How to find a job as a Ruby or React developer

I am a team leader of Explore Group, one of Le Wagon London's hiring partners! I oversee the day to day activities of a team of specialist Ruby and React consultants who focus on placing talented devs in a range of companies, big and small. I thought I'd share some insight into the job market and some advice with you.

My name is Armani and I manage the permanent digital recruitment division at Explore Group. We are leading IT and Digital recruitment specialists with a strong reputation within the Ruby and React markets. We're a team of driven recruiters who cover a variety of markets with Ruby, Front End (React), Python, and Data Science being just a few. Each market has a team of consultants within it who solely work in that market in order to develop a wide network of candidates and clients. We work with every type of company. One man bands, right through to global organisations across most industries.

You'll be re-assured to know that we have our own bespoke training academy which teaches our consultants both how to recruit and what to look for. Ultimately though, there is little you can “look for” when finding Ruby developers. We're always trying to immerse ourselves in the community, so if you're looking for a job and want to make yourself known, do the same - talk to people! Recruiters want to find out what you've been doing, who you've worked for, what projects you've contributed to and so on. It doesn't need to be super formal!

You're probably wondering what 'talent' actually means as a Junior dev? Don't worry - everyone is a “quality” candidate. It all depends on what a company is looking for at that particular time. No candidate is ever discarded or written off in our case. It could simply be that there are no roles that suit a skill set at a moment in time, but there almost certainly will be in the future. Companies tend to be impressed by a proactive mindset, enthusiasm and want to know the way you think, to see if it suits the role.

Everyone is different in life, and it is the same when it comes to a candidate’s experience.

At Explore, we only specialise in markets that are both niche, and in demand. There is always a high demand for Ruby developers and Python developers are hard to come by at the moment. I would say that currently, these two skills are the most in demand at the moment but it’s definitely only marginal and could change any minute. Keep learning new languages to keep your skillset current.

We’ve worked with Le Wagon for the past year now and have been to both the hiring days they’ve done so far - we loved meeting so many brilliant graduates in one afternoon. We've worked with a number of candidates who've completed the bootcamp and so we've quickly understood the value of it! What people can achieve in just 9 weeks is awesome, and we love the fact that nearly every profile is different.

That’s the beauty of it. People have come from different backgrounds, yet they’re all keen to enter the world of software or web development.

Also, get social! The Ruby community is brilliant. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of it for the past 5 years.

It’s tight knit and there are a variety of characters within it, but ultimately, the passion that people have for Ruby certainly shines through. They’re proud to be Ruby developers and are always keen to help each other out.

The time it takes to place juniors vs seniors is something people ask us a lot, and it varies every time. There is no “common process” or rule. It all depends on the company, candidate and market conditions, and actually most hiring processes have a set time to fill a role, so don't worry about your level and whether that'll affect your job hunt timeframe! Just keep meeting people.

If you're wondering about what makes you Junior, Mid-level and Senior, we tend to see Junior as 2 years experience, Mid as 3-4 and Senior by around 5.

For the job market, there’s certainly a trend towards remote working at the moment. The more days working from home a week that a role offers, the more attractive it is and so we'll help you find this. Most companies understand that the project and work is important too, and quite rightly. We've found that developers want to enjoy what they do and want to feel like they’re making an impact or a difference. If the project doesn’t make you feel like that, in our experience people tend not to hang around that long, so make sure it's something that excites you!

Keep going, don’t give up. It can be a frustrating market at times as it is highly competitive but ultimately, with hard work, dedication and persistence, you’ll get the job you want.