There’s a worldwide talent shortage in software development, and nearly one-third of hiring managers have hired someone from a coding bootcamp to help fill the void. 72% say bootcamp graduates are just as good or better than other hires, but 28% feel they are not equipped to handle their jobs.

Considering coding bootcamps graduated more than 23,000 students in 2019, there are likely thousands who entered the workforce unprepared last year.

That’s not to say coding bootcamps are bad. They offer efficient and affordable paths for people to jump-start careers in software development, and they help expand talent pipelines for businesses. 83% of graduates report being employed in programming jobs, and bootcamps help normalize the informal, self-directed education that’s already common among developers.

But if you’re thinking of hiring a developer straight out of bootcamp, don’t expect to throw them into the deep end on day one.

The reason some bootcamp grads are set up to fail

In my experience, not all bootcamps are created equal. They vary widely in acceptance processes, curriculum, program structure, and quality of instructors. They’re designed to push candidates through courses that will have them writing some code fairly quickly.

As a result, programs are forced to strip away a lot of fundamentals — those basics that help developers understand the “why” behind the code they’re writing.

When young software developers learn by copying and pasting, it can make troubleshooting difficult when they come across something that doesn’t fit the pattern they’re used to.

Small businesses and startups are those most likely to hire developers without degrees, but I’ve seen too many bootcamp grads take jobs at startups only to find they haven’t learned enough to make any real impact.

This doesn’t mean your startup should write off coding bootcamp graduates altogether. But you do need to be judicious about the people you bring on, and you should have processes in place to monitor, mentor, and upskill them.

Here’s how to hire a software developer straight out of bootcamp — without getting burned.

1. Look for bootcamp grads with personal projects

The best bootcamp grads are those who already considered themselves hobbyists. They didn’t enter a program expecting to learn everything they needed to know in 12 weeks.

They were already passionate about software development and enrolled in a bootcamp for some structure and guidance, and to level up their skills.

Ideally, bootcamp grads should have a portfolio of GitHub projects (or one larger personal project) they’ve been working on outside of their program. Taking something you’re passionate about and figuring out how to make it work is the best way to learn.

It forces you to explore the code you’re writing and learn more about how things work at a low level. Instead of working on fixing small snippets of someone else’s code in isolation, it’s all your code.

That experience is invaluable. It forms a strong base for bootcampers to build their skills upon. If a recent bootcamp grad doesn’t have any personal projects, that might be a red flag.

2. Adjust your interview process to test for fundamentals

Because bootcamps are, by nature, time-constrained programs, some will blow right past the heavy lifting of helping developers understand why things work the way they do.

The result is that some graduates come out of bootcamps using pattern recognition as their primary skill and an understanding of how to get by with copying and pasting code.

Whenever I’m interviewing candidates straight out of bootcamp, I’ll put them through an initial screener and a technical screener before putting them through a full-blown technical interview.

The screener is simple: an entry-level software developer should be able to talk you through (and write) vanilla JavaScript code (or insert your stack here) rather than just know what things to change in React to make it work.

If they can’t write a for loop, every day they work for you will be a struggle and a LOT of time on Stack Overflow.

3. Hire natural problem solvers and nurture their intellectual curiosity

All engineering is problem-solving. Junior developers won’t be architecting anything right away, but you should look for people who show a predilection for understanding the problem they’re trying to solve and evaluating potential paths forward.

Even when your newest developers are working as order takers, they should be thinking critically about why those orders are issued. A good mentor can help initiate those conversations about the “why” behind each assignment and help new hires see what they might be missing.

I hired one junior developer straight out of bootcamp who didn’t have a grasp on all the fundamentals but did have a lot of intellectual curiosity.

She kept working to build her framework of knowledge while understanding the “why” behind tasks. By the time she had a good grasp of the fundamentals, she was also an excellent problem-solver.

Now she’s on track to become a senior-level developer, and she’s absolutely killing it by continuing to improve and grow in her role every day.

4. Set new hires up for success with appropriate oversight

If you’re hiring someone fresh out of bootcamp, don’t expect them to come in and start developing complex applications by themselves. Most bootcamp grads have never worked in a real-world programming environment before, and you can’t expect them to be self-directed from day one.

You need a strong new-hire onboarding process and support system that makes new hires feel comfortable asking questions and continuing to learn.

My company assigns a mentor to every new hire, which is crucial for junior developers straight out of bootcamp. If you set a new hire loose on a project and expect results, they’ll likely be overwhelmed by day two.

If they don’t come out of that imposter syndrome spiral, they’ll be terrified to ask for help by day five. Or they might start a project off on the wrong foot and waste several days before their work goes through the code-review process.

Mentoring new hires helps keep imposter syndrome at bay. It also helps you learn where new hires fall on the skills ladder so you can calibrate future assignments and identify areas for further development.

A good mentor encourages questions and helps newcomers course-correct quickly so they don’t waste a lot of time spinning their wheels on their own.

That’s why we have an explicit ’20-minute rule’: if you’re still banging your head trying to solve a problem after 20 minutes, come up for air and ask for help. (It’s worth noting this rule applies to literally everyone in our company: senior engineers aren’t immune from needing help from their peers.)

Choose mentors who are both skilled developers and empathetic enough to see where newcomers are stumbling so they can help them get to the root of the problem.

Coding bootcamps are exploding in popularity for a reason: they provide an accelerated learning path for people who want to code, and they’re providing a much-needed lifeline for companies desperate for talent.

Bootcamp graduates can make excellent additions to any team, but throwing them into the deep end will only leave everyone frustrated and slightly traumatized. You should be prepared to thoroughly vet bootcamp grads and invest in developing new hires.

Your startup must begin climate action TODAY — here’s how

We all know mitigating the climate crisis is important… but it’s still weirdly easy to push any action to ‘tomorrow’ — especially if you’re a founder stuck in the daily chores of keeping a startup running.

But you and I both know you need the push to act today. Not only to save the planet (this big round thing we live on), but also to make sure your business will survive.

That’s why I spoke to Tom Raftery, SAP’s Global Vice President and its Futurist & Innovation Evangelist, who’s made it his mission to inspire organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions before it’s too late.

Raftery has suggestions for what you can do right this second , next few weeks , and before the end of this year . But first, let’s get into why exactly you’ve got to get started on your startup’s climate action — even if you’re fully digital.

Bunch of laws are coming, stay ahead of them

Raftery, who’s speaking at the upcoming TNW Conference 2021 , is well aware of the financial pressures startups and bigger organizations face when it comes to decision-making. But if you apply logical thinking, you’ll see the cost of emissions is way higher than the money you may save in the short term.

First up, legal troubles. Raftery says a whole host of climate legislation is coming worldwide and points specifically to the EU’s goal to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 .

“I know 2030 sounds like a long way away, but it’s only about eight years. It’s as far away as 2013 is now,” Raftery warns and predicts the actual pressure will be felt much sooner.

“We’re going to get to 2025 when politicians around the EU will realize ‘uh oh, we’ve only got four or five years left and we’re nowhere near where we need to be.’ So there’s going to be a scramble.”

Bigger companies will have to start officially reporting on their sustainability in 2024 , but Raftery believes it’s good for startups to begin preparing. Of course, the carbon footprint of individual startups is minuscule compared to larger corporations, but collectively startups make up almost 80% of the economy, making them a prime target for government climate policies.

So sooner or later, every single business will have to have rigorous reporting on its carbon footprint — no matter the field they’re in.

Oh, and it’ll also help with recruiting

“Startups don’t only need to act because there’s more of them, they also need to take action for recruitment and retention of employees,” says Raftery.

As any good (and maybe even bad?) business leader knows, it costs a lot to find, hire, and train a new employee. So if they leave within a year, you’re looking at a lot of sunk cost. But what exactly does this have to do with climate action?

“Having a good climate and sustainability story to tell makes people proud to work for you. And therefore, that helps with your recruitment and retention. It also helps attract customers,” says Raftery.

And by “having a story,” Raftery doesn’t mean you can just have your marketing department churn out some greenwashing phrases. No, a climate story is about being able to point out the specific actions you take and how it relates to your company’s mission.

So let’s get into what exactly you can do to create your authentic climate story.

Right this second: Contact your energy provider

“Switch to an energy provider that gives you 100% renewable energy,” says Raftery. “Changing your electricity to clean energy gets rid of a huge amount of emissions instantaneously. It really is the low-hanging fruit of climate action.”

It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to find the most climate-friendly energy provider, but it’ll pay off for years to come as it’ll make the rest of your journey that much easier.

How? Well, once you’ve made your utilities are powered by clean energy, you should work towards electrifying all your energy consumption — whether it’s removing the gas stove in the office kitchen or updating your car fleet with EVs. This will make all future climate reporting easier as you’ll have a single central point of measurement.

Next few weeks: Change who’s responsible for your climate action

Raftery says reporting will only become more rigorous from now on, so it’ll affect companies’ bottom line even more. “This is why it needs to fall under the CFO’s organization.”

A company’s climate action will soon be reported the same way as financials are — through yearly or even quarterly ESG reports — so it’s only logical to make it the responsibility of your CFO.

The sooner you make the mental shift internally that climate action and sustainability do belong with the CFO, the better your chances become to grow.

“The investment community will be monitoring this,” explains Raftery. “People whose ESG reporting is deemed to be good will have easier and cheaper access to capital. Poor ESG reporting will be seen as a more risky investment proposition. So the cost of capital for them will be significantly higher — if they can get it at all — and that will also obviously impact their share price.”

Before the end of this year: Start reporting diligently

Once you’ve made it clear that climate action and sustainability reporting are the responsibilities of your CFO, it’s time to start producing actual ESG reports… or at least lay the groundwork if your team is small.

“For example, for any RFPs [request for propals] going out, mention that you want the emissions associated with those products and services included in the response. That will start putting people on notice,” says Raftery, who encourages businesses to work with their suppliers to make this shift.

He also adds that if you’re a startup servicing bigger corporations, you’ll have to be especially quick to adjust. It doesn’t matter if your startup isn’t big enough to fall under the EU’s reporting mandate, as your clients will ask for detailed emission reporting for their own ESG reports.

Use your agility to save the planet and flourish

The most immediate pressure for climate action and reporting will be on bigger corporations, but it never hurts to be prepared. It can take a couple of years for cumbersome corporates to redefine their processes and priorities, but you can avoid all that hassle by setting a climate-friendly agenda from day one.

The next time you think “I’d love to work on my startup’s climate action, I just don’t have the time,” remind yourself that the hammer of the law is coming down just a couple of years from now and your clients and employees care about the planet. So you might want to make it your priority.

If you’re intrigued to learn more, don’t miss Tom Raftery’s keynote at TNW Conference 2021 on September 30th and October 1st . There he’ll be joined by 150 other amazing experts who will share their latest insights from the world of business and tech.

Quality is what makes you future-proof

Boris is the wise ol’ CEO of TNW who writes a weekly column on everything about being an entrepreneur in tech — from managing stress to embracing awkwardness. You can get his musings straight to your inbox by signing up for his newsletter!

If you believe the experts, we’re heading towards the worst crisis in the history of… financial crises. That sounds gloomy — and it is. You can look at the news and the state of the world and be excused if you’d want to hide under your pillow until it’s gone.

It’s all awful, and we’re royally fucked. But… what else is new?

When I grew up, I remember vividly first learning about the possibility of nuclear war. I realized that at any moment, in a flash of light, my life could end, and with it the world. I was young and sensitive, and I remember being incredibly scared. But over time, that fear subsided, and that existential threat made place for another one.

I started all my companies at the beginning or in the middle of an economic crisis. The same goes for the most successful companies today. When everyone is panicking, the person who sees an opportunity is faced with hardly any competition and can hire talent easily. Office space (if you need it) also suddenly becomes cheaper, and people are more open, looking for something optimistic to pin their hopes to.

Starting a company when the economy is thriving is more challenging than when it’s tanking. When the sun is shining, everybody can sail a boat. But when the storm comes, you’ll quickly see who is selling bullshit and who has invested in quality.

At the start of the last economic crisis, the TNW team saw the signs and prepared for bad weather. We had a conversation with an important partner and discussed the economy. We asked, “are you still sponsoring conferences?” and one particular partner said “No. That’s just not feasible with this economic downturn on the horizon.”

We swallowed hard and realized we were going to lose one of our biggest partners. But then he continued, “except your event. We decided to cut back on all partnerships except one or two high-quality events we just need to be a part of.”

I can’t tell you what an emotional moment that was. Besides having one thing less to worry about, we also realized that our quality investment had finally paid off. From that moment on, we started emphasizing our attention to quality, personal commitment, and long-term strategy. Our partners realize that we’re in it for the long term and care more about quality than quantity.

That’s why I’m excited for our upcoming flagship event . Yes, it’s very different from our yearly offline event in Amsterdam. No sitting elbow-to-elbow in a sweaty room close to an inspiring speaker. No handshake deals over beers and a shared bowl of tacos. No serendipitous meetings waiting in line for the canal rides. Everything is different, but it always has been.

I’ve written before about Darwin’s statement about the survival of the fittest, and how it’s often explained as “the strong survive.” But the more accurate explanation is: those who are most adaptable to change will survive.

I’m excited for our online event because we adapted to a changing world and provided an online experience that not just mimics the offline event as closely as possible.

The online event is a whole new animal that perfectly adapts to a new reality. You’ll connect with potential business partners in different but even more efficient ways. You’ll be farther away from the inspirational speaker — while also closer than you’ve ever been. We take the quality we invested in for the past 15 years and use it as a basis for an online event.

It would be totally understandable to be paralyzed by fear and depressed by the state of the world. Or you can join me on October 1 and 2 and work together on finding the opportunities in change, and then see how we can use tech for good. I look forward to it.

Can’t get enough of Boris? Check out his older stories here , and sign up for TNW’s newsletters here .

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