The Secret Sauce for Success with your Bootcamp Hire

Taking on a bootcamp grad can be a very rewarding experience as I mentioned in my previous post, but it does take a little bit of effort to set them up for success. These are a few of the things I've learned over the years that seemed to make a real difference.

Buddy

I highly recommend buddies, no matter what level you're hiring at. I had a buddy when I started in the CodeClan Executive team and she was invaluable at making my new starter experience a good one.

A buddy is basically a friendly face, often someone fairly new to the business themselves, who can help the new starter with orientation round the office, where to go for lunch and maybe things like getting their machine set up and logged in.

Allocating a buddy and making it clear to the buddy what their responsibilities are can take some of the load of mentors and managers for the new start. And more importantly makes sure they've got someone to go for lunch with on the first day so they don't feel left-out.

Mentor

The temptation when people say mentor is to automatically think of your senior team members who are often overloaded and time-poor. New starers who are still junior need a fair bit of time and attention to succeed, especially in the first couple of months.

The first time I allocated a recent-ish Bootcamp Alumni (2 years experience post bootcamp) as a mentor, it was out of desperation as recent turn-over in the team meant I had no-one else. It turned out to be such a successful partnership, that I tried it again and again and it kept working.

Here's why I think it works:

• They're familiar with the challenges of coming from a bootcamp first-hand so know what to expect and can anticipate questions and difficulties.

• Their time is generally not in as high a demand as seniors, so they can devote bigger chunks of time to pairing together.

• They're looking for a chance to prove themselves and helping someone else succeed is a good personal boost and consolidates their own knowledge.

• They're less 'intimidating' than an senior, so the grad is more likely to be open with their questions and not feel silly for asking the basics.

Of course, a new mentor will need some support themselves, so don't skimp on their 1:1 time to ensure you can help with tricky issues that come up. And ideally make sure they're working on the same team to maximise time for pairing.

The other reason less-senior mentors can work well, is they have more time for the next point...

Preparation

The old adage about no "plan survives first contact" is as true here as it is anywhere, but not having a plan for your new bootcamp grad (or indeed any new start) is a recipe for missed opportunities, a slow start and disappointment all round. This is another place where having a mentor who isn't pulled in six different directions is a good strategy as they can pick up a lot of the prep work and adapt the plan as they go along.

First off, set out expectations, what do you expect them to have achieved on the first day, first week and first month. Be realistic - listen to the mentor you've chosen and any other bootcamp grads in your organisation - and plan around team deadlines and releases.

Secondly select suitable bugs and features for the new bootcamp grad to work on. Ideally you're looking for work that needs doing, isn't on the critical path and helps them explore the codebase. It can take a bit of time to find and 'reserve' these tasks, it's time well spent though. Start with simple fixes like typos and work up to more complex issues gradually. That way early wins boost everyone's confidence.

Finally, plan in training time. Talk to other bootcamp grads in your team and find out what they needed to learn and document some of the sources they used. There will inevitably be downtime in the first few weeks when their mentor isn't available so having a bank of useful and relevant training materials helps to fill the gaps.

I'm sure there are plenty of other tips and tricks you've used yourselves or if you've been a new bootcamp starter yourself, things that really helped you. Please do share in the comments as I'd love to hear more about what makes for a great experience!

If you'd like to discuss leadership for your technical team, please get in touch.

If you're interested in hiring bootcamp graduates in Scotland, Direct Partners have recently opened a tech skills academy.