How to build a professional cushion? Discover Boldare’s talent pool

Talent pool – what is it and… what is not?

While a talent pool recruitment is still a bit of a novelty on the job market, there are more and more companies discovering this idea and the benefits it can bring. Firstly, a talent pool is not an academy, training group, or community. We can call it a process that guides a candidate through a specific path toward a specific role. But! After completing the process, the candidate doesn’t receive a job offer. Instead of a proposal of cooperation, the candidate gets extensive feedback. It is crucial to say up front that it is not a recruitment process that ends in hiring. The end result of the process is that the candidate joins the talent pool of the company. In terms of Boldare, this means that whenever a product need arises that matches the candidate’s needs, skills and interests, we call them with an offer to work with us.

Why did we implement a talent pool process?

The geopolitical situation and the stagnant labor market prompted us to think more deeply about both candidates’ and our company’s needs. We debated how Boldare can meet candidates’ expectations and take care of their needs in this dynamic and changing reality. Brainstorms led us to the idea of a talent pool, which allows candidates to put themselves on the market and achieve professional insights. Although we believe that there’s no one universal recipe for professional success, we are sure that talent pool processes truly help people to drive their careers in the right direction. Talent pool processes allow people to test their abilities, discover their strengths and weaknesses, and prove themselves to recruiters.

From a business point of view, launching our talent pool was another proof of our unquenchable desire to provide the best possible services to our clients. After all, good software development needs a skilled development team and a readiness to take on new challenges. Having a pool of dev talents backstage is an undisputed benefit for any company that aims to create and expand its development teams safely.

Why is it worth joining the talent pool at Boldare?

Talent pool recruitment is still a new phenomenon in the labor market. At Boldare, we implemented innovative processes in February this year. This new proposal was kind of a surprise for our candidates, but they reacted truly positively, which assured us that it’s a real need in today’s recruitment world. We know that candidates require clear and transparent communication at every stage of the process – our recruiters make sure they receive it! So far, candidates have noticed many benefits of talent pool processes and have pointed them out in the feedback.

Check your seniority

Candidates can check their seniority level and find out how they are perceived by the labor market and other companies. Will the overall assessment be the same as with their current employer? They also receive tips on which development areas are worth investing in to reach the next level of seniority.

Compare your salary

In the talent pool process, a candidate not only receives a recommendation for level of seniority. Along with seniority also comes a specific salary recommendation. This way, a candidate discovers their earning potential with other companies, like Boldare. It’s also a way to compare their current pay to the rest of the market.

Knowledge exchange

During the interviews, our future talents gather know-how in their areas of expertise. By exchanging knowledge with a technical recruiter, they gather valuable self-development insights into what is important in the industry now and which skills are worth developing.

Extensive feedback

Candidates who participate in talent pool processes at Boldare receive extensive feedback. This is designed to help uncover strengths and weaknesses, and to draw the candidate’s attention to crucial career areas. Feedback also supports candidates in setting accurate development goals.

Stay up-to-date

Participating in recruitment interviews is a good way to gain experience and see what’s happening in the market. It is a kind of recruitment training that allows candidates not only to test their strengths at an interview, but also to learn what recruiters are currently asking and what the market trends are.

Priority offer

The candidate is guaranteed that as soon as a product need arises (that is in line with their specialization and skills) we will call them with an offer of cooperation. This is in response to the needs of the employee market and the recently popular phenomenon of building a “professional cushion” – that is, a plan b for their career path. Candidates are building their careers more consciously and secure it by meticulously choosing an employer and participating in recruitment campaigns by competitors without a current need for a new job.

Discover new places

Talent pool processes give candidates and the company time to get to know each other better. The candidate has a chance to ask their pressing questions and learn more about Boldare’s culture. Meetings are held at times convenient to the candidate, with no time pressure. This approach gives both sides the comfort of getting to know each other at a reasonable pace.

A candidate’s point of view

After applying to Boldare, I went through the standard recruitment process. It consisted of screening, meeting with a recruiter, and technical verification. I was evaluated as a medior-level specialist and received extensive feedback from a Senior JavaScript Developer. The feedback included strengths and weaknesses. I have also received a list of materials to gain knowledge to develop to a senior level. The process met my expectations – thanks to this guidance, I could write down self-development goals more confidently. The feedback reassured me that the directions I had taken were the right ones. After a month, I received a proposal for cooperation with a draft contract attached. Participating in the talent pool process is a smart way to compare salary, and gain insights about building a professional development path. — Kamil Walkowicz, NodeJS Developer.

Why is a talent pool a good proposition for the company?

Holistic response to recruitment needs

When conducting talent pool processes, our recruiting team does not rely on organizational needs (as is the case with standard recruitment processes). The needs for opening new talent pool processes are based on market trends, historical data in the recruitment field, and regularly collected insights from the employer market. It allows planning recruitment activities more wisely and holistically, and responding more efficiently to those recruitment needs that can be more difficult.

Ease the work of the recruitment team

Based on the information obtained, the recruitment team opens up processes for those roles for which sourcing specialists usually take longer or are difficult in any way. This solution allows us to work more strategically. As a result, the team is more business-oriented and supports the organization whenever an unexpected recruiting need arises from a client. Time-to-hire in sensitive recruiting is reduced when the organization uses talent pool resources. These actions boost the performance of our recruitment team.

Impact on company performance

Since the talent pool can respond to recruitment needs faster, it also builds dedicated development teams for clients more agilely. Naturally, the talent pool has a strong business foundation and directly translates into meeting the unforeseen needs of business partners.

Strengthening stability

Talent pool processes build a sense of security among clients and partners. They gain a guarantee that the company is doing its best to meet their expectations and newly emerging needs. The solution directly affects the smoothness and stability of software development provision.

Positive corporate image

A talent pool can be an effective PR tool that helps build a positive corporate image. Talent development and knowledge sharing are appreciated values in the market that hit both targets: potential candidates and partners.

Recruiters’ point of view

The recruitment team at Boldare has a clear goal. We want to respond proactively to the organization’s needs so that it can deliver software development services effectively. This is why we establish relationships with potential candidates in advance. Even if they are not interested in joining Boldare in the near future, we believe that these candidates still get real value from us.

The benefits of talent pool processes are two-sided. Recruiters get value because they can respond more quickly to sudden recruitment needs. The candidates receive extensive feedback and the opportunity to test themselves on the market. Importantly, before applying to Boldare, the candidate makes a conscious decision to participate in the process with no guarantee of receiving an offer of employment at the end. We transparently communicate this in our job advertisements so as not to mislead anyone. We are proud to be a company that uses its voice to speak openly and honestly about talent pool recruitment. - Patrycja Kasperkiewicz, Recruitment Team Leader

Curious about new opportunities at Boldare? Check out our career site and find your dream job now, or join our talent pool!