Ask HN: Best way to recruit developers during a conference?

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1 points by orbyone 3158 days ago

We are platinum sponsors in a major software developer conference, which means we have unlimited freedom (and for the sake of argument, budget) in order to come up with ideas to approach candidates during the conference.

What is the best way to recruit developers during a conference, approach them or get ourselves noticed? Put up banners next to the main stage saying We're hiring? Having girls in costumes walking around scanning badges? Setting up a kiosk and inviting people in for interviews on the spot?

I am looking for original and effective ideas to make the best of the event.

2 comments

goldenbeet 3158 days ago

From a developers perspective, if I'm not actively looking for a job I almost never want to talk to companies that are trying to recruit. The one time where I actually went out of my way to talk to a company was when they held their own event. They rented a space with an open bar and brought their engineers with them. You could just go hang out and talk with the engineers and see what kind of stuff they worked on what not and it was a great way for us to vet the company and decide whether or not we could see ourselves on the team.

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albumdropped 3158 days ago

Swag is always good. Stickers are a given.

One conference I attended had a company handing out cards with a puzzle on it (encoded message). Decode the message and email it to them and they tell you to drop by their booth for a free t-shirt. Clever way of collecting email addresses for recruiting and they mention that they're hiring when you get the shirt. They never did spam me via email, so I didn't think it was too intrusive.

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orbyone 3157 days ago

When you say swag, can you give 1-2 examples in mind?

The puzzle card sounds a great idea. Do you remember roughly what the puzzle was?

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