Thoughts on hiring – prologue

I get to talk to a lot of companies in town and a lot of developers. And one of the things I hear most frequently about is the job market.

Developers want higher pay without having to commute to Toronto. Companies in town have trouble finding developers, particularly more advanced and senior developer talent. Mohawk graduates tend to stay in Hamilton for a few years after graduating before heading towards Toronto/K-W… Hamilton’s market has even been jokingly referred to as a “farm team”. And McMaster graduates generally don’t stay at all.

It’s a pretty complicated ball of yarn to untangle, so I hesitate to try to explain anything or offer any advice to any of the parties involved. Every business is a little different and so is every career path. There’s many interacting and constantly changing variables. There’s a lot of subjectivity.

It’s easy to say “well companies just need to pay more”, but maybe that just isn’t an option. Usually when I meet with a founder / CEO of a company in town, they’re not rolling up in a Mercedes-Benz. When we’re talking about wages it’s a personal thing too, in that we’re talking about people’s lives and career paths that they’re very passionate about.

It’s a hard problem. A really hard problem. And it’s a big thing lately.

All that said… I may write the odd article on this topic going forward. It’s something I’m pretty involved with. I hire people, I help people hire, I train people that are hired by companies, I have a little job board to help people hiring people to hire people, etc. Might as well try to offer advice where I can!

If others have advice, feel free to submit an article too. The more perspectives the better.