How to find work as an IT professional during wartime

In the first weeks of the war, many IT companies evacuated teams to safer regions. Implemented the practice of military vacations and retention of salary for six months for persons called up to the units of military personnel or armed forces. For the few programmers who managed to go abroad, they created headquarters or organized a co-working space.

But, unfortunately, not everyone managed to adjust to the realities of military operations. Most IT staff were fired without notice periods, transferred to part-time without warning or replaced by specialists from other countries. The general picture on the labor market, according to the study “Ukraine during the war”, looks like this: 53% of the population became unemployed, and 52% felt a significant deterioration in their financial situation. Negative fluctuations did not escape the digital industry either.

Who now owns the initiative in the IT market?

Data from the largest community of programmers DUO in Ukraine indicate that the number of people working in the IT industry exceeds 250,000. In pre-war times, the question of where to look for a job did not arise, as the demand for developers exceeded the supply by almost a third. Specialists were literally flooded with invitations to work. There was a huge market of candidates.

With the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia on the territory of Ukraine, the situation changed radically. Many companies put their activities on hold, stopped recruiting new employees, and some had to cut staff. The main part is food companies operating in the local markets of Ukraine. The situation was also affected by the total withdrawal from Russia and Belarus.

Foreign outsourcing companies, whose products are aimed at Europe and the USA, continue to hire specialists, since the crisis in Ukraine did not affect their activities globally.

The war provoked a radical change in the trends of the labor market in the field of IT. Now the number of candidates is many times greater than the number of vacancies. The market is completely owned by the employer.

Junior developers faced the biggest difficulties. Since companies have focused on optimizing internal processes, there are no resources for training and mentoring juniors. Junior specialists have to make much more effort to find a job compared to pre-war times.

The situation for senior level programmers or DevOps specialists does not look so bleak. Companies are also looking for experienced personnel. But losses cannot be avoided, because now the salary of a web designer and other IT professionals has decreased somewhat.

What changes has the recruitment strategy undergone?

The IT sector remains one of the few that work for exports and support the country’s economy. But the labor market has shrunk significantly, as the war directly affects it. If earlier companies were completely indifferent to the location of the candidate, now it is an important factor in the selection of a specialist.

Recruiting companies prefer programmers who are located in safe regions of the country – western and central. Those who managed to go abroad have a much better chance of finding a job, because the safer your place of stay, the more companies are ready to make an offer.

The whole world is trying to support Ukraine, and foreign IT companies are not far behind in this. Ukrainian developers received the largest number of invitations from Poland (31%). The salary level in the European country is almost twice as high and, according to grc.ua, is about 150,000 hryvnias, while the average salary for an IT worker in Ukraine is 86,500 hryvnias.

The Polish organization No Fluff jobs created an information center for developers from Ukraine. On the infohub, employers from Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as Hungary, post offers to hire Ukrainian programmers. About 800 vacancies marked help4ua are already posted on the resource, where it is much easier for IT professionals to find a job. By responding to a vacancy, you will receive support in relocation and adaptation in a new place of residence.

If you decide to cooperate with a foreign company under a B2B contract, we advise you to carefully study the documents to avoid unpleasant surprises in the future. Many companies have made changes to the lists of benefits offered to employees on the RPR developers job site. It is best to consult with lawyers or conclude a contract with the participation of experienced recruiters.

The work process has not changed directly at this time. Thanks to the previous pandemic and total quarantine restrictions, the IT sphere has already switched to remote. The only point that needs to be clarified is whether the employer will provide the equipment if you need it for work.

Where to look for jobs during the war?

There are two ways to solve the question “where to work during the war”: to search independently or to contact a recruiting agency. If you prefer to delegate the search, then we invite you to our recruiting company. We provide consultation and support at all stages of cooperation.

For independent employment, use all available resources — job sites, Telegram channels and even advice from ordinary people. In Ukraine, the most popular resources with vacancies are Work.ua and Robota.ua. Sites with freelance vacancies have also proven themselves well:

• UAJobNow;
• Happy Monday;
• Jooble Upwork;
• D.O.U.

In Telegram, join the channels JOB for Ukrainians and “Work during the war” – a channel from the powerful job aggregator Jooble. Another platform worth the attention of IT professionals is UpWork. The service has a special loyalty to Ukrainian developers.

Despite the war, specialists from Ukraine are still considered to be among the most talented in the world. Now new trends show that the demand for our developers remains. Don’t be afraid to try your hand at it, write a competent resume and track vacancies on all available resources. Contact our recruiting agency for help with employment.