How to Hire Developers on Reddit — The Best Subreddits For You
There are subreddits for everything, from memes to the news. As such, it makes sense that software developers would make their own space on Reddit too. Depending on the category of developer you’re after, you might want to check out one of these subreddits for someone to hire.
Subreddit communities are denoted by an “r/” and then the forum name. So a fictional subreddit called “Great Developers” would look like this: reddit.com/r/greatdevelopers. If you’re new to Reddit, that’s how you’ll navigate to each of the forums listed below.
r/forhire
This is one of the most obvious subreddits for finding jobs on Reddit. Anyone using Reddit to look for work or to hire will probably post here.
This is good because you have a large pool of potential applicants. But the drawback is that it’s a less specialized market. It’s still worth posting an ad here though — a quick scroll through the first few posts shows plenty of people hiring developers.
As with any subreddit, there are a few rules to follow. Knowing what they are and adhering to them will keep you from getting banned.
When posting a hiring ad, it’s expected you’ll provide a description of the project along with compensation. People looking for a job flag their posts with [FOR HIRE], and those looking to hire flag with [HIRING]. These categorical flags are called flair on Reddit, and most subreddits will require you to flair your post with certain flags to make them easier to find.
This subreddit can also help you find creative talent like copywriters and designers to add to your team if you need them.
r/Jobbit
This subreddit is more geared toward jobs in programming, so it’s a good place to look if you need a specific type of developer. A quick scroll through the posts here shows everyone from C++ programmers to virtual tech support agents looking for work.
The rules here are similar to the r/forhire subreddit. The flags are the same, which you can filter by [HIRING] or [FOR HIRE]. Filtering by the latter will make your search easier by only showing you posts by people in this subreddit looking for work.
r/INAT (I Need a Team)
This subreddit is specifically for developers who want to network or collaborate with one another on projects. It also has a specific emphasis on developers looking to join teams. If you’re hiring for team-based work, this is the place to look.
[FOR HIRE] posts are allowed here, so browning those will quickly lead you to talent. You can also make a post with the flair “programmers needed” to let the group know you’re hiring or need people for a project.
r/remotejs
A subreddit solely for remote Javascript jobs. If you need a Javascript programmer, definitely check this one out. Posts here run the gamut from WordPress developers to full-stack developers and beyond.
r/remotepython/
Same situation as the remote Javascript subreddit, but for Python programmers. This group has about 2.6K members, so you have a large talent pool to draw from for any job that requires an expert in Python. If you’re putting together a distributed team, checking out this subreddit makes sense.
r/PythonJobs is another place to look for Python programmers, whether remote or in-person. This subreddit is entirely Python-related job postings, so you can put an ad here and try your luck. People come to this forum solely to search for jobs.
r/techjobs
This is another subreddit with more generalized options. Not only is it a job board, it’s also a community for those who work in tech. If you’re looking to fill several different types of tech jobs, you might have better luck here than with one of the niche subreddits.
r/MachineLearningJobs and r/BigDataJobs are also more generalized forums for tech job postings, though they aren’t as broad as r/techjobs. They have a combined membership of over 10K, and most of the postings are people looking to hire.
r/Jobs4Bitcoins
A subreddit for a variety of workers, as long as they’re willing to be paid in cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. This isn’t a developer-specific subreddit, but you may find people who specialize in the tech field here.
You can also find subreddits where developers just hang out and aren’t necessarily looking for work. Joining these groups will let you network with people and build relationships with developers who could make valuable additions to your team.
Some of those subreddits include:
- r/programming
- r/webdev
- r/gamedev
- r/RemoteWork
- r/freelance
If you do decide to check out these groups, be mindful of the rules. Nobody likes being spammed, so make sure people are okay with receiving messages from you before contacting them. You might see someone say they’re looking for work, so you could reach out that way.
The more you add to the community, the more other members of the group will see you as credible. See which conversations you can make a meaningful contribution to and start from there. This works the best if you join groups that already align with your interests in the tech space — chances are you’ll already know the subjects being discussed, and you won’t have to “fake it ‘til you make it.”
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Other Ways to Source Developers on Reddit
If you’re wondering how to source developers on Reddit and don’t want to dive into the subreddits listed above, you have a few other options.
Reddit’s Search Function with Boolean Strings
Reddit has a good old-fashioned search bar you can use to run a search for anything you’d like from the home page. While you could just search “remote developer” or “software developer” in the search tab, you can refine this even further.
Using boolean operators can narrow down your search to just the talent you’re looking to hire. For example, if you’re looking to hire a remote React developer, you could type the following:
The results returned by this boolean string return the following React developer candidate on Reddit:
Google X-Ray Search
You can search for postings on Reddit directly from Google by doing a site search. Use the term “site” followed by a colon and whatever term you want to search in Reddit to run this kind of search.
Not only does an x-ray search allow you to search a specific site, it allows you to find specific keyword combinations and information. You can use this to find developers looking for work on Reddit. An example search of this type might look like this:
site:reddit.com/user “* * developer” “For Hire” London
This will search Reddit for posts flaired with the [FOR HIRE] tag and the keyword “developer” that are published by users located in London.
If you’re looking for remote developers specifically, you can tailor your search accordingly. In addition to looking through posts, you can search for people with the phrase “remote developer” listed in their About Me section or their personal website. An example of that kind of search would be:
site:reddit.com/user (“* Engineer” OR “* Developer” OR “* Programmer”) “remote work” (“about me” OR “personal website”)
Typing this set of parameters into Google will show you people on Reddit who are looking for remote work and have engineer, developer, or programmer listed as their profession. Right away, you’re getting rid of most of the unrelated content you’d find by scrolling through a less specialized subreddit like r/forhire.
Reaching Out to Talent
Once you’ve found people to contact for your job, don’t reach out to them through Reddit unless they’ve expressly said you can. Look for an official contact channel and reach out to them there to talk details.
Do they have a website? Look for the contact page and mention that you saw their Reddit post. Maybe they prefer to communicate through Twitter DM instead. LinkedIn messaging and GitHub are also common contact options in the developer community. Whatever it is, be sure to contact that person through the channel they use for professional correspondence.
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Get Help With Hiring
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Further Resources: Alternative Software Engineering Staffing
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