Frappe ramped up hiring last year to scale up our engineering teams. Over the years, we have interviewed 100s of applicants and in the process developed some "taste" for how to hire for Frappe.
We also routinely receive feedback about how hard it is to find good Frappe engineers. This post summarises the same advice that we've given to those struggling to hire Frappe engineers.
1. Don't just hire "Frappe Engineers"
Remove the arbitrary requirement of prior experience with the Frappe framework. Frappe framework is a low-code framework designed to be easy to learn. Most good engineers out there who have the background knowledge of web development and scripting languages will be able to learn the Frappe Framework in less than one month.
While I understand the need to find someone who can contribute from the first day, be mindful of how much time and effort you're spending while trying to find that perfect person. The same time and effort can be utilised to hire and train someone who has potential.
We recommend evaluating candidates using relevant skills - scripting languages like Python/JavaScript, strong foundational computer science, database modelling and querying. You can check our job description.
2. Don't shy away from hiring people with different backgrounds
If you're looking to hire Frappe engineers to build business apps and large customisations, then you also need people who understand the business domain. Understanding and having primary experience of a particular domain lets engineers empathise with the end user and the problem.
Fun facts:
- Frappe Framework was created by Rushabh, who doesn't have a formal CS degree.
- India compliance is built by Sagar (BCom) and Smit Vora (CA), both of whom don't have CS degrees.
- Current Frappe UI and Frappe Drive maintainers don't have a CS degree.
This list is not exhaustive; there are numerous such examples inside Frappe and the community. Programming has become an essential skill, and practically everyone can acquire it, so don't just limit yourself to hiring from the CS/IT graduates pool. Look for programmer vibe instead.
3. Do things that don't scale
At Frappe, we screen all resumes manually. We get 100s of applicants, but the only way to make sure we don't miss these amazing candidates is by having engineers screen the resumes to do a preliminary vibe check. Avoid using ATS or giving a checklist to someone else to screen resumes.
In my opinion, if you want to get better at hiring engineers, then your best engineers need to be involved in the process from an early stage. Screening 100 resumes @ 1 minute per resume takes <2 hours!
4. Be active in programming communities
Good programmers love to discuss and show off their work on online communities. Find the community where your next engineer is most likely spending time. These could be local developer communities or open source communities. Frappe's official forums are also a great place to find talent.
Your participation in the community has to be authentic and not with the sole intent of hiring someone or marketing your brand. We have found excellent engineers from Frappe and FOSS United communities in past.
5. Build a long-term sustainable talent pipeline
Once you're hired your first few engineers and have engineers who can mentor others, it's time to invest in building a talent pipeline for the future. If you wish to expand your team in future, offering internships and/or hiring freshers and training them is a great way to be future-ready.
Best partners in the Frappe ecosystem like Aerele have achieved this by partnering with a local college and offering internships. This is also a great way to invest in your local communities.
--
Hiring Frappe engineers is likely not as hard as you think, and it's getting easier day by day. I hope some of these tips come in handy with your hiring efforts.
