Our client, Kwara, were in search of Senior Ruby on Rails Developers to help continue the international expansion of their simple and secure digital banking platform. They were seeking candidates with at least five years’ experience, solid technical expertise, strong communication skills, and end-user focus. Kwara is based in Berlin, and were they were seeking candidates willing to either relocate or work remotely according to Central European Standard Time. One of the main challenges Jack faced was the innate difficulties caused by a candidate-short market; a factor which is currently especially prevalent within the tech world. Further challenges were posed by the fact that Kwara, although an extremely successful startup venture rapidly growing in popularity, is still unknown to some outside the fintech world. Additionally, Kwara’s hiring manager was keen to ensure each candidate was a cultural fit for the company, which is strongly customer-centric with a flat hierarchy and open communication.

Jack worked extremely closely with the leadership team at Kwara to gain a holistic understanding of exactly what would be required from the candidates. Once the job and person specification were established and approved, Jack made a detailed list of all the necessary attributes candidates would be required to demonstrate in order to proceed to interview. Jack used this list to inform his search, making use of various recruitment platforms to actively headhunt promising candidates, as well as making contact with Ruby developers within his extensive personal network. After Jack had found numerous promising candidates, he conducted initial screenings via videocall. He applied a combination of competency and personality-based interview techniques to challenge each candidate’s strengths, potential, and technical capabilities against the brief. After suitability had been confirmed, details were passed on to the client, a detailed coding test was arranged to establish occupational competency, and first official interviews were arranged. After each candidate had successfully passed both, final video interviews were arranged with Kwara’s Hiring Manager and the development team. Five candidates went through the initial interview stages, and three were offered positions; one who would relocate to Berlin from India, and two who would work remotely from Romania and Ukraine so far. Jack helped to ease any anxieties the candidate had over relocation, providing detailed resources and liaising extensively with the client to ensure all the necessary documentation was provided and related expenses were paid. From initial briefing to the roles being filled, the process took just three and a half weeks for the 3 separate placements so far.

Since the roles have been filled, the client and candidates have expressed their satisfaction with how smooth and streamlined the recruitment process was under the management of GR4. David Hwan, Co-founder and COO of Kwara, commented, “Jack and his team are fast, clear and deliver high quality talent, which is exactly what any growing company needs.” The team were so pleased, we have since been retained to fill a further three roles for the company: a Front-end Developer, QA, and Mobile App Developer. Jack and his team have maintained regular contact with both client and candidates to ensure a smooth onboarding and uphold the amicable relationships we have secured, and we very much look forward to working with Kwara again in the future.