a high standard for talent, pose challenges for engineering managers looking to scale their teams. In the last episode of the year, Leandro Lages, engineering manager, and Simone Basso, director of engineering, speak to Talented hosts, Emily Hart and Andrew Stoe, about strategies they use to grow their tech teams efficiently and effectively.

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Building up an engineering brand is key to recruiting top tech talent. If you show the world you work with an outstanding development team that’s tackling interesting problems, your company will stand out amongst competitors. In today’s podcast, senior-level software experts explain how they've defined their brand by fostering a knowledge-sharing mindset.

This is the last episode of the year and we will be back with season 2 in 2020. Thank you all for listening and have a great end-of-year season.

Read about how we build our engineering brand below and listen to the podcast. Subscribe to Talented on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and TuneIn/Alexa. .

Hosts: Emily Hart, employer branding consultant, Andrew Stoe, director of Talent Acquisition.

Guest: Leandro Lages, engineering manager; Simone Basso, director of engineering

All episodes:

How we built our engineering brand

1. Focus on knowledge sharing, not just a hiring

Simone explains how his team often tests candidates for code architecture skills, and when someone isn't prepared, he encourages his engineers to see it as a learning opportunity for the candidate. "We take the time to teach the interviewee and guide them, that's an opportunity for engineering branding... It's not just about evaluating candidates but taking the time to share a new learning," he says.

If an enthusiastic candidate doesn’t pass his technical test, walk them through the solution. Even if that candidate is rejected, Leandro notes, they may share their positive interview process with their peers.

2. Remind your team that long-term recruiting initiatives can be fun, and they'll pay off later

With so many tech hires every quarter, Andrew enquires about the challenges of hiring short term and how you can motivate your team to create long term hiring initiatives. Simone tells us that long term recruiting is much more fun: Presenting at conferences and meetups are excellent brand builders.

Leandro speaks about a candidate who said in his interview that he had seen GetYourGuide present two and a half years ago at a conference, and he liked the company but wasn't ready to move to a new country. After two years and a half years, he was ready to apply. So, the lifecycle of employer branding isn't visible in the short term, but it pays off in the future. Establishing your team members as thought leaders increases the public visibility of your talent.

3. Use real-world examples

To truly live our brand, we share how we solve everyday problems during interviews and conferences. Leandro's team actually presents GetYourGuide's problem-solution architecture at meetups. This empowers the brand on a specific topic. Leandro also recommends regularly publishing blog posts using examples from day-to-day work.

4. If you must make compromises, choose attitude and adaptability over technical skill

If a junior candidate has the eagerness to adapt and passion for the mission, their growth can be incredible, especially if they are surrounded by good senior team members. They tend to absorb all the technical information. This happens if their values align with the company and team. If a candidate is strong technically, but they're not listening nor observing, that's a harder risk to take because technology and organizations are changing all the time.

5. To hire diverse teams, take an opportunistic approach

We all know diverse tech teams move the product forward. Perhaps you'll have one engineer who's an incredible executer, and another one who has more of a business mindset, this is a great balance to have. To avoid creating a monoculture while hiring quickly, see who's coming in, and take an opportunistic approach — as opposed to hiring for only one position directly.

Once the candidate has passed the technical test, gauge which team or manager that candidate would fit best with. Incorporating the hiring manager before the onsite offers a better candidate experience. Finding a match on both sides is essential. In the end, choose someone who shows that they align with the core values of your company.

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