We recruit a lot of software developers at Blues Point and although it isn’t as crowded a marketplace as other areas like technical support, we do find that there are a few candidates that have lots of employers fighting over them, and quite a lot that don’t.  If you are a developer looking for a new role and you find yourself in the second category, there are a few very simple things that you can try that might just help you to improve your chances.

Developer jobs – and how to get them

Many of our clients are software houses and consequently they are very passionate about technology – they are not usually just looking for someone to sit in a corner and code, they want team members that will contribute actively to the ongoing success of the organisation.  These top candidates that attract a lot of attention tend to have a number of things in common – if any of these are missing from your job application, you might want to think about including them in future.

• Passion for development – passion doesn’t just leap off the pages of a CV, the best developers that want the job the most will be able provide links to work that they have done or code samples, and be prepared to discuss them at interview.
• Mentoring other developers – our clients love developers that can assist other developers in their careers.  Many businesses look for bright graduates for junior roles within their teams and so they often require developers that have the necessary mentoring skills to help them to get to the next level of their careers.
• Development is more than just a career –evidence of personal development projects shows passion and enthusiasm, particularly in technologies that are emerging such as IOS/Android.
• A good LinkedIn profile with recommendations from clients you have done worked for previously – it is so easy to have a good LinkedIn profile with a few recommendations on, that some companies are suspicious of candidates that don’t have a presence on LinkedIn which is the first place they will go to find out more about you.
• Don’t just talk in code – although a good CV will indicate what development languages you have experience in and your level of expertise, the client will also want to know about your achievements within your last few roles.  Did you make a critical contribution to the success of a project?  What recognition did you receive?  Mention it!

In the last 12 months we have placed some exceptional candidates with our clients although some of them might not have been the most obvious choices – some of them relocated from other parts of the world, and some of them were relatively inexperienced but demonstrated they had the passion and drive that our client was looking for over and above more experienced candidates.

We currently have an abundance of software developer jobs based in the Midlands – based in Stafford, Burton on Trent, Derby, Castle Donington, Birmingham, Northampton – C#, Java, SQL, etc.  If you are looking for a new role you can see some of our current vacancies here.  All applications to steph.lunn@bluespoint.net.