How Elixirator Attracts and Hires the Best Elixir Talents

Hiring the right technical experts is tough, especially for niche technologies like Elixir. Surprisingly or not, 23% of startups fail because of team issues, including hiring woes.

That is why having a smart strategy is crucial. In our blog post, we will share how we do it - our straightforward, effective approach to finding and keeping top Elixir experts. Join us to discover how building the right team can elevate your startup to new heights.

Crafting a Clear Job Description and Ideal Candidate Profile

Our hiring success starts with a collaborative intake meeting with the hiring manager to thoroughly understand the type of specialist needed, ensuring alignment with the business’s goals. We utilize a proven position kick-off checklist that covers everything from an overview of the role and required qualifications to compensation, diversity strategies, and more.

By considering each aspect - such as the hiring process, timeline, and legal considerations - we craft strong, concise job descriptions and develop an Ideal Candidate Profile (ICP) tailored to these needs. This meticulous approach optimizes our applicant pool, making it 3-4 times more relevant compared to traditional methods.

This strategy saves valuable time and resources for our clients while ensuring a perfect fit for their team.

Connecting with the Elixir Community

Since 2019, we’ve passionately dedicated ourselves to building and nurturing a vibrant Elixir community. By participating in meet-ups and hosting knowledge-sharing sessions, we demonstrate our commitment to this technology and connect with potential candidates who share our enthusiasm.

Our blog is another integral part of our efforts, where we eagerly share our expertise. It allows us to give back to the community we care deeply about and attract others who are equally passionate about Elixir.

We’ve also developed a referral program that benefits everyone involved. It leverages the networks of our current and former team members to bring fresh talent into our fold. This approach has helped us build a strong, innovative Elixir dedicated team, united by a shared passion for what we do.

The Hiring Process

We understand - when you are a startup looking to scale up your technical team, time and cost are critical. That is why we have crafted our hiring process to be both thorough and straightforward. Here is how it works, in four main steps.

Prescreening

As mentioned, we have a consistent influx of candidates eager to work with Elixir, which is fantastic. To manage this, we’ve developed a meticulous prescreening process that blends AI-driven analysis with a personal touch. We carefully review resumes, GitHub profiles, portfolios, and work samples to gain a comprehensive understanding of each candidate’s skills and experience.

However, technical expertise alone isn’t everything for us. From the initial interactions, we place a strong emphasis on communication and interpersonal skills, as we believe these are crucial for success within our team. During these conversations, we assess whether a candidate’s background and experience align with our needs.

At this stage, our goal is to identify and advance the top 30-50% of applicants, ensuring we bring in individuals who are not only technically proficient but also a great fit for our team culture.

HR Interview

This step includes a one-hour conversation where we explore the candidate’s background, soft skills, and cultural fit. We use the “Humble Hungry Smart” framework to identify excellent team players, as we believe these qualities form the foundation of the best teams. Additionally, we take the time to understand the candidate’s motivation and core needs, with a focus on building long-term relationships.

To ensure a fair and comprehensive evaluation, we use a scorecard system to assess all candidates. We advance those who score at least 70% in all categories, ensuring that we only move forward with individuals who align well with our values and expectations.

Technical Challenge

Candidates engage in a challenge that mirrors the work they would do with us, offering insight into their problem-solving skills and practical application of Elixir expertise.

In a world where tools like ChatGPT can handle many technical tasks, this step allows candidates to showcase not just their technical abilities but also their approach to real-world projects. We focus on how they organise their work, attend to documentation, and handle testing. We are keen to see their commitment to the task and their willingness to invest the necessary time and effort.

Using a detailed scorecard system, we advance candidates who achieve a score of 70% or higher. This ensures that only top-performing Elixir experts who demonstrate both competence and a strong work ethic move on to the next stage.

Technical and Team-fit Interview

During our 1.5-hour conversation with the technical team, we gain a comprehensive understanding of a candidate’s technical background, knowledge, and, most importantly, their approach to solving real-world technical challenges. Rather than treating this discussion as a test, we aim to learn about the candidate’s work approach through a meaningful dialogue.

We explore their expertise in Elixir, the Phoenix framework, databases, and general software principles. Additionally, we find out about their work style and values. Our objective is to assess not only their technical skills but also whether they have an ownership mentality, a business-oriented mindset, and the ability to make informed technical decisions.

We use a strict scorecard system to evaluate each candidate, ensuring fairness and minimizing biases in our assessment. This allows us to provide specific, high-quality feedback to candidates and maintain their interest in potential future collaboration.

Conclusion

Thanks to our talent acquisition strategy, we can rapidly scale our team whenever we need to hire Elixir developers. We maintain a pool of pre-vetted candidates, ensuring we can swiftly meet project demands.

Our efficient, smooth, and data-driven hiring process has established a welcoming reputation, making it easier to hire Elixir developers and attract even more talented professionals. This approach keeps us competitive in the fast-paced tech world.