The tech industry in North America is growing rapidly, and often there aren’t enough developers to fill all the roles. With the developer shortage becoming more acute, companies are starting to focus their attention on talent overseas, especially in Latin America.
Latin America has seen a huge boom in its tech industry in recent years, and Brazil is currently one of the prime destinations for tech recruiters looking for experienced developers for companies in the U.S. and Canada.
Let’s explore some of the factors that make Brazil a great choice for developer talent, and how you can start recruiting there.
Why should you hire in Brazil?
1. Compatible time zones
Did you know that the time difference between New York and most Brazilian cities (including major hubs like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) is only one hour? This is very convenient for North American clients looking to hire colleagues who share similar working hours.
For companies based in the U.S. or Canada, time zone differences are often one of the main arguments against hiring developers in faraway regions like Asia or Africa, because in the long term they may disrupt the team's workflow and jeopardize productivity.
According to research conducted by Dr. Philippe Ruiz from Kledge Business School, 57% of projects fail due to a “breakdown in communications.” So here’s a general tip when hiring remote talent nearshore: give them the flexibility to choose their working hours, but also ensure a minimum level of overlap with the rest of your team.
Asynchronous communication (like sending an email, Slack message, or Loom video) is great for asking or answering a quick question. But having overlapping hours is still important because if your team can’t have at least a weekly sync meeting, communication issues and misalignment may soon arise.
2. Similar work culture and attitude
The work culture and mindset of Brazilian tech workers is similar to that of their peers in North America: great communication skills, a proactive and entrepreneurial mindset, a hard-working and problem-solving attitude, and a knack for finding new and creative ways to do things are all highly valued.
These traits are especially promoted at tech companies, where there are many ambiguous situations and complex problems to solve.
In fact, the Brazilian-Portuguese term jeitinho (which means ‘finding a way’) encapsulates Brazilians’ innovative spirit. If there’s an obstacle to accomplishing a goal, the Brazilian mindset is to find a way to get around it. This can-do attitude has not only fueled tech innovation within Brazil, but also made Brazilian developers excellent candidates for international companies.
3. Top talent with great experience
Latin America has already established itself as one of the trendiest technology hubs in the world, with Brazil considered number one in the region and ranked 26th worldwide according to StartupBlink. Dozens of Brazilian startups like Quinto Andar, Nubank, and Nuvemshop have achieved unicorn status (over $1 billion in valuation).
These companies have flourished thanks to the great local talent powering their success. The Brazilian government has invested heavily in educating and developing its tech talent, and there are almost half a million tech graduates per year.
Thanks to a vibrant tech scene that includes the Brazilian Silicon Valley, Brazil is known regionally for its talent pool of experienced and highly skilled tech workers.
4. Engaged and motivated candidates
For Brazilian developers, working for an international company (especially one located in North America) is highly attractive for both economic and professional reasons. For this reason, you’ll find that these candidates are highly engaged, motivated, and determined—both during the hiring process and on the job.
In addition, hiring from Brazil will not just get you great teammates, but also add to the diversity of your team. It’s proven that diversity is a competitive advantage, so hiring remote overseas talent is a great way to boost your team with a variety of different perspectives.
Latin American society and culture is quite different from that of the U.S. and Canada, so candidates will bring new ideas and ways of doing things, which will expand and enhance your team’s capabilities.
How can you find and hire Brazilian talent?
Finding and hiring international teammates can be daunting if it’s your first time doing it. There are many options for recruitment: recruitment agencies, job boards, sourcing on LinkedIn, and talent marketplaces. Each method has its pros and cons, so let’s discuss them one by one.
Recruitment agencies are a great choice when you want experienced recruiters with deep knowledge of the region in question. On the other hand, they sometimes fall short in terms of volume of candidates, and might not deeply understand the intricacies of a role and your company.
Job boards like Indeed are essential because they serve as a career hub that lists every job opening at your company, as well as key information about the company and its organizational culture. However, job boards don’t allow you to interact with candidates, which is possible with LinkedIn recruiting and talent marketplaces.
LinkedIn is a great tool for actively pursuing the perfect candidate based on their profile on the platform. It also shows developers that you and your company are very interested in interviewing them, which saves time since they don’t have to go through the traditional job search and application process. However, the Linkedin filters can be hit-or-miss: candidates don’t get screened, so there’s always a chance of profile misalignment.
Finally, talent marketplaces are platforms where companies can find, connect with, interview, and hire top talent. The features may vary depending on the options available, but most talent marketplaces have specialists who screen and test candidates’ experience and skill set before sending them to your recruitment team.
A world of talent
There are new talent pools just waiting to be explored, and global employment platforms like Oyster make it easy to hire from overseas. So there’s no reason to limit yourself to candidates in your city or country.
With highly motivated and experienced developers, as well as compatible time zones and mindsets, Brazil is particularly attractive as a new talent market for North American companies looking for tech talent. The diversity of experiences and perspectives will not only enrich your team, but may even become your superpower.
Ready to find your next hire? GeekHunter is a top talent marketplace for companies looking to hire developers in Latin America.
About Oyster
Oyster is a global employment platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, hire, pay, manage, develop, and take care of a thriving distributed workforce. Oyster lets growing companies give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches and expense.
