How to Hire Golang Developers: Guide for Tech Recruiters

Golang developers are among the most sought-after specialists in international ratings (TIOBE, PYPL). However, in the ITExpert team’s experience, the search for Golang developers is one of the most challenging cases faced by recruiters in the entire IT field.

Why is that? The Golang programming language, or simply Go was developed by Google. It is used in almost every company’s product, from Gmail and Google Pay to Kubernetes and Docker. Large companies are also actively using Go to create their apps and services. For instance, you can find it in Uber, Dropbox, Medium, Salesforce, Netflix, IBM, and Twitter project stacks. That is why hiring a Go developer is also about competing with international giants and small start-ups.

How to attract the best staff for your Golang project and select experienced candidates? Let’s find out in the article by ITExpert.

Bonus: the list of useful Boolean search queries is mentioned here, too.

Golang developer: who are them, and what are the main responsibilities

A Go developer is a specialist who creates programs using the Golang programming language. Google developed it in 2007, and since then, the language has gained popularity among programmers worldwide. It combines simplicity and efficiency and is designed to create high-performance and reliable software.

Why both Go candidates and Tech Leads favor this language:

1. Code simplicity. When developing apps using Golang, there is no need for a large number of lines of code. That’s why developers can save time for more important tasks.

2. Used for complex solutions. Only some programming languages can be used for multifunctional systems. Golang is one of them.

3. Cross-platform software development. Go supports multiple platforms, including Linux, macOS, and Windows.

4. Reliability. Many blockchain projects and platforms like Ethereum use Golang. They implemented this language in smart contracts, decentralized apps (DApps), and blockchain infrastructure development.

5. Ease of maintenance. Many code maintenance tasks in Golang can be automated, including code import and formatting, refactoring, and looking up definitions.

Many companies that once started creating the backend of a large-scale project in PHP have already switched or are planning to use the Golang programming language. This transition is especially relevant if the business is scaling; it is needed to achieve a high level of web performance; the project runs into the cloud; and a web app includes a lot of concurrent connections. For this reason, responsible tasks related to product growth fall on the shoulders of Go developers, while employers are focused on hiring experienced professionals.

Golang developers’ skillset

To start working as a Golang Developer, you must know programming and have Go expertise. Here are some key skills and knowledge required for a Golang developer to look for in the perfect CV and candidate experience description:

• Knowledge of the basic principles of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) and understanding of SOLID.
• Knowledge of algorithms and data structures.
• Experience with databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL).
• Experience with network protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP).
• Understanding the concepts of asynchronous and parallel programming.
• Knowledge of code testing and performance optimization tools.
• Experience writing scripts (Shell/Bash).
• Knowledge of microservices.
• Experience with Git.

Pro Tip: When hiring a developer, pay attention to their values and cultural fit. This way, you will understand how candidates are excellent team players and whether they conform to your company’s values. Here, you can find more information about how to build a recruiting strategy.

How to attract Golang developers on the limited talent market: 4 tips

The number of developers is constantly growing. According to Statista, the projected number of IT engineers in 2024 will reach 28.7 million people. And even they are not enough to meet the growing demand for Go developers.

So, how do you find professionals and draw their interest in your job offer? We’ve shared expert advice below.

#1 Create a catchy job description

It’s important to take into account that Go is a relatively young programming language. This means there is a limited number of Golang developers all over the world. Moreover, when hiring Senior Golang specialists, the war for talent between recruiters becomes even more fierce. If you plan to innovate your product with Go, hiring a Golang programmer can be a real challenge.

A well-crafted vacancy description has already been successful in recruiting developers by 20–30%. IT people strongly emphasize the tech stack, project objectives, team structure, and the company’s achievements (the number of users, products, or awards).

Here is an example of an engrossing description:

#2 Maximize the profit from sourcing platforms

Prepare different options for Boolean search queries for Golang developers and commit them to your sourcing strategy. Here are some examples:

• Experience with cloud technologies: Golang AND (AWS OR Azure OR GCP OR “Google Cloud” OR “Amazon web services”)
• Knowledge of microservices: Golang AND (microservices OR Kafka OR RabbitMQ OR SQS)
• Awareness of message queues: Golang AND (Kafka OR RabbitMQ OR “message queues”)
• NoSQL databases among skills: Golang AND (MongoDB OR Redis OR PostgreSQL OR Cassandra OR DynamoDB)

Important! Golang could be shortened to “Go.” Please, avoid using this word in your queries, as it has various meanings. Otherwise, you will encounter numerous irrelevant profiles in your search results.

#3 Build your network

The Golang community is smaller than the rest. In addition, there are just a few specialized channels for searching for professionals. You might not find enough candidates if you were searching for Go developers only on standard job boards. Therefore, to effectively hire a Go developer, you must consider networking for your company. That could be:

• personal connections of managers and recruiters;
• participation in professional events, where you can meet Golang developers and try to headhunt them in the future;
• market presence of the company: from the publications in media and reports at conferences to forming your own community.

Sometimes, professionals from your network are not supposed to join your team but can recommend other candidates on the market. According to LinkedIn research, 80% of specialists see networking as a crucial component of their career. And Dou community says that 22% of tech professionals found their employer with the help of recommendations or a recruiter they knew.

Networking is resource-hungry, but it will definitely show its result!

#4 Involve experts

The skills and resources of the internal team may prove insufficient, while the candidate base and recruitment tools are limited, and attracting additional resources is very costly. Then, IT recruitment agencies can give a second wind to your hiring. They boost your results, expand your talent pipeline, and find and attract rare candidates, even if they don’t have profiles on popular platforms. Having aggregated various resources, external professionals will provide you with relevant CVs in just a few days.

Go developer HR-screening questions

Recruiters process responses from developers and conduct screening interviews with candidates. It helps to create a list of the most suitable applicants and schedule a communication with hiring managers. But in fact, just asking, “What is your level of expertise in Golang?” is an inadequate approach. This uninformative question could provoke miscommunication, not a transparent candidate assessment.

What should you ask instead:

• How many years of experience do you have with commercial development using Go? How many of those years are specifically related to backend development?
• How would you describe your experience in developing microservices? How long have you been working with them? Have you built individual microservices or an entire microservice infrastructure?
• What message brokers have you used?
• Do you have experience with high-load projects? Please, describe it. Can you provide specific numbers to help us understand the scale?

❗️ This is an example of questions for a screening interview with Golang Developer, which can serve you during the start of vacancy analysis. However, your hiring manager is the best source of information. Ask for details and approve questions for effective recruitment results.

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