Using Your API to Find New Developer Talent

kinlane-productions2.s3.amazonaws.com Many API owners depend on their APIs for identifying new types of business models, turning their API ecosystems into research & development platforms.

Edwin Aoki of Paypal and Ebay APIs also feels they can also be used by human resources(HR), to nurture and identify new developer talent. At the Mashery Evolution of Distribution event, Aoki mentioned how Ebay and Paypal use their API ecosystem for talent acquisition.

If you think about it, your API provides a fertile ground for developer to learn about your APIs, how to code with them, and understand your companies way of doing business.

Hopefully within your API arkinlane-productions2.s3.amazonaws.comexcel and showcase their work. Submitting code samples, applications and forum participation all give them an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge.

And If your company, eats your own dog food and uses your APIs internally, hiring developers from your API community can provide immediate benefit to internal projects.

Beyond internal projects, developers can also be identified and used for partner projects. Identifying rockstar developers you feel comfortable referring to your partners, is another great use of your API community.

Another place to look for talent, is at Hackathons. Hackathons can also be fertile ground for identifying fresh new developer talent. It is place to watch developers in action, showing their skills in real-time, and demonstrate how well they work with other people.

An API provides many ways to attract, groom, and identify talent for your company. Have you ever hired someone from your API community?