You're a recruiter. You don't code. And you just got assigned to hire three senior software engineers.

Your first instinct: panic. Your second instinct: Google "what is Kubernetes" and pretend you understand it when talking to candidates. Your third instinct: read this article and learn how to recruit technical roles effectively without faking expertise.

Here's the truth: you don't need to be technical to recruit technical roles. But you do need to stop doing the things that make technical candidates immediately write you off.

What Technical Candidates Actually Want From Recruiters

Good news: technical candidates don't expect you to be an expert engineer. They expect you to:

Understand the role well enough to have an intelligent conversation about it

Not waste their time with irrelevant opportunities

Facilitate the process efficiently

Connect them with the actual technical team quickly

That's it. You don't need to explain how React hooks work. You need to know when React is relevant to the role and when it's not.

The Questions To Ask Your Hiring Manager (Before You Start Sourcing)

Most non-technical recruiters fail because they start sourcing without understanding what they're looking for. Fix that first:

"What does this person need to accomplish in their first 90 days?" This tells you what skills actually matter, not just what's nice to have.

"What tech stack is the team currently using?" Write this down. Memorize it. You'll need to reference it constantly.

"Which of these technologies are must-haves vs. nice-to-haves?" Most job descriptions list 15 skills. Maybe 5 actually matter. Figure out which ones.

"What's more important: deep expertise in our specific stack, or strong fundamentals with ability to learn?" This determines whether you're looking for someone who's done exactly this work before or someone who's smart and adaptable.

"Can you give me examples of LinkedIn profiles or GitHub accounts of people who would be great for this role?" This is gold. Now you have real examples to pattern-match against.

"What are the red flags or deal-breakers in candidates?" Learn what to avoid before you waste time on wrong-fit candidates.

"Who on the team can I send candidate profiles to for quick technical screening?" You need a technical partner who can vet candidates before formal interviews.

Don't start sourcing until you have clear answers to these questions.

How To Source Technical Candidates Without Embarrassing Yourself

Use exact technology names: It's "React," not "React.js" or "Reactjs." It's "PostgreSQL" or "Postgres," not "Postgress." Get the names right.

Don't keyword-spam: Candidates can tell when you're just matching buzzwords. "I see you have experience with Python, Java, C++, JavaScript, Ruby, Go, Rust, and PHP" makes it obvious you don't understand what you're looking for.

Look for relevant work, not just buzzwords: Someone who built a highly-scaled distributed system is probably a strong engineer even if they used different technologies than your stack. Focus on the problems they solved, not just the tools they used.

Understand seniority levels: A "Senior Engineer" at a 10-person startup is not the same as a "Senior Engineer" at Google. Look at scope of work, not just titles.

Check their online work: GitHub profiles, technical blog posts, open-source contributions, conference talks. These show you what they actually know and how they communicate about technical topics.

The Outreach Message That Actually Works

Most recruiter outreach to technical candidates is terrible. Here's what works:

Bad: "Hi! I came across your profile and think you'd be a great fit for an exciting opportunity at a fast-growing startup! Are you open to a quick chat?"

Why it's bad: Generic, no specifics, "exciting opportunity" is meaningless, doesn't tell them anything about the role or why you contacted them.

Good: "Hi [Name], I'm recruiting for a Senior Backend Engineer role at [Company]. We're building [specific thing] using Python and PostgreSQL, and I saw your experience building [specific project they worked on]. The role involves [specific responsibility]. We're offering [salary range] and fully remote. Would you be open to a brief call to learn more?"

Why it's good: Specific role, relevant context, shows you actually looked at their background, includes key details they care about.

The Phone Screen Questions That Separate Real Candidates From Pretenders

You're not technical. You can't assess deep technical skills. But you CAN assess:

Communication ability: Can they explain technical concepts in a way that makes sense? If they can't explain their work to you, they probably can't explain it to the rest of the team either.

Genuine interest: Do they ask questions about the tech stack, architecture, and technical challenges? Or are they just looking for any job?

Red flags: Have they actually done the work they claim? Ask them to walk you through a specific project. Vague answers are a bad sign.

Questions to ask:

"Walk me through a recent project you're proud of. What were you trying to accomplish, what technologies did you use, and what challenges did you face?" (Listen for clarity, depth, and whether they actually did the work or just observed it.)

"What's your experience with [key technology]? Can you give me an example of how you used it?" (Vague answers like "I've worked with it" are red flags. Specific examples are good signs.)

"What interests you about this role specifically?" (If they can't articulate why this role is a good fit, they're probably mass-applying.)

"What would you want to learn more about if we move forward?" (Good candidates have specific questions about architecture, team structure, and technical challenges.)

How To Involve The Technical Team (Without Annoying Them)

Your hiring manager and engineering team are busy. Here's how to use their time effectively:

Create a simple screening template: Send your technical partner candidate LinkedIn profiles or resumes with the question: "Does this person's background look relevant for our [role]? Yes/No/Maybe, and why?"

Keep it simple. Engineers don't want to write paragraphs. They want to give you quick feedback.

Only send profiles you've already phone screened: Don't waste their time on candidates who can't communicate or aren't genuinely interested.

Ask specific questions: "Is experience with AWS Lambda important for this role, or can they learn it?" is better than "What do you think of this candidate?"

Batch requests when possible: Send 3-5 profiles at once instead of constant one-off interruptions.

Close the loop: When they help you, tell them what happened. "Thanks for the feedback on those candidates—we're moving forward with two of them for interviews."

What To Do When You Don't Understand Something

This is the most important section:

Don't pretend to know what you don't know. Technical candidates can smell BS instantly. If you don't understand something, say:

"I'm not technical, so I can't speak to that in detail—but I can connect you with [hiring manager/technical team member] who can answer that."

or

"That's a great question. Let me check with the team and get back to you with an answer."

or

"Can you explain that in a way that a non-technical person would understand? I want to make sure I communicate your background accurately to the hiring manager."

Technical candidates respect honesty. They don't respect recruiters who pretend to understand things they don't.

How To Learn Just Enough To Be Dangerous (In A Good Way)

You don't need to become an engineer. But you should learn enough to have intelligent conversations. Here's how:

Ask your hiring manager for a 30-minute "technical onboarding": Have them explain what the team builds, what the tech stack is, and why those technologies matter.

Read the company's engineering blog (if they have one): This shows you what kinds of problems the team works on and how they think about technical challenges.

Look up the basics of the key technologies: You don't need to know how to code in Python, but you should know what Python is typically used for (backend, data science, automation).

Ask engineers to explain things simply: "Pretend I'm explaining this to a non-technical friend—how would you describe what this role does?"

Learn the jargon: Frontend vs. backend. API vs. database. Cloud vs. on-prem. You don't need to be an expert, but knowing basic terms helps.

Follow technical recruiters on LinkedIn: Many share tips for recruiting specific roles and technologies.

Common Mistakes That Make Technical Candidates Ignore You

Mistake #1: Sending irrelevant opportunities If they're a frontend engineer, don't pitch them a backend role unless there's a clear reason it's relevant.

Mistake #2: Using buzzwords you don't understand "We're looking for a full-stack rockstar ninja guru who's passionate about synergizing cloud-native solutions" is embarrassing.

Mistake #3: Not including salary range Technical candidates won't engage without comp info. Period.

Mistake #4: Requiring them to apply through a portal before talking Top technical candidates won't fill out a 30-minute application for a role they know nothing about. Have a conversation first.

Mistake #5: Taking forever to schedule interviews Technical candidates have options. If you take two weeks to schedule a first interview, they'll accept another offer.

Mistake #6: Not preparing them for interviews Tell them who they're meeting with, what topics will be covered, and what format the interview will take. Technical candidates hate surprises.

The Bottom Line

You don't need to be a software engineer to recruit software engineers. But you do need to:

• Understand the role well enough to talk intelligently about it
• Source candidates based on relevant work, not just keyword matching
• Be honest when you don't know something
• Facilitate the process efficiently
• Involve the technical team at the right times
• Respect candidates' time and expertise

Technical candidates don't expect you to code. They expect you to be competent, honest, and efficient. Do those things, and you'll successfully recruit technical roles without ever writing a line of code.

The Fast Version:

• Ask hiring managers detailed questions about the role before you start sourcing
• Learn enough about the tech stack to have intelligent conversations (not to code)
• Source based on relevant work and problem-solving, not just buzzword matching
• Be honest when you don't understand something—never fake expertise
• Use the technical team strategically to vet candidates without annoying them
• Move fast, include salary ranges, and don't waste candidates' time