Video course for tech recruiters

Speak your candidates’ language.

Learn how software actually gets built (the stacks, the roles, the jargon) from a developer who has spent a decade building it and hiring for it. Then send messages engineers want to answer, and screen them with confidence.

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67
videos
5œ
hours
15
templates & guides

Why engineers don’t reply

Most recruiter messages miss before they’re even read

When I surveyed developers about recruiters, the top reason they ignored a message wasn’t the subject line. It was a mis-targeted job: a role that didn’t match the work they actually do.

43%

said a mis-targeted role is the #1 reason they don’t reply

45%

have a “generally negative” opinion of recruiters

17%

ignore messages that look like spam

You don’t need to learn to code to fix that. You need to know what a React developer does, why a Java shop isn’t a JavaScript shop, and which questions separate a senior engineer from a buzzword-heavy rĂ©sumĂ©. That’s exactly what this course teaches.

“Recruiters probably should have industry experience. There’s too much of a disconnect.” A developer in my first survey
Survey chart: why developers don't respond to recruiters most often
“Why don’t you respond most often?” January 2020 developer survey

What you’ll learn

The domain knowledge that usually takes years to pick up

67 short, focused videos across 15 sections, made for recruiters, not engineers. No coding required.

How software gets built

The lifecycle, Scrum teams, and the develop → test → deploy loop engineers live in every day.

Frontend vs backend

Who builds what, the key technologies on each side, and where to find each kind of developer.

Tech stacks, decoded

LAMP, MEAN, Rails, Django, Spring, .NET, serverless and JAMstack: what each one means on a résumé.

Databases and infrastructure

SQL vs NoSQL, cloud hosting, Docker, Kafka and DevOps, explained without the hand-waving.

Screening engineers

Experience-based and technical questions you can ask, plus the answers worth listening for.

Outreach engineers answer

What developers really think of recruiters and why they change jobs, with email templates and subject lines to start from.

Inside the course

15 sections. 67 short lessons.

Most lessons run under ten minutes, so you can learn a topic between calls and rewatch it before you talk to a candidate.

  1. 01 Welcome! 1 video · 7 min · 1 resource 7 min
  2. 02 Research 1 video · 14 min · 1 resource 14 min
  3. 03 How engineers feel about work and recruiters 2 videos · 16 min · 5 resources 16 min
  4. 04 Software Development Process (the business side) 5 videos · 49 min 49 min
  5. 05 UI Design / Development 2 videos · 11 min · 1 resource 11 min
  6. 06 Frontend Vs Backend 9 videos · 28 min · 2 resources 28 min
  7. 07 Intro To HTML, CSS, and JS 1 video · 12 min · 1 resource 12 min
  8. 08 Tech Stacks and Technology Details 14 videos · 49 min 49 min
  9. 09 Databases 7 videos · 22 min · 1 resource 22 min
  10. 10 Mobile Devs Vs Web Devs 2 videos · 15 min 15 min
  11. 11 Open Source and Github 3 videos · 22 min · 1 resource 22 min
  12. 12 Common Points of Confusion 5 videos · 11 min 11 min
  13. 13 Advanced Software Engineering Concepts 3 videos · 31 min 31 min
  14. 14 Infrastructure & DevOps 6 videos · 21 min · 1 resource 21 min
  15. 15 Evaluation 5 videos · 19 min · 1 resource 19 min

Pricing

Two ways to get started

Start with the free mini-course, or get the whole thing. Either way there's no subscription and no login to remember. Just video files that are yours to keep.

Free mini-course

Parts of a Software Project

$0 free download

A 24-minute crash course on the process, people and infrastructure behind every software project. A good feel for how the full course teaches.

  • 10 videos, 24 minutes
  • Instant ZIP download. No email, no signup
  • Watch offline on any device
Download the free course

54 MB ZIP of video files

See all 10 lessons

Introduction

  • Introduction to the course 1:17

Part 1: Process

  • Introduction to Process 2:38
  • Code to Deploy Process 2:56

Part 2: People

  • People on a Scrum team & Iterative development 4:12

Part 3: Infrastructure

  • Client Server Model 1:06
  • Web App Technology 2:23
  • Tech stack examples 3:13
  • Java Microservices Example 3:11
  • Realistic Cloud Infrastructure 2:17

Closing

  • Thank You! 0:59

Reviews

Recruiters who've taken the course

Aarons course did wonders for me as a new tech recruiter! I started it knowing almost nothing about the tech world and after completing the course, I was able to better articulate how development and design work in order to understand what my candidates do everyday. It's great to be able to speak my candidates language and relate to them on a deeper level.
Grace Fjellanger
As someone who has never written a line of code before I think this course is something special. Being able to gain deeper technical knowledge as well as insight into how developers truly view the work recruiters do is highly beneficial. This course has the ability to change a lot in the world of technical recruiting.
Stephanie Paulson
This course is a great way for a new technical recruiter to gain perspective from an engineer's point of view as well as dive deeper into some more technical concepts to more easily relate with engineers. There's a lot of value to be had and it can definitely help you get up to speed faster as a new recruiter.
Quinn Marzolf
A comprehensive look at what software engineers do, the technologies involved, and what their job search is like. Your course is the info I expected to get out of the training for my current job, but unfortunately my training wasn't nearly as thorough.
Chris Kurker
Aaron made a professional and thoughtful presentation to our group of recruiters. He has a passion for the process that occurs between an technical candidate and a Talent Acquisition Professional and can offer helpful insight into improving that relationship.
Rick DesLauriers Owner of Recruiters of Minnesota
Aaron Decker Aaron presenting to Recruiters of Minnesota

Your instructor

Hi, I’m Aaron Decker

I’ve been writing software for about ten years: as a senior engineer at Fortune 500 companies, as a tech lead hiring my own teams, and now as CTO at LeadTruffle. I’ve also taught programming as an adjunct instructor at a community college.

My developer surveys convinced me recruiters needed training built for them, so I made it. I’ve taught this material live to groups like Recruiters of Minnesota, and this course puts all of it in one place.

Questions? Email aaron@ard.ninja or find me on LinkedIn.

FAQ

Questions before you buy

Do I need to know how to code?

No. The course is made for recruiters, including people who have never written a line of code. Every concept is explained in plain English, with the vocabulary you’ll hear from engineers.

How do I get the videos?

Buy through Stripe and you’ll get an email with a download link right away. The course is a set of video files, plus the PDFs, templates and cheat sheets, and they’re yours to keep.

Is this a subscription?

No. It’s $199 once. There’s no monthly fee, no renewal and no account to log in to.

Can I watch on my phone or offline?

Yes. They’re regular video files, so you can watch them offline on a laptop, tablet or phone, wherever you like.

Will the course be updated?

Yes. As I run more developer surveys and get requests for new topics, I add lessons, and updates are free for everyone who has bought the course.

Can I buy it for my whole team?

Each purchase is for one person. For a team, book a quick 15-minute call and we’ll work out team pricing. Book a call for team pricing →

What if it isn’t for me?

There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee. Email me within 30 days of purchase and ask for a refund. Read the refund terms →

What’s in the free mini-course?

10 videos, 24 minutes, covering the process, people and infrastructure behind a software project. It’s a 54 MB ZIP download with no email or signup.

Something else? Get in touch or email aaron@ard.ninja.

Ready to talk tech with confidence?

Get all 67 lessons for a one-time $199, or start with the free 24-minute mini-course.

Get the full course for $199 Try the free mini-course

Still deciding? Read the FAQ or get in touch.