Lewis Prescott

🚀 Calling All .NET Developers! 🚀 As a recruiter specialising in connecting talented .NET developers with top Software Development Managers, I've seen thousands of CVs. The reality? Most recruiters spend just 6-7 seconds scanning a CV. That’s not a lot of time to make a great impression! Here are some key tips to make your CV stand out: Keep It Concise 📝 Aim for a CV that’s 1-2 pages long. Highlight your most recent and relevant experience first. Remember, quality over quantity! Tailor Your CV 🎯 Customise your CV for each role. Mention specific technologies or frameworks relevant to the job, like ASP.NET, C#, or Azure. This shows you’ve done your homework! Highlight Achievements, Not Just Duties 🌟 Focus on your accomplishments. Did you reduce load times by 30%? Lead a team to successfully deploy a major feature? Make sure these achievements shine through. Use Keywords Strategically 🔑 Many recruiters use ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems). Include keywords from the job description to pass these systems and catch the recruiter’s eye. Showcase Your Soft Skills 💼 Technical skills are crucial, but so are communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Include examples that demonstrate these abilities. Remember, your CV is your first introduction to a potential employer. Make it count! 🏆 Curious about the latest trends in .NET development or looking for your next big opportunity? Let’s connect and have a chat! 🤝 #NETDevelopers #CVTips #Recruitment #SoftwareDevelopment #TechJobs #CareerAdvice #DotNet #TechRecruiter #SoftwareDevelopment #Hiring #TechJobs #TechRecruitment #UKJobs #csharp #dotnetdevelopers #dotnetdevelopment #ITrecruitment #softwaredevelopers

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Hey all you amazing engineers - Check this out ⬇️⬇️⬇️ In a surprising twist, Jellyfish’s latest engineering management report has revealed some eye-opening trends in our tech world. A whopping 90% of engineers—from code wizards to DevOps believe their teams are key players in shaping business strategy. Yet, a staggering 66% of them have faced burnout in the past year. Talk about running on empty! 📉 But that's not all. Despite the recent waves of layoffs in tech, 60% of engineering managers and executives are waving red flags over a talent drought. They’re finding it tougher than ever to scoop up the qualified candidates they need. It seems like even the brightest minds need a bit of a recharge these days. 🌟💻 Check out the full scoop here! Jellyfish ThinkBIG https://lnkd.in/emrRBhDy

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Let's talk compensation for interviewing...💬 Tech tests and live coding defiantly splits the community down the middle but yesterday I saw something I've not seen before, this particular company offer a £50 voucher for completing their technical task as they appreciate your time is valuable. 💰 🤝 Some would say if you want to go through an interview process you have to accept that you have to give up some of your time. 🤔 ⏳ Is this something that should be the norm? Share your thoughts below. 👇 #interviewprocess #compensation #technicaltasks #technicaltests

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Elixir & Erlang Hiring Managers!! I’m looking to speak with clients with live roles that require on-site presence, how is your hiring coming along?? Drop me a message if you have some free time #elixir #erlang

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Are reference checks redundant? Suppose you've got a robust recruitment process for hiring software engineers, hiring managers who are confident in their decision-making, and group consensus from the team. Is there a need for referee checks? It's rare to receive transparent feedback from a referee, mainly because, in my opinion, people fear that that feedback will be exposed. Manual/electronic reports are now the norm, so you have to pick your words wisely. Referee checks conducted over the phone are the most effective medium; they enable both parties to be more candid and phrase things appropriately, but they are arguably less time-effective. The solution? -Fine-tune your recruitment process so you can confidently assess eq/culture/tech skills within a 2-3 stage process, -Upskill hiring managers around recruitment, communication & decision-making, -Ensure your TA, HR, & external recruitment partners are doing their due diligence and deeply understand the profile of candidates that work best in your environment and are doing adequate upfront qualification. On the candidate side, I'm a big proponent of requesting a written recommendation from your direct manager or somebody responsible for your work during your exit from the business. Request to add that to your LinkedIn profile or a separate recommendation doc you can attach to your CV. This will give your next employer more context, help your profile stand out, streamline the process, and alleviate the need to take up previous employers' valuable time. #refereechecks #softwarengineers #recruitment

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💡Advertising your Senior DevOps/SRE role online is not the most effective starting point in your recruitment process💡 I spoke to 7 Engineering managers last week who said that it was taking over 6 months to fill their senior level DevOps & SRE roles🤯 All of them had advertised their positions online as a first port of call and therefore expected a healthy flow of suitable applicants to be available within a few working days👀 Some were not even allowed to do anything else until the advert had been live for 2 weeks!😓 Last week I highlighted the issues of the current high volume of applications organisations are receiving🛑 For such business critical & specific requirement roles, this approach impacts: Candidate experience, due to lack of feedback😊😕 Time lost going through volume applications⌚ The ability to really communicate what the role is📌 Opportunity to spend on other recruitment activities🤔💭 Talent teams already stacked workload🥵 Ability to engage with the target market😕 Instead, before posting your business critical SRE/DevOps role, consider: Leveraging your own network first📞🙂 Reengage with candidates previously interviewed that performed well🤝 Allow talent teams or suppliers to actively headhunt first🎯 Work out how many people within the market have the skills you require to see if advertising will even be useful🗺️ Give these activities enough time to produce results⌚ Senior level DevOps & SRE roles will not apply to a wide variety of the market given the specific skills and unique experience each organisation requires📃 Therefore, before limiting your approach and risking company reputation, organisations need to prioritise other methods to tap into their target profiles📈 The right person for the position may never see the advert; it is crucial to go to the market and not wait for it to come to you😎 #devops #sre #seniorhires #tethr #cloud

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There's so many career paths within Software Development, and if you're just starting out, it can be conflicting on deciding on the path to take. Here's a brief outline of some of the niches within development you could do based on conversations I've been having… 💫 Web dev - specialise in building web apps and websites, you'll most likely use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript 💫 Mobile Devs - focus on creating apps for smart phones and tablets - iOS and Android 💫 Frontend Devs - work on the user interface 💫 Backend Devs - work on the server-side of applications and focus on functionality 💫 Full Stack Devs - work on both the front-end and back-end 💫 DevOps - you are bridging the gap between development and operations If you're looking for your next software dev role, pop me a message ✨ #SoftwareDevelopment #Programming #Frontend #Backend #FullStack

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DevOps Engineering salaries can wildly vary. Yes there's always the nuance of how much each candidate contributes, but in several cases what one Snr engineer does in a company vs another can have a salary flux of up to 45k. Crazy, right! Following a very successful brief with an amazing FinTech, we were set the task of finding the very best DevOps Engineers for sub £80k. With a confidence configuring AWS environments, using Terraform (& either Python or Go) on a regular basis, as well as good knowledge of ECS or Kubernetes. The down side for any agency is you produce a stellar shortlist - honestly all 6 could have been hired and each have been vetted and referenced - so we know they're great. However only one candidate prevails but leaves 5+ incredible profiles eager to find their next adventure. We've new briefs coming on board thankfully but if there are others in my extended network that have struggled to find top DevOps talent at a sensible price range reach out & we can discuss what's realistic in the market and even demo a few of those amazing profiles I'm talking about. #DevOps #HybridLondon #RemoteUK #IncredibleTalent #Kureos

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What’s the JavaScript market like?? Is a question asked on pretty much every call I have at the moment. ✅ The JavaScript market is slowly bouncing back. We’ve seen an increase in job flow, also in direct adverts from both agency and client side which is great ( mostly on perm ). An uptick in perm roles is usually a good indicator of a strong market and contract will soon be to follow. Candidates are getting involved in multiple processes at once. ✅ Time to hire still seems slow. Interviews are taking longer and feedback is delayed. Clients are saying they are wanting to hire but wont move promptly on signing things off/starting the processes or making offers. ✅ There are more experienced candidates on the market. A lot of contracts weren’t extended so there are more people looking. ✅ Seasoned contractors are more open to taking an interesting perm role. In short, things are slowly but surely improving. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions. #hiring #JavaScript #UK

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Software, DevOps & Platform Engineers you are selling yourselves short🗣️ I have received roughly 40 resumes this week since offering to give advice and feedback. I learnt a lot during this process, especially when people are applying for positions more than ever, and the need to stand out is crucial. My biggest observation was that it took me too long to understand the following⬇️ What are your specialisms? Where have you made or had an impact in your role? Which key technologies have you been using regularly? What do you want to be seen as? ➡️This is a biggie What soft skills do you have? Too may resumes make it difficult for the reader to actually understand what you are doing and what you are good at. Make it easy for people to see HOW YOU CAN ADD VALUE Drop me a message if you want some feedback on your resume📩 I will come back to you as quickly as possible.

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SRE vs DevOps... I once got into a bit of a debate with a manager over the differences between SRE and a DevOps Engineers. His view was very much "they're one in the same" which I couldn't wrap my head around... It very much felt like a spotlight moment... Like I had Chris Tarrant sat opposite me (Sorry Jeremy). My stance and understanding from my time is kind of, what it says on the tin... Ensures uptimes, availability and robustness (i.e. reliability) of the Product and it's Infrastructure. His was very much no they need to be able to work across multiple domains and be able to code. As a consultant, Shock... I'll consult to partners what the market dictates, trends and help improve their processes but I've known a few DevOps and SRE interviews ask for coding tests and I often have to ask what the actual requirement is and if it dictates that? I get it if that's required and that skillset is necessary but then I would question calling that an SRE... I know it's always up for debate but keen to hear other peoples two cents or if I've got the wrong angle here... Alec Bruce-GardyneKim O'CallaghanBecca CoombesConnor AndrewsMaryann McGeeSteve BowenGeorge AldridgeAdam HolmesRichard Morrish

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Feeling the same way? Recruitment today mirrors the challenges of software engineering in the past. We're flooded with messages from talented individuals seeking jobs, yet we can't always respond immediately due to the sheer volume. This echoes the experience of software engineers who once faced a similar inbox overload but lacked the time or interest to reply to all. #Hiring #JobSearch #LinkedIn Let's remember to exercise patience and understanding. While our intention is to reply promptly, sometimes it may take a little longer. As we navigate through these messages, let's maintain a friendly and respectful approach. In the bustling world of hiring, kindness is just as important as efficiency!

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Weekly Interview Tip #1 - Software Engineers say 'I', not 'We' ❌ Let me explain... I receive a ton of feedback from #mobile managers but this advice applies across the Tech industry. One of the most common things I hear is that a lot of developers are used to saying what they did as a team in their last company, rather than their own successes and impact on projects. This does not only relate to interviews, but in fact what they write in the CV ✍ Currently, the market is saturated and it is hard to stand out. Especially if you come from a bigger sized team, you are more expected to accentuate on the impact you specifically had over projects. Does this mean the word 'we' is banned entirely? Not at all! It is good to speak about your experience working in a team and even cross-functionally with other departments. However, it should always be followed up with the specific impact you've had including these key things: 1. Metrics - stats surrounding your impact, e.g. crash-free rate/testing coverage 🔢 2. Result - what have your actions led to in the short and long term? 😊 3. Lessons - it is ok for things to not go ok, but what did you learn from this? 🧐 So say more 'I' and be proud of what you've done! #mobile #ios #android #londontech #tech #techinterview #mobileinterview #mobileapp #interviewtips #interview #softwareengineer #softwareengineering #techdevjobs #techjobs #techhiring #hiring #recruitment

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When recruiting for roles within Software Engineering it can be hard to find the necessary skills due to their availability... however, there are a few programming languages that make that search even harder 👀 Go, C & R can be the bane of your life when they are a requirement 🥵 I'd always recommend to Go Engineers that they put "Golang" in their CV over Go as it's an easily searchable phrase via a boolean. When it comes to C & R - I don't have a clue how you can make yourself more visible on searches when it comes to recruiters finding your CV. So until I find that solution, the below will be my reaction to seeing a C & R requirement come through the inbox 🤣 Any tips? #recruitment #C #R #software #Go #Golang

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💡 5 Top Tips for Recruiting Software Engineers – Key Takeaways from Sarah James-O'Connell Blog Recruiting top software engineering talent can be challenging, but it doesn’t always have to be. In Sarah’s article, she shares practical strategies to elevate your recruitment efforts. Here’s a quick summary of the key points: 𝟏️. 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 - Go beyond technical skills - consider cultural fit and soft skills. - Craft clear and engaging job descriptions that reflect your company’s values. 𝟐️. 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 - Show off what makes your company a great place to work. - Highlight growth opportunities, exciting projects, and your team culture. 𝟑️. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 - A smooth and efficient process makes a great impression. - Reduce unnecessary steps and keep communication transparent. 𝟒️. 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 - Stay ahead of the market by offering attractive salaries and perks. - Tailor benefits to what software engineers truly value—flexibility, learning opportunities, and impactful work. 𝟓. 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬 - Meet engineers where they are tech communities and events. - Leverage tech-focused recruiters to widen your reach. 🌟 Pro Tip: Focusing on your employer brand not only attracts top talent but also improves retention. Engineers want to feel aligned with your mission and motivated by your work environment. Dive deeper into these tips and discover actionable insights to supercharge your hiring strategy in the full blog post: Read the full article, and link found in the comments. #Recruitment #SoftwareEngineers #HiringTips #TechRecruitment #EmployerBranding

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📢 Wednesday Rant: Shocking Behaviour Alert! 📢 I just received a message from a Test Manager seeking a new role, asking how much I charge for a meeting! If there are recruiters out there charging for this type of service, it is absolutely shocking behaviour! Needless to say, I have booked a meeting with this person this week, and I will not be charging them! As recruiters, it's part of our job to speak with clients and candidates alike to get to know them and understand what they are looking for in their next role, and what clients are looking for in their next hire (company culture, values, etc.). If anyone else in my network or beyond is being charged for this service, please reach out to me. Rant over 😊 #Recruitment #JobSearch #WednesdayRant #ClientService #CandidateExperience #experisinsights #EthicalRecruitment

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⁉️Are DevOps teams being noticed and recognised fairly within organisations⁉️ A number of DevOps Engineers & Managers explained to me that sometimes being a DevOps Engineer can be a thankless task😓 When you perform well, everything is ticking along perfectly and nobody notices😶‍🌫️ However when things go wrong, the DevOps team are the first to come under fire and receive criticism🤬 A bit like an analogy I saw that describes a DevOps team as the screen writers, video editors and camera crew behind the scenes producing a movie🎥 Without them there would be no film, but very few actually acknowledge their work unless it goes wrong😕 The psychological safety, motivation and happiness of DevOps teams is directly impacted by this issue, and organisations must ensure that they are addressing it immediately⚠️ DevOps Engineers are crucial to any organisation that they are a part of, and if your business does not treat them fairly and give appropriate recognition they will move to somewhere that does👋 If there is anyone in the DevOps space that currently feels this way or has observed this before, and would like to speak please feel free to message me directly on here. #devops #recognition #teams #psychologicalsafety

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A few weeks ago I spoke with a CTO that had been looking for an Embedded Software Engineer for 4 months. 🧐 They had tried to advertise the position on multiple channels -> 100+ applications -> 3 interviews -> 0 hires. 😶 They had tried to work with three recruitment agencies -> 13 CVs received -> 3 interviews -> 0 hires. 😑 Yesterday afternoon the only candidate I submitted, was hired. 😶‍🌫️ What was the difference? A 30 minutes long scheduled and prepared discovery meeting vs "I don't have time for a call" given to the other agencies. ✅ After the meeting, I understood the company, their mission, their culture and what type of candidate would fit perfectly in their team. 😊 This allowed me to present the company as if it was my own, while the other agencies only knew what keywords to put into LinkedIn recruiter. 😎 If you "spray and pray" your vacancy to recruiters, they will "spray and pray" it to the market and will then "spray and pray" you with irrelevant or mediocre CVs. 😑 Minimising communication will not save you any time. ✅ Instead, choose a niche recruiter specialised in what you're hiring for -> set up a discovery call -> and be positively surprised. In every industry in the world, customers try to maximise value and minimise time wasted for the money they spend. 👇 In recruitment, customers try to minimise value and maximise time wasted for the money they spend. Why? 😶😶 #recruitment #embedded #embeddedsoftware #embeddedsystems #embeddedjobs #talentacquisition #hiring #techology

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🤨🤯Why an organisation receiving very high volumes of applications for their DevOps/SRE roles can be counter productive🤯🤨 Yesterday I posted about the challenges organisations, and in particular Talent teams face when receiving high volumes of applications on their job postings😵 ⌚Time spent scrolling through applications that are nearly 90% not matching the job brief is not bringing businesses closer to filling those hard to fill vacancies Seeing your latest DevOps or SRE role receive high applications doesn't mean the market is rife with the perfect candidates just waiting to be called❌ ❓How can this be resolved & what measures should be taken❓ 🤓Organisations should take more time to tighten up their job adverts to make it crystal clear what is expected in the role 📃Do not post an exhaustive list of every tech stack going that creates ambiguity on what is actually required encouraging more people to apply ⚙️Be clear about the technical level/standard required for each skill - be honest about what is actually essential to be able to fulfil the role and do not mislead people on this (you will only reject them at technical interview stage) ❌STOP rolling ads "to see who is available" when the vacancy isn't signed off or live - this creates a situation that encourages people to "just apply and see what comes back" because they don't know what they may or may hear back from - it is polluting the job advert space & you won't hire anyone if it is not approved 📞Go back to everyone who has not been successful with feedback as to why - you posted the ad and wanted the response, it is only fair that people know why they haven't progressed 🙏Be honest about the role, environment and expectations, an job description should not be designed to draw people in with a fluffy non-realistic version of what the candidate will face walking through the door - If it is a hectic role with high expectations say it! 🧠Instead of posting your business critical DevOps/SRE roles as the first action, leverage your network, go back to past interviewees that performed well, and do some active headhunting - it is often the case that the right person for the role won't even know about the job unless you find them 🤖Candidates don't use AI to automate your job application process - your next job is one of the most important decisions you will make, so use your own brain to do so Job postings and adverts used to be a highly successful way for clients and candidates to find the perfect match for both parties. However with the vague and volume adverts that are not monitored or nurtured properly it is encouraging a free for all where people feel the need to apply for as much as possible just to get a few replies; and this is not good. Businesses need to address this and think more before posting an advert because it is doing more damage than good; but if done properly, and other measures are taken alongside this then I can guarantee this will benefit everyone😁

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