What Happens After Hiring? Growing Talent for the Long-Term

Earlier, I wrote about how I hired developers, focusing not just on finding the ‘perfect’ candidate but also on identifying potential and cultural fit.

But what happens after they get hired?

That’s where the real challenge and opportunity begin. Hiring is just the start. Now, you must develop your team and equip them with the skills they need to be world-class professionals who can meet today’s challenges and adapt to tomorrow’s. It’s about creating a growth mindset culture where learning isn’t just encouraged; it is part of the DNA.

I wanted to share how we tackled this challenge, taking raw talent and helping them transform into world-class professionals through boot camps, training programs, hands-on projects, and drilling into us a CI/CD mindset: Continuous Improvement, Continuous (professional) Development.

We focused not just on technical skills but also on soft skills.

Boot Camp: Where Fresh Talent Becomes Fierce Talent

Finding the right balance of skills and attitudes in developers is always a challenge. That’s why we often hire fresh graduates — not for what they already know but for the promise they show.

I would often prefer these fresh faces, as “experienced” professionals frequently had habits and baggage that needed to be discarded. In those cases, I frequently had to deconstruct their mindset and rebuild it from the ground up. It was time-consuming, tough, and sometimes simply not worth it.

Once these young recruits joined, we ran an intensive boot camp that instilled in them the core technical skills required to contribute effectively. These boot camps weren’t just a series of lectures; they were hands-on, project-based, and designed to simulate real-world challenges.

Our boot camp curriculum was immersive and comprehensive. We combined both foundational and advanced topics to prepare recruits for real-world challenges.

Here’s a sample of the breadth of topics we taught:

• Best Practices: Starting with the essentials, we introduced principles of clean code and code quality, ensuring developers understood how to write maintainable and efficient software.
• SOLID Principles: These formed the backbone of structured, robust code writing and were reinforced through hands-on exercises.
• Design Patterns: Beyond the basics, developers explored multiple design patterns through practical examples, helping them think like problem-solvers.
• Programming Paradigms: We explore object-oriented, functional, and reactive programming, encouraging versatility in tackling diverse problems.
• Agile Methodologies: We taught them how to work in iterative frameworks, focusing on collaboration and adaptability, using tools like JIRA.
• Testing for Developers: Hands-on sessions covered various testing methodologies to ensure reliability and robustness in their code.
• And much more

Applying What They Learned

At the end of the boot camp, we didn’t stop with assessments or tests. Each new hire worked on a real-world project that required them to apply everything they had learned. These projects were not just academic exercises. They simulated the work they’d encounter on the job.

The result? By the time they transitioned to their teams, they had more than theoretical knowledge — they had practical experience solving problems and collaborating with others.

The Center of Excellence: Building More Than Just Coders

Technical skills can only take you so far. To truly thrive, developers need soft skills: communication, leadership, and collaboration. But to be a true professional in the truest sense of the word, you need more than just soft skills.

That’s why we created the Center of Excellence (CoE), which focused on developing the whole professional, not just their ability to write code or present ideas.

Amongst other topics, we covered:

• Company Culture: We focused on building a sense of ownership, fostering teamwork, and cultivating a growth mindset — making these values second nature for everyone.
• Workplace Etiquette: Not everything is obvious to everyone. Sometimes, even common sense needs to be taught. We created sessions around practical workplace dos and don’ts, addressing real-life scenarios like:
• Being friendly without crossing boundaries
• Respecting personal space
• Maintaining focus during meetings
• Professionalism in communication and sharing
• Personal hygiene — yes, we went there
• Minimizing waste
• Dressing appropriately
• Communication Skills: Writing clear documentation, delivering engaging presentations, and simplifying complex technical ideas.
• Collaboration: Building trust, working across teams, and fostering shared accountability.
• Leadership: Transitioning from individual contributor to team leader, mentoring peers, and managing responsibilities confidently.
• And much more.

Always Be Learning: The Secret Sauce of Success

Our boot camps and COE were just the beginning. We had many other activities that continued to support our always-learning culture.

Here’s how we did it:

Nano Degrees
Short, intensive courses focused on specific topics, like Deep Learning. These courses gave developers hands-on experience and practical expertise they could then immediately apply.

Tech Talks
We hosted regular presentations on topics of technical interest, led by the developers themselves. In addition to knowledge sharing, they gave developers a platform to showcase their technical understanding and hone their ability to demonstrate their expertise.

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
Groups formed around topics like AI, ML, NLP, security, and software architecture. These SIGs met regularly, sharing ideas and pushing the boundaries of what we could learn and achieve together.

Technical Book Club
Yes, we even had a book club. “Design It!: From Programmer to Architect” was one of our favorites. We discussed it chapter by chapter, applying the lessons to real-world projects.

Collaborative Learning Sessions
Groups of developers signed up for online courses on platforms like Udemy or Coursera and participated together as study groups. Working through the material together, they solved challenges as a team, enhancing their understanding and ability to collaborate.

Blog
We also created a dedicated blog where our staff wrote articles on topics of technical interest. The blog encouraged our team to reflect on their work, research new concepts, and contribute to the broader tech community.

These initiatives ensured that learning was never siloed. Instead, it became a shared, dynamic experience that enriched everyone involved and strengthened our culture of continuous improvement.

Our Alums: From Boot Camp to Big Leagues

Did it work? Absolutely.

Our developers stayed with us for years, growing both personally and professionally. When they moved on, as all talented people eventually must, they carried our culture of learning and excellence with them.

Today, our alums thrive in leadership roles worldwide. We have them in FAANGs, earning PhDs (6 at last count) and leading influential positions in tech companies both in Bangladesh and abroad.

They’re proof that investing in people isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s the smartest thing to do.

Why It Worked

This wasn’t just my achievement.

The secret lay in the culture. We built a team deeply committed to learning and growth. They designed the programs, led the sessions, and taught their peers.

All I had to do was step back and let them thrive.