* Pay folks for their take home assignment time. A few years ago, we paid senior folks $500. It is a token, not a contract, but it shows you care.
* If it is the people that make it great, profile them so that potential hires can see their awesomeness. Help them grow their profile (speaking, writing, OSS) if they want.
* Are you properly developing your junior folks so they can grow into seniors? Giving them autonomy, learning opportunities and salary bumps?
* Have a shorter hiring process. Maybe cut out the recruiter screen?
* As a hard bitten senior engineer, I can tell you that I value equity at zero. If I get an equity win, awesome! But I don't count on it. (You don't mention it, but thought I'd share that.)
* Sponsor a meetup (~$100/month). This is a long term play.
* Any other benefits/things that make you special? Why should anyone want to work there?
That said, I like a saying that I learned when I worked in the real estate industry during the great recession: "there's no problem that price can't fix".
There's no hiring problem that higher salaries can't fix. The higher salaries may cause other issues, but you'll get your hires.
I'd add "* If they have a portfolio, then, for Gods' sake, look at the damn thing."
"Draw the Jackass" tests are what you give folks that have no track record, and nothing to show you what they can do.
Speaking only for myself, I have a portfolio of over 40 open-source repos (single-origin -me), containing multiple build and deploy applications, SDKs, libraries, tests, hundreds of pages of documentation, dozens of blog posts, a decade of checkin history, and testimonials out the wazoo.
It is a mortal insult to ignore that (or, even worse, indicate that "I probably faked it"). If you want to hire people, then I suggest that you don't start by insulting them.
These are not people that you are doing a favor, by hiring them. These are people that are your equals -or better. I spent 25 years, interviewing and hiring senior-level engineers. I never gave one damn leetcode test. I did spend a great deal of time, drawing out their passion projects, enthusiasm, and personalities.
>* As a hard bitten senior engineer, I can tell you that I value equity at zero. If I get an equity win, awesome! But I don't count on it. (You don't mention it, but thought I'd share that.)
So much this!! I have been a paper millionaire more times than I care to remember, but none of them have panned out.
* Post the salary in the ad. At least a range.
* Pay folks for their take home assignment time. A few years ago, we paid senior folks $500. It is a token, not a contract, but it shows you care.
* If it is the people that make it great, profile them so that potential hires can see their awesomeness. Help them grow their profile (speaking, writing, OSS) if they want.
* Are you properly developing your junior folks so they can grow into seniors? Giving them autonomy, learning opportunities and salary bumps?
* Have a shorter hiring process. Maybe cut out the recruiter screen?
* As a hard bitten senior engineer, I can tell you that I value equity at zero. If I get an equity win, awesome! But I don't count on it. (You don't mention it, but thought I'd share that.)
* Sponsor a meetup (~$100/month). This is a long term play.
* Any other benefits/things that make you special? Why should anyone want to work there?
That said, I like a saying that I learned when I worked in the real estate industry during the great recession: "there's no problem that price can't fix".
There's no hiring problem that higher salaries can't fix. The higher salaries may cause other issues, but you'll get your hires.