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OUR AREAS OF SPECIALITY

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C++ & Embedded

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Data Science and Business Intelligence

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DevOps & Infrastructure

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Functional

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Java & Big Data

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Javascript

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Microsoft Technologies

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Mobile & Product

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PHP, Ruby on Rails & Python

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Scrum Master and Project Management

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Testing & QA

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT Sigmar

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We love IT :)

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140+ Industry Experts

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Part of a network of 250+ offices across Europe

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45+ Independent Awards for Recruitment Excellence & Workplace Culture

RELOCATING TO GERMANY

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WORTH A READ

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What To Expect in a Developer Interview

What To Expect in a Developer Interview

Interviews are the gateway to landing your dream job, but for most people interviews are a stressful and uncomfortable endeavour. You finally have your chance to impress a prospective employer and secure that golden opportunity, but unnerving thoughts and doubts begin to make you nervous. Nerves are to be expected, but if you let them overcome you, they could dampen your chances of securing the job that you may well have the skills and expertise for. What is the best way to ease your apprehension? Being prepared. Having an understanding of the overall interview process, the types of questions asked and what is expected of you will not only enable you to be more prepared, but it will serve to quieten some of them unsettling anxieties. So, what should you expect from a ‘typical’ developer interview? Every company has their own way of doing things and the procedure may differ slightly depending on the role that you are, but a lot of companies follow a similar process. The interview process tends to comprise of one or two phone interviews, followed by up to four on-site face-to-face interviews. The initial phone interviews are used to simply screen candidates to assess whether they are worth meeting in person. The first of the two phone interviews (or first half of the interview, if there is only one) will ask primarily behavioural questions. Behavioural questions are not designed to challenge you; they’re used to get you talking and to make you feel comfortable. Big open-ended questions are often asked such as “talk me through your CV” or “tell me about a challenging project you worked on”. The questions are designed to help HR professionals get a feel for you, the type of person you are and whether you’re a good fit with the company. Some light technical questions may also be posed asking you about your relevant coding knowledge, database expertise and so on. Following the initial phone screenings, you may be invited in-house for a series of face-to-face interviews with the appropriate members of the team. Large companies such as Facebook, Microsoft and Google hold four face-to-face interviews lasting approximately forty-five minutes each. These interviews primarily focus on your technical abilities with only one focusing on your behavioural traits and/or culture fit with the respective company. The technical interviews are a means of evaluating your problem-solving skills. The interviewer wants to see if you can translate your thought-process into reasonably correct, well-structured code. You will be asked a coding/algorithm question and be expected to write, test and optimize code often using a whiteboard, with some companies offering a laptop instead. Having a foundation in data structures and algorithms is really important. These are fundamental concepts, like binary search trees and breadth-first search. You will also be asked to develop an optimal algorithm for your code. It’s important to note that your code and algorithm does not need to be flawless. It is your approach and methodology that is being evaluated. Once the technical side of the interviews are complete, you will be given time to ask questions that you may have regarding the role or company or whatever may be on your mind. This is what a ‘typical’ developer interview process is like. However, every company is different. A great resource to discover the interview process for the position that you are applying for is Glassdoor. Here you can read what other applicants experienced with sections offering advice and types of questions asked.
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6 Common CV Mistakes For Developers

6 Common CV Mistakes For Developers

The software development industry is booming with a wide array of multinational companies actively seeking qualified and skilled developers. However, due to the highly technical and specific nature of these job roles, it can be difficult to find the right candidate for the job. So, what is the best way to help HR professionals and recruiters match you with a vacant position? A well written CV that accurately showcases your skills and expertise. You have the right skills for the job, but does the recruiter or HR professional know you do? Avoid these common pitfalls when crafting your CV. 1. Listing all your work experience Recruiters and HR professionals read countless CVs, having multiple pages of irrelevant content will only work against you. Try not to write an exhaustive list of every project that you have worked on; prioritise it. Only include the projects and work experience that are relevant to the position that you are applying for. Your CV should always be tailored to the role that you are applying for. 2. Not including your ‘tech stack’ in your work experience Your tech skills and knowledge are the most important aspect of your CV. Include a list of all the languages and tools that you used during your employment in each role. If you aren’t sure how to include them while keeping the CV clean and concise, try writing a list at the footer of each role. ‘JavaScript Developer’ – Google January 2018 – January 2019 ‘JAVASCRIPT, HTML5, CSS3, JQUERY, ANGULAR.JS, SASS, LESS, PHP, NODE.JS’. 3. Description of work experience is too complex It’s attractive to describe your work experience in highly technical terms; however, you must remember that IT recruiters may not necessarily have the same in-depth knowledge you do. A generic example would be “Developed XYZ feature in XXX framework with technique A, B, C…”. Over complicating the description of your work experience may only serve to confuse the reader rendering it harder to match your skills with a vacant position. 4. Description of work experience is too general By contrast, it’s also not advised to describe your work experience in ambiguous terms. For example, “Developed a website using AngularJS5”. This statement asks more questions than it answers. Did you develop the website alone, how big is the website, what features does it have etc.? Make sure you accurately describe your part in the project and the scale of it. 5. Only list skills you are technically strong in It’s inviting to showcase all your technical skills to make yourself appear more experienced and educated. However, you should only list skills that you are technically strong in. Include databases, APIs, languages and any other tools you feel you have mastered and frequently use. Embellishing your knowledge of a language or a tool is not recommended, you will get caught out. 6. Poor Formatting and Mistakes Your CV is the critical ‘first impression’ to your prospective employer. A poorly formatted CV guarantees a bad first impression. The golden rule here is to keep your CV clean, concise and easy to read. Avoid using elaborate formatting and colours. Keep it simple. Recruiters and HR professionals are interested in the content of your CV, not the colours. Lastly, proofread your CV ensuring there are no grammatical or spelling errors; they're highly unprofessional.
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5 Skills to Help Boost Your Career

5 Skills to Help Boost Your Career

In every industry, you need job-specific skills and expertise to perform your role. These are called ‘hard skills’. Naturally if you have a high level of the hard skills required in your field of work, you’re likely to progress in your career. However, in the real world, you need more than just job-specific expertise to be successful. ‘Soft skills’ also play a significant role in advancing your career. Unlike hard skills that are tangible and can be measured, soft skills are intangible and quite difficult to quantify. Communication, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking and conflict resolution are all key soft skills that will serve to boost your career. 1. Communication Communication skills are of utmost importance in the workplace as they improve your chances of building relationships with your co-workers and clients. Communication skills enable you to clearly express what you need from a fellow employee and understand what is needed from you. This in turn boosts your productivity and sets the tone for how you are perceived in the workplace. 2. Teamwork Having good communication skills builds the foundation for good teamworking skills. The ability to be able to collaborate with others towards a shared goal is invaluable. Being a good team player makes other want to work with you, want to help you, enabling you to benefit the pool of knowledge and expertise in your business. This in turn will improve the quality of your work. 3. Problem Solving Not everything goes your way in the working world. Minor and major problems can occur at any given time during your career. The ability to be able to solve these problems, to navigate through unexpected challenges will be indispensable to your career. 4. Critical Thinking/Observation Critical thinkers bring a fresh perspective to organisations. Having the ability to not only to read information, but to use your intuition to unpack, truly understand what you’re seeing and notice any patterns will set you above from the rest. 5. Conflict Resolution Conflict resolution is an amalgamation of teamwork and communication skills. Conflict is human nature; it’s present in every single workplace that has more than one employee. Having the ability to constructively work through disagreements and resolve issues with other employees conveys your professionalism, maturity and commitment to your role. To be truly successful in the workplace, you need to have a mix of both hard and soft skills. These five skills will serve to enhance your career no matter what industry you work in.
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Why Job Seekers Should Use Recruiters

Why Job Seekers Should Use Recruiters

In this modern era of hyper-connectivity, with smart devices that are so smart you can be contacted through your wrist watch, is there value in using a third party to help you find a job or are you better off going it alone? Well, with the global market seemingly more turbulent than ever and every company sending out similar soundbites on why they are the best, it’s increasingly hard to know what path to choose as a jobseeker. Jobseekers have never had it better with companies creating novel ways to attract new talent. Whether it’s a mini-golf course on the roof, an onsite masseuse, gym membership or yoga classes, it shows companies are aware of employee turnover and that the job itself isn’t enough to attract and retain talent anymore. However, on the other side of things, a job for life is clearly a thing of the past for most of the labour market, unless you’re a health professional or a teacher. This means more diversity in a person’s career, certainly among millennials, under 25’s and graduates in particular. This also means more disruption in previously stable careers and the need to diversify people’s skills and keep an eye on the market. It’s a dynamic environment in recruitment with marketing and internal recruiters partnering to attract the best staff, so why use a recruiter? Industry Knowledge Most recruiters specialise in one niche of the market and as a result become market experts within their sector and can give you a complete roadmap to the lay of the land. Going it solo will mean that you will have to do your own research about each company you are applying for who will each have their own unique requirements. Your recruiter, however, will be able to provide you with a company background, describe the team structure, the key aspects of the role and what exact experience the hiring manager is looking for. A recruiter will help you decide whether the position is for you and keep you updated as things develop in the market you’re in. Recruitment agencies provide a completely cost-free service to jobseekers. They only charge the companies hiring, so why not have unlimited access to the inner workings of the company you’re applying to and assistance for free? Direct Line To The People In Power Recruiters have a direct line to HR directors and hiring managers. Why not make the most of this? With a direct line to the people in power, you get the inside information on what makes a company, a department or even a specific job so exciting. If you have high goals of progression or want to work on a set type of projects, you won’t find this information through a job advert and may not realise if you have made a mistake until you’re in the job. Another aspect a recruiter can help with is when it comes to negotiating salary, the recruiter will know exactly what can be negotiated and keep things on track. You can focus on performing in the interview and the recruiter can handle all the awkward/difficult conversations. Your Own Personal Advocate Who doesn’t want someone singing their praises? With a recruiter you have your own personal cheerleader getting face time with people in power and telling them in no uncertain terms that you were made for this job and could do it blindfolded like Sandra Bullock in Birdbox. In all seriousness, a recruiter is trained find out your best qualities in relation to the job and make sure you don’t get missed by the hiring company. They can also help with CV re-design and know the best ways to catch the eye of the employer. Also, as mentioned, people are jumping jobs a lot more now which has previously been a serious red flag for employers. However, your recruiter can help explain your motivations and elaborate on your CV in minute detail to get over the initial hurdle of pre-screening. Practice Makes Perfect Interviews are a minefield. Say the wrong thing or react the wrong way and you will be stuck in no man’s land with no way back. Nike have a motto “Think training’s hard? Try losing”. Every day a recruiter prepares people for interviews, so let the experts show you how to ace every interview. They have the practice that can make you perfect! They will already have given you the background to the job, the hiring managers and the company, so the next logical piece of the puzzle is on the interview process. Recruiters will have reams of documentation but will always tailor the preparation for interviews to each person to maximise the value. The difference between you and the next person competing for the job is usually a small margin. That could mean that advice from a recruiter, who has placed plenty of candidates in jobs, could be the reason you succeed in getting the role. The future is bright for job seekers with more opportunities than ever. Partner with a recruiter who knows the industry, the companies hiring and who can help make the jobs market easier to navigate.

WORTH A READ

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6 Tips When Writing a Developer CV

6 Tips When Writing a Developer CV

The software development industry is growing year on year, with a plethora of companies actively seeking IT developers. It's an exciting and lucrative time to be involved in technology, but how do you craft an eye-catching CV to land that dream dev job? You have the skills, but you’re having difficulty putting it into words. Don’t hamper your career opportunities because you struggle to convey what you have to offer. Here are a few useful tips to make your CV stand out from the rest. 1. Tailor Your CV to The Position You're Applying For Your CV should always be tailored to the job you are applying for. It’s inviting to have one blanket CV that you can use for all your applications, however it can really serve you to spend the extra time catering your CV to each individual job. A simple way to do this is to emphasise certain skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for a front-end developer position, you should highly emphasise your HTML, CSS and JavaScript skills. If you are applying for a back-end developer job, you should emphasise the relevant coding languages you are proficient in, such as Python or Ruby. 2. Showcase Your Skills As an IT developer, your tech skills and knowledge are some of the first things employers or HR will look for on your CV. For this reason, it’s imperative that you showcase what makes you such an attractive candidate. It is advised to only include the skills that you are technically strong with. Include languages, APIs, databases and any other tools you feel you have mastered and frequently use. Do not lie or embellish; in the developer world you will be quickly caught out. There is little room to waffle. Furthermore, there is no need to include redundant skills: E.g. If you know HTML5, it’s assumed you know HTML, DHTML and XHTML. 3. Use Action Verbs Whens Writing About Your Experience Your past work experience is the most important part of your CV, so spice it up. Use action words to demonstrate your work experience; “Ensured quality with unit and integration tests and applying TDD” or “Mentored a team of 5 junior developers”. Again, place emphasis on the work experience that is relevant to the position you are applying for. 4. Include A Professional Summary One thing you are trying to accomplish with your CV is accurately expressing your desired career trajectory. An effective method to achieve this is to include a professional summary. This short summary should summarize your professional progression, your desired career path and any notable skills or achievements that you possess. HR professionals and recruiters only take a matter of seconds to decide whether your CV is worth delving deeper into, sp use this summary to grab their attention. 5. Education There’s no need to be too specific here. State the relevant degree(s) you have, along with the institution and graduation dates. Keep it short and simple, easy to ‘skim’ over. Education isn’t the be all and end all in the development world. 6. Proofread and Format Your CV is the all-important ‘first impression’ to your prospective employer. Make sure your CV is easy to read, aesthetically pleasing and free of any spelling and grammar mistakes. If a candidate cannot take care while writing their CV, how much care and effort are they going to put into the role?
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The Most In Demand Coding Languages for 2019

The Most In Demand Coding Languages for 2019

Software development is a highly dynamic field with the demand and popularity of various programming languages fluctuating from year to year. Developers need to be aware of these fluctuations when deciding what languages they want to learn, upskill and master. It is important to note that knowledge of specific languages is a requirement in some fields. For example, aspiring game developers should seek to master C# and C++ to move forward in their career, while those seeking a career in DevOps should master JavaScript. It is important to learn the language that will serve to boost your career prospects in your field of choice. Regardless of the area of development in which you currently work, or want to work, it is beneficial to know what languages are most commonly used, the most in demand and the average pay for each. Research from Indeed.com, the world’s largest job search engine and a survey of 65,000 developers worldwide, conducted by Stack Overflow, has shortlisted six main languages as the most popular. (A quick side note before I detail the list: SQL has been omitted despite its popularity, as it's technically not a programming language, since it lacks looping and other basic functions.) JavaScript JavaScript is the most popular language, with 66.7% of all professional developers using it. JavaScript is the most widely used language on GitHub and is used by 95% of all websites for any dynamic logic on their pages. 73.9% of DevOps engineers and 81.7% of web developers use JavaScript as their preferred language of choice. JavaScript’s dominance as the most popular and widely used language doesn’t appear to be slowing with the popularity of IoT & mobile devices using Angular JS and React driving growth. Indeed.com has 38,000 job postings for JavaScript developers in 2018, with median salaries hovering around the €40 – 45,000 mark. Demand and salaries for rise sharply for developers with experience working with React, Angular, and Node.js. Java Moving to the back-end of things, Java takes the place of the most widely used and popular back-end language. 38.3% of all professional developers use Java with DevOps engineers using it most (41.4%). Java shows no signs of dipping in popularity as it's used by millions of developers and billions of devices worldwide being able to run on any hardware and operating system through the Java Virtual Machine. Java programmers are always in demand, as all Android apps are based on Java and 90% of Fortune 500 companies use Java as a server-side language for backend development. Indeed has 62,000 job postings for Java programmers with the median salary floating around €43,000. Python A rising star in the programming world is Python. The continued growth and demand for machine learning developers appears to be driving the popularity of Python, with 27.6% of all professional developers using it. Indeed has approximately 46,000 job postings offering a median salary of around €46,000. C++ C++, known as quite a complex language compared to the likes of Python and Java, is another language growing in popularity. Heavily used in the game development industry, C++ is used by 20.7% of professional developers being used most by desktop developers (31.3%). Indeed posted 31,000 jobs in 2018 offering a median salary around €45,000. C# Similarly, C# is also heavily used in the game development industry. Designed to run on Microsoft’s .NET platform, 36.7% of professions developers use this language, with desktop developers using it most (59.4%). Indeed posted 27,000 jobs in 2018 with salaries averaging around €43,000.
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Recruitment Agency Myths

Recruitment Agency Myths

Recruitment agencies are often underestimated. A lot of people aren’t aware of the value a recruitment agency can have on a person’s job search or a company’s search for candidates. We have created a list of the most common myths associated with recruitment agencies, to set the record straight once and for all… “Recruitment Agencies are Expensive” One of the most common assumptions people have with recruitment agencies is, that you have to pay an agency to help find you a job. This is completely false. The way it works is that a recruitment consultant receives a fee from their client for placing relevant and qualified candidates in a job. You don’t pay the recruiter; the recruiter is paid by the agency they work for and the company who hires the jobseeker. “Companies can look after their own Recruitment. Agencies are Obsolete” Finding the right employee can be a long and complex process that even the most established human resources department in a large company can find difficult. Many companies utilize the expertise of recruitment agencies. With agencies having such a large bank of candidates on file and their own pool of specialist recruitment consultants dedicated to finding talent, recruitment agencies are invaluable to companies struggling to fill certain roles. “Recruiters don’t have Industry Knowledge” Often people think recruiters don’t understand the industry they are recruiting for. This is incorrect. Reputable recruitment consultants specialise in the areas they recruit for and have vast product knowledge of their market. Often a recruiter has a background in the area they recruit for or he/she is trained in that area so they understand what is required to work in that field. “Recruitment Agencies don’t care about Jobseekers” The perception of recruitment consultants is that they don’t care about their candidates and only want to place them in a job so they can make their commission. This may be true of some agencies, so you want to make sure you work with a reputable company. The success of recruitment agencies is dependent on the quality of the candidate’s they put forward to their clients i.e. your success is their success. Therefore, your agency should be working with you to find you a suitable position, provide you with detailed interview preparation and essentially hold your hand throughout the process.
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Berlin's Start-up Scene

Berlin's Start-up Scene

“Poor but sexy”, the infamous Berlin tagline coined by ex-mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. The city has come a long way in the past decade transforming its reputation to become the “Silicon Valley” of Europe. Berlin’s start-up scene is growing at an incredible rate showing no signs of slowing down. Berlin solidified itself as the champion of Germany’s start-up scene in 2017. Venture capitalists invested a total of €4.3 billion into German start-ups with 58% of the investment going to start-ups in Berlin. A total of 233 rounds of financing raised €2.67 billion for Berlin start-ups, putting it just behind London and on par with Paris. 8 out of the 10 most desirable start-ups in Germany are located in Berlin with an estimated 30% of the nation’s start-ups setting up in the city. Berlin has clearly established itself as the prime start-up location in Europe. This can be attributed to a number of influencing factors: International Talent Pool Berlin boasts a highly diverse population with approximately 20% of the city’s residents coming from overseas. This multinational, highly educated workforce breeds creativity and innovation. Infrastructure The city operates a very efficient and affordable public transportation network that is fully integrated. It’s quick and easy to get to anywhere in the city or further afield thanks to the city’s expansive train network and two international airports. Office space is reasonably priced compared to other EU cities facilitating the rise of numerous co-working spaces enabling start-ups to get off the ground. Investment Climate Berlin is home to numerous start-up incubators and centres that help turn innovative ideas into reality. Furthermore, venture capital funding has been increasing year on year providing financial support to start-ups throughout the city. Vibrant City Berlin has a special, non-conformist culture that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The city is steeped in rich history and has since grown to become one of the most unique urban areas in the world. The city’s vast party spectrum has something for everyone from industrial techno temples to up-market cocktail bars and beer gardens. The result, Berlin attracts all walks of life, each bringing their own skills, creativity and resources to the capital. Rent Prices Rent prices in Berlin are much cheaper compared to its EU counterparts such as Paris and London. This lower cost of living has attracted multinationals from around the world to start-up businesses while enticing highly skilled workers to relocate. Success Stories Berlin start-up scene has an impressive track record producing some remarkable “unicorns” in recent years: N26 The German Direct Bank, founded in 2013, has scaled to become a recognised name in the finance game valued at an astounding €2.7 billion as of 2018. Zalando This e-commerce company, founded in 2008, now employs over 15,000 people, operating in 17 countries posting healthy revenues of €5 billion as of 2018. HelloFresh The number one meal-kit company in the world, founded in 2011 went public in 2017 with a sizeable IPO valuation of €2.7 billion. Delivery Hero The online food-delivery service, founded in 2011, now operates in 40+ countries and was valued at €4.5 billion during its IPO in 2017.