IT staff recruitment: How to find a Python developer for a British startup in three weeks?

We at Lucky Hunter love a good challenge and don’t shy away from them. We've shared our successful cases of filling positions of a Java developer, DevOps evangelist and ML team leader.

Today, we share one of our successful cases: how our Lead IT recruiter Valeriya, found a lead Python developer in just three weeks.

Task and difficulties

In the summer, a British startup approached our IT recruitment agency Lucky Hunter: they were looking for a Python developer with a rich background. Although there are many Python developers in the IT market, and it could've seemed that the task wouldn't present a challenge, it wasn't entirely true, and here's why:

The client searched for a specialist with over five years of experience in development.

Our client's startup was only at the MVP stage, and only two people were working at the startup - the CEO and CTO.

Not all experts might want to work at a startup with these conditions. Startups can be risky, and now, with a lot of uncertainty in the world, IT professionals value stability more than ever.

Furthermore, this also implied that the specialist our client sought had to possess expertise in starting a product from the ground up. They needed to comprehend the company's operational workflows and play an active role in product development. These criteria further limited the number of suitable candidates.

In recent years, the demand for Python developers has surged significantly.

Python experts are now engaged in nearly every technical field, from testing to Big Data analytics. As a result, the once straightforward task of hiring Python developers has transformed into more intricate and challenging work.

Why did we agree?

Apart from our enthusiasm for collaborating with startups and our inclination to take on demanding tasks, we admired the client's practical approach. The startup team exhibited a thorough grasp of the market and put forth appealing terms for cooperation:

Possible remote work with a possibility of relocation to London in a year.
Market salary and options.

After a thorough discussion of all the details, we created a candidate's profile and started our research.

The search

Typically, we use various channels when searching for IT experts. But in this case, it wasn't necessary. During our many years of operations, we've built a high-quality database of Python developers. It was within this very database that we located the exact specialist our client's team was looking for.

Surely we leveraged other recruitment channels like Telegram, LinkedIn, and other IT recruiting services.

Results

Meticulous targeting of the right specialists and effective motivation allowed us to discover the perfect candidate. We reviewed 54 CVs of Python developers and conducted interviews with 17 of them. Two of them received a job offer from our client. In just two weeks, one candidate accepted the offer and started working at the client's company.

Key success factors

Speed
Speed is one of the main factors of successful recruitment: our mutually efficient work with the client, which involved fast CV processing, conducting interviews, and swiftly extending offers, added to the positive outcome. This quick-paced process left no room for competitors to 'lure' the candidate, and he readily accepted our client's offer.
Partnership
The second success factor is partnership. The startup team took our suggestions seriously, adjusted employment terms, and aligned their recruitment processes with market conditions.
Lucky Hunter professionalism
The third factor is the professionalism of our Lucky Hunter team. Recognising that not all candidates consider relocating, Valeriya specifically targeted those specialists for whom this benefit would be genuinely appealing. Furthermore, Valeriya piqued the interest of these specialists by elaborating on the project and highlighting the chance to contribute to an exciting technological venture from its start.

This case once again proves that there are no impossible tasks in recruiting. If you play your cards right, you can find a highly professional specialist in a matter of weeks, even for a young project.

Are you looking for IT specialists in the UAE? Lucky Hunter is here to help: We will help you build the right candidate's profile, provide insights into the IT market and find a perfect match for your company. Fill out the form below, and we will contact you.