Johny Farrar

Demand for Intermediate-level Software Developers is decreasing, resulting in salary levels on offer declining. For the time being it appears that the days of intermediate developers securing 15% - 20% pay increases when moving jobs are over.   Current advertised salaries for software developers in the UK (3 months to June 2024) are down to 2019 levels.   Is this trend mirrored elsewhere in the world? What are the causes for this?    

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📉 The contracting market in software development is evolving, and it's a shift that both contractors and employers need to navigate wisely. In today’s candidate-heavy market, we’re seeing: ✔️ Contracting roles becoming harder to secure. ✔️ Contractors adjusting daily rates compared to a couple of years ago. ✔️ A growing need for flexibility from both candidates and companies. To help you stay informed, Frazer Tremble has put together a quick Guide to Contracting Rates in Software Development (see the image below). It reflects the current rates across key roles—from Mid-level to Lead. 💬 How are you adapting to this changing market? - Are you adjusting rates or your hiring strategies? - What trends are you seeing in your industry? Let’s start a conversation, whether you’re hiring or seeking a new opportunity, I’d love to help you navigate this dynamic space. #SoftwareDevelopment #ContractingRates #MarketInsights #Recruitment

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Results from last weeks poll. Very close call - seems we're split on this one. With demand for work / life balance on the rise. Is this an approach we might see adopted more in 2025? #4dayweek #prorated #softwareengineering

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⭐ Attention Engineering Managers ⭐ Boost your projects without the long-term commitment of hiring full-time staff and high costs. Here’s why an experienced freelancer is your best bet: 1. Immediate Impact: Freelancers hit the ground running, driving immediate progress with their diverse project experience. 2. Cost Efficiency: Save on overhead costs—pay only for the work you need. 3. Flexibility: Scale your team up or down based on project needs, without hiring hassles. 4. Specialized Skills: Access niche expertise perfectly matched to your requirements. 5. Fresh Perspectives: Benefit from innovative solutions and insights from varied industry experiences. 6. Reduced Onboarding Time: Minimal onboarding means more time focused on your project. A freelancer doesn't need training or any fancy tools, but with their experience and knowledge they perform at the highest level similar to the silver medalist Yusuf Dikec from Turkey yesterday at Paris 2024. If you need any project support currently don't hesitate to reach me on 📞 +4989 541996729 or 📧 [email protected] #FunctionalSafety #EmbeddedSystems #FreelancerBenefits #EngineeringExcellence #Consultant #Turkey

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Here's a small but useful piece of advice for people looking for jobs on LinkedIn… Did you know that you can write boolean in the search bar? 👀 This is particularly useful if your role has alternative titles (e.g. Software Engineer / Software Developer / Mobile Developer / Mobile Engineer). LinkedIn Jobs will search every advert's 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (not title) for whatever you write in the search bar. You can use modifiers like AND, OR, NOT, and add parentheses to adjust your search. And you can use quotation marks if you're looking for a specific phrase. For example… 👉🏼 (software OR mobile OR flutter) AND (engineer OR developer OR architect) NOT iOS 👈🏼 Will produce a list of job adverts that contain Software Engineer, Software Developer, Software Architect, Mobile Engineer, Mobile Developer, Mobile Architect, Flutter Engineer, Flutter Developer, Flutter Architect in the description, but don't mention iOS. This should save you a lot of time because you won't have to run a different search for every possible job title and scroll through duplicates. Did you find this helpful? If so, please share with your network and let's spread the word! 😀 #JobSeekers #LinkedInJobs #OpenToWork #JobSearch

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Here's a small but useful piece of advice for people looking for jobs on LinkedIn… Did you know that you can write boolean in the search bar? 👀 This is particularly useful if your role has alternative titles (e.g. Software Engineer / Software Developer / Mobile Developer / Mobile Engineer). LinkedIn Jobs will search every advert's 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (not title) for whatever you write in the search bar. You can use modifiers like AND, OR, NOT, and add parentheses to adjust your search. And you can use quotation marks if you're looking for a specific phrase. For example… 👉🏼 (software OR mobile OR flutter) AND (engineer OR developer OR architect) NOT iOS 👈🏼 Will produce a list of job adverts that contain Software Engineer, Software Developer, Software Architect, Mobile Engineer, Mobile Developer, Mobile Architect, Flutter Engineer, Flutter Developer, Flutter Architect in the description, but don't mention iOS. This should save you a lot of time because you won't have to run a different search for every possible job title and scroll through duplicates. Did you find this helpful? If so, please share with your network and let's spread the word! 😀 #JobSeekers #LinkedInJobs #OpenToWork #JobSearch

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Hiring Software Engineers? We recently surveyed 4,917 candidates across the UK. Here's what we learnt... 1 - WFH 7/10 are currently only open to fully remote roles. This number was WAY higher than we expected. Struggling to hire? Try adjusting your WFH policy. 2 - Speed 94% aren't interested in roles with 3+ interview stages. If you find a candidate (that you like), then don't delay. Move fast, or be left behind by your competition. 3 - Tests Most 'take home tests' never get completed. Do a 'real time assessment' on the call instead. It achieves the same result, but actually gets it done. -- Was this useful? ➡️ Follow Alfie Whattam for more like this. ♻️ Repost to share with your network.

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Hiring Software Engineers? We recently surveyed 4,917 candidates across the UK. Here's what we learnt... 1 - WFH 7/10 are currently only open to fully remote roles. This number was WAY higher than we expected. Struggling to hire? Try adjusting your WFH policy. 2 - Speed 94% aren't interested in roles with 3+ interview stages. If you find a candidate (that you like), then don't delay. Move fast, or be left behind by your competition. 3 - Tests Most 'take home tests' never get completed. Do a 'real time assessment' on the call instead. It achieves the same result, but actually gets it done. -- Was this useful? ➡️ Follow Alfie Whattam for more like this. ♻️ Repost to share with your network. 👋 PS: I've hired hundreds of Software Engineers, and have my own recruitment agency (Alfa Technology) which helps companies do this. If you are hiring devs in the UK, then please DM me, and we would love to help :)

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Elixir & Erlang Hiring Managers!! I’m looking to speak with clients with live roles that require on-site presence, how is your hiring coming along?? Drop me a message if you have some free time #elixir #erlang

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🔥 As hot as they come - Seed funded client 🔥 Looking to chat to any solid full-stack Golang Engineers (FE is JS heavy, mainly ReactJS) in my network for a reliable client, who have recently secured Seed funding and are looking to grow their current engineering team. If you know of anyone that could also be a good match for this, get them tagged in the comments as this client will be happy to move as quickly as they need to, in order to secure the right talent! Four stage IV process, which could all be wrapped up within a 10-day window. If it sounds interesting, drop me a DM and we can schedule some time to chat before the end of the week! #hiring #web3 #golang #distributedsystems #recruiting #blockchain #web3

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Developers who secured post-covid jobs are on the hunt again. But this time, the market is COMPLETELY different. Here’s what you should be asking (which you might not have considered back then)... 1️⃣ How disposable is the tech team? > What short-term AND long-term projects do they have in mind? > How mission-critical (and realistic) are the long-term ones? > What are they doing to prevent more tech layoffs? 2️⃣ Will you be happy there? > Do they have the progression opportunities you’re looking for? > Will your manager have a hands-on or hands-off approach? > Will you be challenged enough to keep you motivated? > Will you get the work-life balance you’re after? > What kind of culture are they promoting? I’m sure most of you would’ve questioned many of these things right after the pandemic. But most job-seeking Developers were in survival mode. You asked the right questions to secure a decent job that paid the bills. Hopefully, this time, you can take a breather and find an opportunity that truly aligns with what makes you happy. #JobSeeking #Advice #Recruitment #Hiring #Developers

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Last week, I put out a poll asking, “What’s your ideal company size for a QA/Reg role?” It’s clear that the size of the company can make a big difference in shaping how we work and grow in QA/RA. Whether it’s the fast-moving, hands-on vibe of a startup or the stability and resources of a big company, everyone has their own preference. The poll results gave us some great insights: 8% of people loved the hustle and hands-on energy of startups. A solid 51% are all about medium-sized companies - sweet spot between agility and structure. 25% prefer the security and vast resources of large more established organisations - more stability, more defined roles, and often, more opportunities for career development. 15% said, "Company size? Doesn’t matter as long as the role and culture are the right fit." What really stands out to me is how many of you feel that medium-sized companies strike the perfect balance. They seem to offer the best of both worlds: the chance to grow and be innovative while still offering more stability than a startup. It’s clear that each company size brings its own perks based on what you’re after in your career—be it growth, stability, or flexibility. It really shows how personal our career choices can be and how many factors play into finding that perfect fit! #CareerDevelopment #QualityAssurance #RegulatoryAffairs

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The fee structure most agencies use with clients is pretty standard industry-wide (X% of the candidate's salary for perm roles). Some agencies use alternative fee structures since it works better for both parties and creates more alignment - e.g. ongoing monthly retainers, embedded recruiters/RPO, flat rates, etc. Some markets have unique factors that make a non-standard fee structure more mutually beneficial for both the agency/client. Pricing structure and strategy is something that most agencies don't really dig into since it's easier to go with the status quo since it's what clients expect and are used to. I'm curious - if you've used alternative fee structures, how do you like it? Has it worked out better for everyone long term?

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Feedback is an imperative! What I loved about this post from Michael is that it’s not a one sided love fest and pile on with one sided statements. All bases covered (most at least) - Hiring managers, Candidates and Recruiters. For what can be can be a lesser discussed issue in better economic times, it has actually provided some valuable insights from a spread of different experiences, about what efficiencies we can all help drive when it comes to hiring. I’m definitely taking some of these tips away with me and it’s solidified my belief further there is hope that we can evolve the tech recruiting scene beyond keywords and a pray & spray mentality. Would love to hear extra opinions from my own network on what they also think could help move the needle on recruitment and make it a positive experience for all…..? #drivingconversation #repost #techrecruitment #bestpractices #kureos #energytech #fintech

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Some of the BEST Software Engineers I've worked with have some of the WORST CVs I've ever seen. And some simply do not have one. The top 5% of talent are not scouting out new roles and applying to adverts... ..they're headhunted. So there's simply no need to create a CV. And that's where the job of a Recruiter comes in, to shine a spotlight on those who are unseen in the market, or to fill in the gaps on those awfully written CVs. So the next your recuiter show's you a horrible CV, they might just be showing you a superstar. G.Digital | G&T (girls and tech!)

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What’s the optimal timeframe to hire a Software Engineer? There isn’t one. 👀 One of Bounce Digital clients for the same role… 🎯Software Engineer 1; CV > Offer = 6 Days 🎯Software Engineer 2; CV > Offer = 44 Days It all comes down to what suits both parties. 🤝 Some people need/want time. 🐌 Others need/want to hurry things up. 🏃 No two processes are the same. No two candidates are the same. Flexibility and an agile approach are what matter most. 🔀 The most successful companies don’t stay too rigid when hiring. ✅ What do others think? #softwareengineer #interviewprocess #engineeringmanager

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Don't limit your options to a specific sector or industry. Particularly in tech. If you're a software engineer as an example and are finding few opportunities in your industry, consider a number of companies in other industries are always on the lookout to fill similar roles. Sales is arguably the most transferable skill. If you are good, a company gives you the time to ramp up and learn their product. This also applies if you jump to another industry. This isn't meant to downplay industry experience. That is important. It is meant to increase your opportunities. #recruiting #talent #jobsearch #tech

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You know what's really cool to do as an employer... ... Pay people what they're worth (irrelevant of market conditions) 💡 I'm seeing a worrying trend at the moment - Companies looking for Software Developers with 6+ years experience, but not willing to pay more than £35k 😕 Look... I understand budget restraints... And as the owner of a start-up, I get that companies pockets are only so deep! But if your pockets are only deep enough to get someone with 2-3 years' experience... Stop looking for people with 6 years+ in the hopes that they'll bite your hand off because the hiring landscape isn't all that great at the moment! If you play the game like this, yeah, you MIGHT get a quick win now, but in 12 months time, when the market shifts (as it always does) your competitors will be queuing up to pay them what they're actually worth... And you'll be left back at square one!!  

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If this was written on my CV explaining what I do at Talenza... - Recruit mobile & software engineers - Speak with new & existing companies ...Do you think someone that doesn't know me, would jump at the chance of setting up an interview? Highly unlikely. Over the past week, I've seen more 1 page CV's with little to no context, than I have done in the past 2+ years of recruiting in the Software space. And this is a period of time as an engineer - you probably need to be doing a little bit more to stand out from the crowd. We are NOT in a market where every company is scrambling to hire and interviewing everyone that comes their way. I'm not saying put together a 20 page power point presentation as your CV, still be concise, but actually give some context on what you've been doing. If you've worked on a complex project, explain it in a few bullet points. For example; - What the the problem was - How it was solved - The impact it had on the business I'm not a CV guru and there is no magic formula (otherwise every CV would look exactly the same). But adding the above info along with the tech stack being used, will probably help you increase the CV sent to interview ratio. *Completely disregard this post if you have a 1 page CV and are getting all of the interviews you want to*

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