Here's what's coming up on episode 27 of the just get hired podcast. One of the ways
to succeed in in going remote as a company is to have all of the team members kind of on a level playing field and you know whether you're in the office or not, you know you're using the same tools for remote collaboration so people don't feel like second house second hand citizens if they're not in the office and everyone can feel equal everybody is you know, on for everyone's a first class citizen, whether they are in the office or not. I think that's that's the healthy new way to look at it.
Hey, everyone, and welcome to the just get hired podcast. One of the hottest fields over the last few years has been in technology, technology is constantly evolving. Unlike most industries, you can start your career at any age, if you're just willing to learn and grow. Why do so many people want to get into a career in tech? Well, most jobs are well paid. It provides great job security and there's tons of flexibility when it comes to working remote. Well, as tech evolves, you are constantly learning. Working for a tech company also is kind of cool. They offer great culture perks, and also has that young startup vibe. companies can't grow without technology. So it is a magnet for investment and it's really not going anywhere, so the future is bright and sustainable. Well, do you want to meet someone who is passionate about employment equity and programming and tech trends? Well, you guys are gonna get to meet Damien bibliometro, the founder and CEO of scalable path, which is a software staffing agency that matches leading companies and startups with vetted remote software developers. Well, if you guys are new to the show, hey, everyone, my name is Jessica. yester George, and I'm a talent acquisition executive who's been helping job seekers and business professionals like you over the last 15 years or so level up your opportunities. Well, welcome to episode 27. Damien and I are going to talk about breaking into tech and some of the common misconceptions employers have about hiring remote developers, Damien's company scalable path has helped over 24,000 freelancers in 177 countries complete 780,000 hours of programming on client projects over the years, and he's going to share some great insight for those of you looking to break into the industry. Well, if you guys enjoy my content, head over to my website, just get hired.com and sign up for my newsletter. Tell me more about what type of episodes will help you and what you want to learn more about. Follow me on Instagram, just get hired. And also find me on LinkedIn by searching my full name Jessica yester George.
This is Damian, Phil yatra. And you're listening to the jest get hired podcast.
All right, everyone, I am joined by Damien with scalable path. Hey, how's it going, Damien?
Pretty good. Jess, how are you?
Great. Well, I wanted to welcome you to the just get hired podcast. Thank you so much for joining today. So I wanted to we're talking about breaking into it and the common misconceptions employers have about hiring remote developers. So before we get into all of that conversation, like, share a little bit more about your background, who is Damien, tell me more about you?
Well, I guess I could start with the fact that I didn't study anything related to programming or, you know, software. In college. I actually studied geography the first time around. I didn't really know where that would take me. But you know, it didn't take me anywhere. I really wanted to go in my career. And so I ended up getting a second bachelor's degree in computer science, waiting tables while doing that. And then went to work as a developer for a couple of digital agencies in San Francisco. Before I started scalable path 12 years ago,
that's awesome. Well, speaking of geography, you're a world traveler. what place do you like the most?
Oh, that's a tough one. I mean, I've I've lived in Tahiti, Australia, India, France, all during my three of those during college and then India. During my career, managing it I'm a software developers over there I go with to Haiti, I got to work and study at biological research station on the island of Maria, which was a pretty lucky place to end up studying.
Sounds amazing. That's actually on my bucket list. So can't wait to visit it one day, just so far to travel over there. So not looking forward to that, but it looks beautiful in all of the photos I see it is. Well, did you always want you, you know, did you always want to be in it? What? What was it that you wanted to be when you grew up?
Well, as a little kid, if I recall, I always wanted to be, you know, like a pilot or an astronaut or something like that. But I'm red green colorblind, so that wasn't gonna happen. And, and I never really even I got, you know, a little bit older in high school. I never really had a plan or really knew exactly what I wanted to do. I just was focusing on school and, you know, getting good grades and being a kid. And when I went to, I went to Berkeley and studied geography only because it was interesting to me, it wasn't I wasn't really worried about my career. But then when I got into the workplace, you know, that geography degree wasn't really helping me. And so as I imagined, as I mentioned, before, I, you know, I was wasn't till later till I started computer science. But I was actually, you know, I worked in the wine business a bit. And I got pulled into technology sort of tangentially in the first.com, boom, in like, 1998. I was selling advertising for a company called CNET. And a friend of mine said to me, Hey, I want to build this website, I have this, you know, idea for a startup, do you do anyone who could, you know, build this for me? And I said, Well, I don't, but I think I could do it. I, I just figured it out. And I built this website, I didn't do everything correctly. But I got it done. And I and I found that I enjoyed it. And so that was my first entry into technology. And it wasn't until you know, the.com bust, you know, I got laid off, I tried to go to business school, I didn't get in anywhere I wanted to go. And that's when I decided, you know, what, I'm gonna go to get a second bachelor's in computer science. And that's how I ended up there, it was not really planned. Just sort of unfolded that way.
You know, I talked to a lot of people, and it's crazy how, like, you get redirected after, you know, being furloughed laid off for you know, you just have to start thinking outside the box about what you what you can do. So it's great to hear that you were able to kind of redirect yourself, and is that how you came up with scalable path?
Well, you know, that's, that's actually related to India, I think one of the moments I was over in India managing a team of software developers for half a year. And, you know, I'd have to be up at like, 11 at night starting, you know, on these calls with San Francisco, you know, and I was sitting there in the dark, you know, thinking to myself on my laptop, like there's got to be a better way for these remote teams, remote software teams to be working together. And when I came back from India, I started working with some developers in Latin America, who were in my timezone. And it worked a lot better not only from the timezone, but also sort of a, what we call like a cultural affinity there. The way the developers communicated and integrated with our team worked really well. And so I started working with a bunch of developers in Argentina. And that was when I decided, hey, I'm going to start scalable path and focusing focus on connecting developers and other countries, particularly Latin America with with US companies.
Tell me then, what is scalable path and how does it differ from other platforms?
Well, we're a software staffing platform with over 24,000 Freelancer profiles from around the world. We're kind of a hybrid between a marketplace, a staffing agency and a recruiting firm. And our goal is to provide the best possible possible experience when hiring developers designers and project managers. And what sets us apart is our human approach. Some of the other competitors in the marketplace, you know, they may be VC funded they, they try to automate everything. And because of that, a lot of the clients and the in the freelancers who go through those other platforms can feel a bit like it's a bit of a factory and impersonal. And, you know, we really think that you have to speak with each client and speak with each freelancer and get to know them to find the right fit for each position that we're trying to fill.
Well, you know, there's a lot of people trying to break into it right now, what are some of the typical roles that you see that are difficult to be filled and hired remotely? Well,
that's kind of a question is a bit hard to answer, because I don't think, at least in my area, in the software industry, I think remote work has been largely embraced. You know, occasionally, we'll run into a client who wants to hire people to specifically come into an office. But generally, the clients who come to us are okay with with hiring remotely. And when it's when, when they aren't okay, with remote, it's not really about a particular role. It's more about just their company in general, like we want, we want an office, we want that everybody to be together, you know, and it's, it's more the exception than the rule, at least the people that I'm dealing with, and granted, they're self selecting a little bit, too, because that's what we do. And we say that we, we provide remote software developers. And so that's who, that's how I'm talking to most of the time.
Well, I think that's one of the reasons why people want to break into it, because it is one of the positions that you can really do anywhere. Right. But what are some common misconceptions employers have about hiring remote? I mean, yes, as you said, people embrace the idea of remote workers. But, you know, specifically when it comes to developers,
yeah. Well, you know, I think that when remote software development started, probably like the 90s and early 2000s, it was very different, like, the term outsourcing comes to mind, you know, where you would, you know, be sending a software project over to India, and, you know, you, you might not get the best results, you might kind of be throwing the project over a fence and think crossing your fingers and coming back and seeing, maybe you got what you want, maybe you didn't, and, you know, I think there's some baggage, that's, you know, being carried forward from that era where, you know, people it was, it was very separate from the actual company that needed the help, you know, you'd have a company here in the US there would be that company and their employees and then the outsourced people and they were all very separate and different. And now what what we're seeing is, with the rise of agile and you know, people kind of collaborating on a daily basis, using, you know, Slack and zoom and project management software, you know, people are assembling these international teams and they're working together every day and communicating in real time and it's like there's not really a difference between someone who's in the company or remote or in the office or remote and I just, I think that's that's the the new healthy model of remote that people need to leave that other sort of, you know, this separate this or treating people differently, you know, one of the ways to succeed in in going remote as a company is to have all of the team members kind of on a level playing field and you know, whether you're in the office or not, you know, you're using the same tools for remote collaboration so people don't feel like second house second hand citizens if they're not in the office and everyone can feel equal and yeah, that that concept of everybody is, uh, you know, on for everyone's a first class citizen, whether they are in the office or not, I think that's that's it. A healthy new way to to look at it.
Right? I think it's one of the things that most companies have to start learning is really how to manage remote workers in a remote workforce. I think that's one of the things, especially out of COVID that some companies just haven't quite gotten there. But I think, as you can see, with the shift of everybody trying to work remotely, that it's something that they have to do in order for them to find the best talent. Yeah. This episode is brought to you by Kitt caster, did you know that podcasts are a great way to put a voice behind your personal and business brand? Here's the secret. We all want to feel connected to the brands we buy from and what better way to humanize a brand than sharing your story on a podcast. Kid caster is a podcast booking agency that specializes in developing real human connections through podcast appearances. If you're an expert in your field have a unique story to share or an interesting point of view, it's time for you to explore the world of podcasting. With kit caster, you can expect a completely customized concierge service from our staff of communication experts, kit caster is your secret weapon and podcasting for business. Look, your audience is waiting to hear from you. So go to Kitt caster.com backslash, just get hired, or find this link on my website to apply for a special offer for my friends of this podcast. What are some tips you would give our audience about breaking into it?
Um, well, I would say that, you just have to do it. I mean, if you are genuinely interested in, you know, technology or software, it's never too late. I mean, I alluded to it a little bit before, you know, I studied geography, and then I worked in the wine business and did sales. And it wasn't until my mid to late 20s, that, you know, I thought I, you know, where's my career going, I don't know, if I'm on a good path here. And I just my friend came to me and said, Hey, I need help building this website. And I, I went, and I figured it out. And it didn't do it perfectly. But I found out that I that I liked it, and I was capable of it. And I did ultimately decide to get a computer science degree. But that is totally not necessary. You know, there are many ways to, to learn. And my main point here is that, you know, it's never too late. And, you know, I didn't really get my career in software going until I was about 30. And there's no reason that couldn't have been much later in my life. You just have to have an interest in the area, and, you know, an ability to learn new things. And and, you know, that's one of the it's such a fast moving industry, like even developers who have been coding for 1015 years, new technologies come out, and their skills that they've been doing for, you know, a long time become obsolete, and they have to go and learn some new thing to keep up to. And so that's the beauty of it is that if you can go in and say figure out, okay, these are, these are some of the areas that are hot right now. And you can learn those new technologies, you can be just as good as the people have been doing it for for 10 years, because they've got it oh, they just learned it this year, because it came out this year. Right, the new technology. So yeah, having some experience, you know, with other technologies does help you. But you know, there is such a high demand from employers that, you know, if you can get reasonably good at something, it's not too hard to find a job,
right. I see a lot of people getting into development and in cybersecurity, lot of UX UI. There's just so many different facets of it that you can literally, you know, find something that interests you and go from there. Are there specific courses or certifications that you seem to see all the time that stand out more than others?
Well, as I said before, there's so many different ways to learn about software development. You know, from just diving in to self learning doing free tutorials online. Oh, done one, that's just one end of the spectrum. And on the other end, you've got, you know, full computer science degree and everything in between from paid online courses or going to a in person boot camp for a month or a virtual boot camp. And I can tell you that scalable path, we care more about whether an individual can actually do the work and actually code or whatever skill that their job requires more than their educational background or their credential. So you know, it doesn't really matter how you learn. It's just that you learn the skills. And we actually have a great blog article on our blog, written by a developer named Leandro called online learning platforms and resources for software developers. If you Google that and scalable path, you'll definitely find it and some of the things that we try to help people answer in that article. are, you know, like, What's your preferred learning approach? Or your learning style? You know, do you like reading text? Or do you prefer watching videos? Do you prefer learning more theoretically, about software development? Or do you run and work on more like applied examples? Is is interaction with instructors and peers more important to you? Are you or are you more independent learner? You know, we break down I think 18 different online options in that article. You things you want to consider are? Is the platform reputable? How much does it cost? Do they offer certificates? You know, there, there are so many good ones. And they change all the time. I mean, in my just to name a couple, just to throw a couple out there not to say these are the best, because it depends on the person, but you've got, you know, Udemy Udacity, or there's a plural site. Those are just a few to throw some out there for people to check out. But any, and even if you know when we're talking about, you're asking me about it, it's not only about you know, coding, I think that, you know, if you're not super, like mathematically inclined, which, you know, my is kind of a I don't know, you don't have to be a whiz at math to be a good coder. But it does help. You know, if you might be maybe you're more design inclined, you know, and you want to go and learn figma, you know, which is a really hot tool right now, you know, or you want maybe you're, you're really into project management, you know, if you don't, if those aren't what floats your boat, there's a lot of ways to get involved in software that aren't necessarily coding, you know, that, and there's courses on those as well.
Well, speaking of blogs, I was on your website, and you got some really great resources on the scalable path.com website. If you click the blog section, lots of great articles in there written by you. I see some from you, and maybe some from your team there. So I would definitely advise people to check that out. Because it looks like some great resources. They're definitely. Well, awesome. Well, I thank you so much, Damian. So is there anything you want to share with the rest of the chess get hired family?
Well, I just say, you know, if you're a developer, or designer or project manager or aspiring to be any of those, and you're, and you're ready to see what opportunities are out there, or you're a client looking to augment your team, come check us out at scalable path.com. And we'd be happy to try to help you find a job or connect you with a freelancer.
Awesome, thank you so much for coming on the just get hired podcast, Damien.
Thanks for having me.
Some common misconceptions about hiring remote workers, especially in tech is that teamwork and company culture will suffer. But Damien shared if everyone is on a level playing field, that's more a myth than reality. time differences, culture and language barriers. Yes, those are other misconceptions about outsourcing tech talent. But what are some other pitfalls that you think about when it comes to hiring remote teams? There are so many talented individuals at different stages of their career. And companies like scalable path do make it a lot easier to connect great projects to great people. Now despite recent news, the tech industry is thriving and will always continue to thrive. You've heard of several companies like Netflix, Pay Pal, meta Microsoft and a lot of other companies that have had recent layoffs or hiring freezes. And it may seem really disheartening to a lot of you out there who are trying to break into a career within tech. We're seeing this temporary slowdown within the technology industry, because it's bracing itself for potential recession. Coinbase the cryptocurrency trading platform also just announced cutting 18% of its global workforce, and masterclass. The educational technology platform recently announced that 20% of their workforce will be impacted by a layoff, and then E commerce fashion website Stitch Fix just reported laying off about 15% of their workforce. Now don't let these slowdowns scare you. Funding for a lot of these high profile companies has come to a slowdown, but the industry will continue to expand and certain positions within tech will always be needed. Remember, it's still a job seekers market. Let's think about Elon Musk's announcement for Tesla, to bring people back into the office. A lot of them did not want to come back to the office. And then he also had to do a few layoffs. Those people are now on the job market and have demands for their future employers on showing more flexibility when it comes to scheduling and their work environments in general. Now, I was doing a search on recession, proof careers and technology and according to thankful.com, they have this list. So some of the recession proof careers to consider are cybersecurity analyst, cloud administrator, software engineer, artificial intelligence specialist, data engineer, Cloud Architect, financial analyst and tech support. Remember, every organization relies heavily and is driven by technology. So although we're seeing layoffs, tech is still the hottest career to get into the risk is definitely worth the reward in the long run. So what are some careers in tech that you would like to learn more about? What are some tips that you're looking for or other platforms that can help you tell me what you want to hear more about connect with me on my website, just get hired.com You can also send me an email at just get hired@gmail.com or you can find me on LinkedIn and send me a message. Well, if you want to keep this podcast going, give me your five star reviews. And I would really appreciate your comments. You can comment on iTunes, Amazon or wherever you're listening to this podcast. Stay tuned because in two weeks, I'm going to launch another episode. My name is Jessica Fiesta George, your host of the just get hired podcast. What do you want to talk about next? I'll catch you on my next episode.