
Most job specifications deliver poor results. Why?
Below are my two top tips on how to put yourself in the lead and beat the competition. 

## 1. Know what you need from an applicant and why you need it. 

How much thought have you given it? Have you had conversations with other stakeholders and advisors to make sure you’re all singing from the same hymn sheet? Have you defined it?  Have you agreed on it?

If you don’t have a distinct idea before your hiring process starts how can you ask the right questions?  Worse still what if you hire someone but you explained a different job to the one they end up doing, and they either can’t do it effectively, or they quit! 

Perhaps you fix the problem early and just waste the first batch of CVs.  Maybe you conduct multiple interviews before finding out everyone is not on the same page, and more time is wasted.  But perhaps worst of all you actually find and interview that Unicorn Poo candidate, but your lack of preparation leads to messy interviews and delays in decision making. Whilst you are scrabbling around to pick up the pieces your perfect candidate decides they are better than this and pull out. Or your rivals swooped in and steal them from under your nose.  

You’ve wasted time and money.  Your employee brand suffers due to poor candidate experience. Hiring managers grow frustrated because their input is bearing no fruit. And if you used recruitment agencies the good agencies have flagged you as a bit of a timewaster.  

So how do you avoid these pitfalls, and what should you do before you write your spec?

- Speak to all decision makers and ensure agreement on the “must haves”
- Gather ideas on the “nice to haves” too
- Write down clearly defined requirements making sure that the must haves are genuinely 100% required
- Once you have it black and white run it past those same decision makers again for final approval. 

Now you’re ready for part 2!

## 2. Know what people want and what you offer

I recently spoke to a CTO who puts together a fantastic job spec, who said “For me it’s simple, I just try to include everything I would want to know”.  If you take just one thing away from this article, make it that.

So ask yourself  “What would I want to know? What could my future employees want?  Why would they want to work here? What can we offer them?”.

That’s what attracts people. 

Start with the basics, the stuff in the benefits package.  Holiday days, remote working, location, flexibility, salary (if you aren’t including salary, ask yourself why.  Many people will never apply if you aren’t including it). 

But that’s easy, now the real work starts. What separates you from the rest. 

Think about your culture. What really keeps your employees engaged (protip:  It’s probably not the free tea and coffee!).  The best question to ask yourself is “what would the employees say they like about working here?”

- Are you the biggest brand? Or have the highest quality products?
- Are you the fastest growing in your sector? Or most stable?
- Are engineers encouraged to create high quality solutions that are only shipped when they are ready?
- What is exciting about your product?  Is it known by the person on the street? Is it an exciting area of tech?
- Are you investing heavily in to R&D?  Or taking existing products to the next level?
- Have you recently won new major clients? Are your current clients well known?
- If you’re a startup, what experience does senior management have in startup success? What’s the funding situation?  Share options? How much runway do you have?
- Do you provide training budgets, or send your engineers to conferences?
- Perhaps one of your senior team is a world renowned authority?
- Have you won employer awards?
- Do you invest in the latest tech?
- Are employees given autonomy to solve problems their own way?
- Do you have social events?
- Do you have examples of positive structural changes based on employee feedback?
- Are you award winning?
- Career progression?  (Make sure to talk about your success stories in interview, it makes it real)
- Flexible hours and remote working?
- General employee happiness?  Can you back it up with a low staff turnover?
- Unusual benefits, like personal development days, or flexible benefits, gym memberships, free fruit  (okay fine, you can talk about free tea and coffee, but only if you have a proper coffee machine… giving people a kettle and a jar of Nescafe doesn’t count, sorry).

Sure healthcare and life insurance are nice.  But it’s the rest of it that matters. ASK PEOPLE who are already doing the job what they like about it (and what you can do to improve).  Once you’ve discovered what makes your current employees excited to come in to work, shout about it!

Tell stories that back up what you are saying, and don’t be afraid to use facts and figures.

Now you are ready to write a better job specification, and every stage of your candidate pipeline will thank you for it. 

Oh, and before I forget, if you’re hiring in to Embedded Software, C or C++ spaces, you can find Sheridan on [The Scoop](https://recruiters.thescoop.co.uk/sheridan-halls).


The 2 things you need to know before writing a job specification (and how to use them)


In a recent interview with [Alpha Inclusion & Communication’s](http://alphaic.co.uk/), Amy Eleftheriades, the importance of LEGO as a means of reducing stress was explored. As so many Norfolk Developers appear to be mildly obsessed with these vibrantly coloured building objects we decided to look at the roots of their passion.

Originally a qualified teacher, Amy also has experience of working in a residential school and has always worked with young people and adults who have problems with communication. She has also spent time in Brazil working with children and exploring means of enhancing their communication skills. 

While teaching, Amy learned about LEGO based therapy that was used in California to promote and encourage communication for those on the autistic spectrum. Following on from this training, Amy quickly appreciated that LEGO has a lot to offer anyone trying to build teamwork skills as well as enhancing communication development. Amy fully believes that “LEGO is a great tool for a logical thinker.” This has led her to apply her LEGO skills to both adults and children.

![The team went on to use their LEGO experience in their workplace.](/static/images/pages/posts/2021-03-22-looking-at-lego/communication-workshops-at-alphaic.jpg)

She’s also shared her knowledge with a group of IT professionals, “Originally, it was incredible to watch these adults behaving in a very similar way in terms of mis-communication” The team went on to use their LEGO experience in their workplace. This prowess has helped Amy in the field of mental health, many adults, find LEGO a useful way of winding down - relieving stress.

## Bussing Blocks

One of the most ingenious tools used by Amy is the block bus - a converted vehicle no less. The bus is filled with all types of games and LEGO to encourage communication and therapy, this resource is beneficial to all.

Sadly, as a result of the pandemic, Alpha Inclusion’s block bus is resting but the team still carry out their training work via - you’ve guessed it, Zoom. But the company has been on a mission to source tablets and other resources  to continue its valuable work. As a Social Enterprise, funds are always tight but Norfolk Developers’ Neil Carroll has come to the rescue by advising what equipment and tech setup was needed to improve the facilities so that clients can still use the block bus and be Covid safe.

## LEGO & Developers

We also talked to Nor Dev’s Dom Davis about why so many devs love LEGO. He agreed that LEGO definitely helps with problem solving, something that most have to do in their daily coding lives, and he added: “this is a creative process but one that doesn’t require a specific skill set, but for painting, drawing or woodwork you have to have a definite skill.”  And musing about the subject, Dom added, “with LEGO you have a predefined set of components that can be combined and with programming you also have a predefined set of components that you have to put together in an interesting way - this does require a skill.” But with some advanced LEGO you will need a skill, a Bugatti hyper realistic model is a point in question. Dom also mentioned that some with dyslexia problems can also flourish with making LEGO constructions, and gain a sense of achievement that may be lacking in other facets of their lives. During his childhood Dom occupied himself with making LEGO models and he has been constructing since he was 4 years old. 

![Dom Davis at NorDevCon2020 with Alpha Inclusion & Communication.](/static/images/pages/posts/2021-03-22-looking-at-lego/dom-davis-and-alphaic-at-nordevcon-2020.jpg)

And, Tom Haczewski of [The User Story](https://www.theuserstory.com/), is another LEGO enthusiast. He also recognises the importance of using the models in helping those with communication problems. Tom also speculated that LEGO might fill the niche in a programmer's brain that wants to build things. “They are pre dispositioned to build things, as a developer everything you do is about building things from little bits to make a larger construction.” 

## Unwinding through construction

Many Devs also use LEGO to unwind, they can take time away from the screen and find satisfaction in physically constructing something. Rockets, model towns, even pink ‘girl LEGO’ can all be made and there are many levels of technical ability to suit even the most demanding of LEGO builders - the range is huge. There is even a LEGO mindstorm, which is programmable.   

Dom also suggested that one of the many reasons programmers enjoy unwinding by constructing is that “with LEGO I use the same bits of my programmer brain but not in such an intense way.” Even looking for a missing piece of LEGO entails a logical process, but Dom does feel that the building aspect is cognitively intense whereas the search for missing pieces can prove to be cathartic. Over a week Dom can indulge his passion for up to “tens of hours.” He also stressed that this is a wonderful way of engaging with his children.

![Dom Davis demonstrates LEGO Mindstorm Spirograph.](/static/images/pages/posts/2021-03-22-looking-at-lego/dom-davis-demonstrates-lego-mindstorm-spirograph.jpg)

## The spectrum

It is widely recognised that many children on the autistic spectrum excel at coding. Carrying this skill forward to adulthood helps them find their place in a world that’s often very confusing and noisy. Talking about this to Tom, he suggested that “many on the spectrum like order and predictability and LEGO gives people the ability to be creative through using a specific set of parameters ” 

Tom also agreed with Dom that LEGO does act as a tool for relieving stress. “By following the LEGO instructions, you have to concentrate on these and then your mind is diverted from some of the problems you mightn’t necessarily want to think about.”

LEGO isn’t just a toy or plaything, it really can enrich and enhance your life..

***

Amy Eleftheriades joined us last week to discuss Emotional Regulation and her Top Tips for being ok. Catch it all on the
YouTubes, and don't forget to give us a like and subscribe whilst you're there 😉

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Looking at LEGO


## A community, for the community, by the community. That's the philosophy!

I'd like to take some time to talk about this. To get the ideas out there and share the aspiration with the community.

It's been said before, but it bears repeating: When Shaun and I grabbed the reins from Paul it was in ignorance, it took us some time to get up to speed and the Conference was a much needed deadline and a baptism of fire. It served as a very quick introduction to sourcing talks and organising events for the community.

It was stressful, but unbelievably rewarding! The feedback we received and seeing everyone, together, exchanging their stories and experience was great. The network that this community creates is phenomenal and immensely powerful, not only bringing together people working in the industry to help and learn from each other, but also inspiring those cursed with the ever present [impostor syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) to take the leap and apply for both their first role and their next!

We followed that into lockdown with another learning exercise: Virtual Events. In 2020 we've been physically distanced but we have aspired not to be socially distanced, ensuring that no-one was too far away from help, support, or a friendly face. Increasingly over the course of 2020 it became clear that Norfolk Developers could not only serve as a place to exchange knowledge but also be the watercooler around which an increasingly isolated community could come together.

Over the course of this year our idea to make the community more and more decentralised has taken fruition!

Looking forward to how we get there, you may have noticed the @nordev-event-bot yelling occasionally on Discord. Or, the fairly pre-formatted Social Media posts? We have been making strides towards the automations required.

![Let's Go Build a Bot](/static/images/pages/posts/2021-02-15-decentralise-all-the-things/lets-go-build-a-bot.jpg)

Dom spent January’s #WednesdayStreams building the foundation of @nordev-event-bot#v2. This was extended into February to kick off 2021 with a focus.

Let's build those Tools together!

Behind @nordev-event-bot is some software driving the social media posts and the bot’s occasional yells. It also holds a catalogue of our events and a schedule for posting about them. It’s a foundation. Next we need a Member system and a way of enabling those members to subscribe to custom notifications and publishing their own events. Seen something that interests you? We want you to have the autonomy and tools to bring it to the wider community.

### TL;DR: We're increasingly moving toward a self organising community. We're building the tools we need; enabling any member of the community to add an event to the calendar and automatically publishing to social channels.


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