Latest / The Career Change Podcast with Fexingo: Switching Fields, Bootcamps, and Reskilling / How Bootcamp Grads Can Break Into Technical Recruiting
Transcript
- Lucas: So here's a stat that caught my eye recently — a survey from a talent analytics firm found that nearly 30 percent of technical recruiters at mid-size tech companies now come from non-traditional backgrounds, and a growing slice of that group are bootcamp graduates. Luna: That's interesting because when most people think about bootcamp outcomes, they think about software engineering or data science. Recruiting doesn't usually come to mind. Lucas: Exactly. And I think that's a missed opportunity. Technical recruiting sits at this really interesting intersection — you need enough technical fluency to evaluate a candidate's skill set, but you also need strong interpersonal and organisational skills. Bootcamp grads actually have a natural advantage there. Luna: How so? I mean, they've been on the other side of the table — they know what a good technical screen looks like and what a bad one feels like. Lucas: That's part of it. But it goes deeper. Bootcamp grads have spent three to six months intensely learning how developers think, what tools they use, what jargon actually matters. When a hiring manager says 'we need someone with three years of React and experience with REST APIs,' a bootcamp grad knows what that means in a way that someone with a general HR background might not. Luna: Right, they can actually speak the language. I've heard recruiters say that candidates can smell when a recruiter doesn't understand tech — it undermines trust. Lucas: It does. And that's where bootcamp grads have a real edge. Let me give you a specific example. A woman I know — let's call her Priya — graduated from a full-stack bootcamp in Austin about two years ago. She did the program, built a decent portfolio, but quickly realised she didn't actually want to be a full-time developer. She was good at it, but she missed the people side of work. Luna: That's a common realisation. A lot of bootcamp grads discover coding is fine, but it's not their passion. Lucas: So Priya started applying for technical recruiting roles. She didn't have any formal HR background, but she had two things: she understood the technical side, and she had a network from her bootcamp — which included other grads who were job hunting. She started by doing informal screening for a few early-stage startups in Austin, just helping them find junior developers. Within six months, she landed an internal technical recruiting role at a SaaS company with about 200 employees. Luna: Did she have to take a pay cut initially? I know entry-level recruiting can start lower than junior dev salaries. Lucas: She did take a slight cut at first. The recruiting role started around fifty-five thousand base salary, compared to a junior dev role that might have been seventy or seventy-five. But within eighteen months, she was up to seventy-five thousand, and she told me she found the work more fulfilling. Plus, she didn't have to keep doing LeetCode problems on weekends. Luna: That's a decent trade-off if you value work-life balance. So what skills did she emphasise on her resume to make the transition? Lucas: She focused on three things. First, her ability to evaluate technical fit — she could talk about how she assessed code quality and problem-solving during bootcamp pair programming. Second, her network within the bootcamp community — she could tap into a pipeline of junior talent. And third, her organisational skills — she had run a few community events during bootcamp, which showed she could manage multiple stakeholders. Luna: The network piece is huge. Bootcamps often have alumni slack groups or discord channels where people are constantly sharing job leads. That's a ready-made candidate pool. Lucas: Exactly. And companies love that. A lot of mid-size tech companies struggle to find good junior talent because they can't compete with Google or Meta on salary. But bootcamp grads are often open to those roles, and having a recruiter who comes from that world helps build trust. Luna: So what about the actual interview process for a technical recruiting role? What should a bootcamp grad expect? Lucas: It varies, but generally there are a few common components. You'll likely have a phone screen with a senior recruiter or HR manager — they'll ask about your approach to sourcing, how you'd evaluate a candidate's technical stack, and how you handle rejection. Then there might be a take-home exercise where you build a sourcing strategy for a hypothetical role — say, a backend engineer with Python and AWS experience. Luna: And the bootcamp grad can lean into their technical knowledge there. They know what Python and AWS actually mean in practice. Lucas: Exactly. A generalist recruiter might just search for keywords on LinkedIn. A bootcamp grad knows that Python is used in data engineering, web development, and automation, and they can target the right communities. That kind of specificity stands out. Luna: Are there any certifications that help? Like a recruiting certificate or something in HR? Lucas: Not necessary, but helpful. Some people get the AIRS CIR certification or take courses on LinkedIn Learning about recruiting. But honestly, the most important thing is just doing the work — start by helping a friend or a small startup find a developer for free. Build a track record of successful placements, even if they're unpaid. That's your portfolio. Luna: That's similar to how bootcamp grads build a coding portfolio — you start with small projects, get feedback, iterate. Lucas: Exactly the same principle. And the current job market — as of July 2026 — is actually pretty favourable for technical recruiting. We're seeing a steady increase in hiring at mid-size companies, especially in SaaS and fintech. According to data from a recruiting software company, technical recruiter job postings were up about 12 percent year-over-year in Q2 of this year. Luna: And what about salaries? I know you mentioned Priya's numbers, but what's the broader range? Lucas: Entry-level technical recruiter salaries typically range from fifty thousand to seventy-five thousand base, depending on location and company size. With two to three years of experience, that can climb to eighty-five to one hundred and ten thousand. And if you move into a senior or lead recruiting role, you can see one hundred thirty thousand plus bonus. It's not software engineering money, but it's solid middle-class income. Luna: And you don't have to worry about layoffs hitting engineers first — recruiting is cyclical, but companies always need to hire. Lucas: Right, though it's worth noting that recruiting can be more volatile in downturns. But for bootcamp grads specifically, the upside is that you're not competing with a million other applicants for every dev role. The recruiting funnel is less saturated. Luna: That's a good point. So what's the first step for someone listening who thinks this might be for them? Lucas: I'd say two things. First, start talking to your bootcamp's career services team — they often have relationships with companies that are open to hiring alumni for non-engineering roles. Second, reach out to a current technical recruiter on LinkedIn and ask for a fifteen-minute informational interview. Most are happy to talk, especially if you show genuine interest. Luna: And if they're a bootcamp grad themselves, even better. You can ask about their own transition. Lucas: Exactly. And if this episode has given you a different way to think about your career options, I'll just say — listener support is what keeps this show ad-free and focused on practical advice. If you've found value in episodes like this one, you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep the conversation going. Luna: Yeah, it's a simple way to help us keep doing what we do. And we appreciate every bit. Lucas: So back to technical recruiting — one more angle I think is worth mentioning. A lot of bootcamp grads worry that their coding skills will atrophy if they move into recruiting. But in reality, the technical knowledge stays relevant because you're constantly evaluating candidates who use those skills. You stay in the loop. Luna: Plus, you can always code on the side if you want to keep those skills sharp. It's not like you lose them forever. Lucas: Right. And some companies even encourage recruiters to maintain a side project or contribute to open source, because it helps them understand the developer experience better. It's a win-win. Luna: I've also heard that some technical recruiters eventually move into product management or developer relations — it's a stepping stone. Lucas: That's a great point. Recruiting gives you deep insight into what customers and users actually need, which is a huge asset in product roles. So even if you don't stay in recruiting forever, it's a smart career move. Luna: Alright, I think we've given people a lot to think about. Any final takeaway? Lucas: Just that you don't have to be a developer to have a great career in tech. If you like people, you like problem-solving, and you have that bootcamp foundation — technical recruiting is a path worth exploring.