Are you looking for skilled software engineers to extend your team? Bulgaria is the right option to consider. Located in Southeastern Europe, Bulgaria has become a significant player in the tech industry. The demand for its programmers is soaring. In fact, the 2023 Kearney Global Services Location Index ranked Bulgaria in the top 25 regarding economic attractiveness, availability of a competent IT workforce, and business friendliness.
In this article, I’ll share eight essential tips on effectively conducting IT recruitment in Bulgaria, helping you tap into the country’s exceptional pool of tech talents. In case you’d like to boost your staffing abilities, it’s always a good idea to partner with a local IT recruitment and R&D center services provider. They possess the expertise and resources to hire perfect fits for your team.
Why Choose Bulgaria for IT Recruitment?
Consider Bulgaria for your IT staffing requirements for the following convincing reasons:
- A highly educated and talented labor force, especially in IT and software development, is one of Bulgaria’s many strengths. There is a consistent output of highly skilled STEM professionals from 50 Bulgarian colleges and universities. These IT experts are well-versed in various modern technologies, including C#, JavaScript, Java, Python, SQL, and PHP.
- Affordable compensation rates for software developers are another aspect that makes recruiting in Bulgaria appealing to foreign IT companies. For example, the salary of a middle Full-Stack Software Developer in the US is $117,000 per year. Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, the same professional earns about $48,000. This could save American tech businesses over 50% of labor expenses, an excellent way to maximize their budget.
- Professionals from Bulgaria get along well with their Western European and North American counterparts in the workplace. The country’s strong historical ties to Western Europe and its developers’ high English proficiency foster seamless communication and collaboration.
- Bulgaria operates on Central European Time (UTC+1), just 1 hour ahead of Western Europe. This time zone alignment makes it simple for Western European businesses to sync with their Bulgarian developers in real time. When everyone is on the same page regarding time zones, coordinating workflows and swiftly addressing any arising issues becomes much easier.
Now, I’d like to share some valuable tips to help you streamline the hiring process in Bulgaria.
#1: Understand the Bulgarian IT Landscape
It is essential to learn about the state of IT in Bulgaria before beginning the recruiting process there. Learn about the development of the IT industry and its potential, talent availability, and level of competition; examine the business climate; and consider opportunities for scaling up. Look at your field’s latest data and studies to spot patterns and make reasonable predictions. For example, the software outsourcing industry in Bulgaria is now worth $900 million, making it 21st in all of Europe. In addition, there is a 110,000 pool of developers ready to join your product company.
#2: Promote Your Employer Branding
To attract the best IT talent from Bulgaria, it’s crucial to position your company as an appealing workplace. This strategy can enhance your company’s reputation and visibility, increasing your chances of swiftly recruiting top talent in today’s fiercely competitive market.
Showcase your company’s achievements and success stories, share your values and corporate culture, painting a picture of a positive and welcoming work environment. To successfully promote your brand’s attractiveness and ideals to prospective applicants, use open communication, employee testimonials, social media, and participate in community activities.
#3: Develop an Enticing Employer Value Proposition
To successfully recruit and retain top-tier programmers, devising a strong Employer Value Proposition (EVP) is essential. In order to entice the most qualified candidates, this offer must be comprehensive, including salary and benefits, relocation assistance, professional development prospects, and other perks.
Compile a generous employee benefits package that includes a competitive wage, health insurance, a gym membership, paid time off, training programs, etc. Offering work-life balance opportunities like working from home or taking wellness programs is another beneficial point to include in the EVP.
#4: Write Eye-Catching Job Descriptions
It is crucial to write engaging job descriptions for software engineers in Bulgaria. Get their attention first with catchy, relevant job titles that interest prospective employees. Spell out your company’s USPs, such as its welcoming culture, room for advancement, and talented staff. Expose potential employees to the atmosphere of your organization. Finish with a compelling call to action that encourages qualified and interested applicants to submit their resumes. You make your job description stand out by using ChatGPT.
#6: Collaborate with Local Universities and Engage with IT Communities
The best way to get into Bulgaria’s IT expertise is to work with local universities like Sofia University and the Technical University of Sofia. This is because Sofia is a major center for outsourcing and a Top 20 Tech City of the Future. Tech companies can build connections with students and expose them to prospective career paths by hosting or sponsoring tech-related activities and participating in job fairs. This partnership is helpful for both identifying and cultivating talent.
Another good option is to engage with the local software development community. You can network with its members on sites like Stack Overflow and GitHub. Interaction with IT professionals on these platforms facilitates your talent mapping and benefits recruiting overall.
#7: Conduct Job Interviews
It’s essential to have a well-structured approach that involves thorough interviews to engage top-tier technical talent. Utilize specialized tests and assessments to gauge applicants’ coding skills and interpersonal abilities accurately. However, it’s crucial to maintain a streamlined interview process with approximately 3-4 rounds. Extensive interviews can be discouraging for software developers and may lead to a loss of interest.
Our recommended hiring process begins with an HR interview to assess cultural fit and communication skills. The next phase involves evaluating technical expertise through an interview with the CTO. Finally, we suggest concluding the process with a final interview conducted by the CEO or other managers.
#8: Cooperate with a Local IT Recruitment Agency
Working with a professional IT hiring agency can liberate you from the above-mentioned recruitment hassles, accelerating your staffing process in Bulgaria. Seek providers with deep local expertise, extensive experience filling tech roles, a robust team of IT recruiters, proven case studies, outlined guarantees, and positive reviews on independent websites. This strategic alliance will streamline your staffing objectives, making tech recruitment a breeze.
Alcor Is Your Reliable Partner in IT Staffing & R&D Center Services in Bulgaria
Alcor is a specialized IT recruitment and R&D center services provider operating in Bulgaria and other Eastern European and LATAM countries. Their expertise lies in recruiting senior and lead software developers for IT product companies from the US and Western Europe, typically closing a specific position within 2-6 weeks. Unlike other providers, Alcors offers an all-in-one solution that covers everything from IT recruitment and compliance to office leasing and hardware procurements. Alcor stands out with their unique EOR service, enabling seamless employment of local programmers without legal entity establishment.
Their defined guarantees, such as committing to hire 5 developers in a month, 20 in three months, or 100 in a year and providing a 3-month candidate warranty, underscore their dedication to service excellence. With the ability to establish an R&D center with 10 developers within 2 months, Alcor becomes a convenient one-stop shop for international IT businesses.
Conclusion
Boasting a vast pool of skilled programmers, moderate rates, a favorable business climate, and alignment with Western culture and business ethics, Bulgaria emerges as a suitable offshoring destination for team expansion. There are many approaches to hiring top Bulgarian developers, such as promoting employer branding, devising an appealing EVP, writing an eye-catching job description, etc. Still, partnering with a local IT recruitment provider proves to be the most efficient in terms of time and cost. By leveraging their expertise and network, tech companies can access top talent and streamline their expansion efforts.
