I'm a general web developer and a buddy of mine asked me the other day if I could refer an IOS dev. Then I realized I don't know one App developer. Do they actually exist?<p>The friend is pretty well up there at a sophisticated recruiting firm so I'm assuming he has a budget, so the question would be: where would one find an App dev starting with no contacts?<p>I'm thinking, post in the HN Jobs thread, backtrace authors of similar Apps... Actually after that I'm out of ideas.
As an iOS Freelance Developer myself - Meetups. Through Meetup.com, I am connected with about 100 developers, many of which I would (and have) recommend in a heartbeat. I have also had many people that are looking for an iOS Developer contact me through Meetup.com . If you go this route, you can generally post in the comments section about who you are and what you're looking for.<p>If you're looking to cast a wide net that will earn you MANY responses, post a message to Google+ Communities and LinkedIn groups. The downside is that you will probably have to sift through many emails until you find a potential right fit.<p>Here are some useful places:<p><i>iOS Meetup Groups in San Francisco</i><p><a href="http://www.meetup.com/find/?keywords=ios&radius=25&userFreeform=San+Francisco%2C+California%2C+USA&mcId=c94101&sort=default&eventFilter=mysugg" rel="nofollow">http://www.meetup.com/find/?keywords=ios&radius=25&userFreef...</a><p><i>iOS Developers across the globe</i><p><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/112026628790708717979" rel="nofollow">https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/11202662879070871797...</a><p><i>Subreddit dedicated to posting available work</i><p><a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/forhire" rel="nofollow">http://www.reddit.com/r/forhire</a>
There are many ways. None of them involve a short-time commitment. They all involve building a loose relationship over time.<p>Approach 0)
Spam everyone on LinkedIn. Bad.<p>Approach 1)
Go to a Hackathon. Maybe even participate (marketing/consumer research/design/code - if you can). Sponsor really good pizza OR really good coffee (not crap DD). Talk to developers. Find out what kinds of apps they like to work on. Follow-up.<p>Approach 2)
Throw your own mini conference. Can be anything from a panel. Make it valuable to the attendees. Ask for emails but don't spam the attendees. Ask them what kind of gigs/jobs they are looking for - tell them you'll keep an eye out.<p>Approach 3)
Since your friend works at a recruiting firm, have them hold a developer-only mixer, bring in someone who can give a bunch of tech talks. Give away a door prize of an iPad or a Raspberry Pi.<p>Approach 4)
Lots of developers would like to encourage younger developers. But they don't know how. Take the lead and sponsor and organize a hackathon with a local school (just one). Background checks aside (they may be necessary - for working with minors), the recruiting firm gets good press, the developers get good press, non-direct coding resume bullets.<p>Approach 5)
Build an app for a deserving non-profit who has a mission you believe in with college CS/design students who may want to get an app on their resume. Building the right team may be difficult.
As wallflower pointed out there are plenty of ways.
If I needed to find someone I would ask here (HN) as you said on a job offer.
Anyway, I'm a developer and I'm looking to do apps to create a more concrete resume and experience, if you need more information I have a thread here <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6077474" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6077474</a><p>By the way, don't use approach 0 (spam everyone on LinkedIn) it's horrible.
Where are you located? I know there are plenty iOS developers in Los Angeles (where I am). A couple links that may be of some use:<p><a href="https://jobs.github.com/" rel="nofollow">https://jobs.github.com/</a><p><a href="http://careers.stackoverflow.com/jobs" rel="nofollow">http://careers.stackoverflow.com/jobs</a>