Let’s talk
Drop us a note and we’ll get back to you soon.
One of our friendly team members (like Fiona) will be happy to answer any questions you have.
Contact Us
hi@lookahead.com.auRecommend us
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Good people know good people. Connect us and earn a reward.
If someone you know is looking to hire or be hired, please think of us.
We will take good care of anyone you refer. We can answer questions they have about the market or talk through ways to optimise their hiring process. We can even introduce them to other specialist recruiters if their skills are not in areas we know extremely well. So if you're unsure, refer them anyway.
Successful referrals are rewarded with your choice of a gift voucher, donation to charity or community event sponsorship to the value of $1,000. (Eligible three months after successful placement. Referral must be to a client or candidate we are not currently working with.)
We build your team so you can focus on building your product.
We work with you as partners to help improve your processes, right-size each role, and build a sustainable team. We’re considered in who we send, keeping our shortlists short. We care about software and understand that each team builds in their own way.
Recruiting as it should be
Technical and personal
We know what it takes to build great software. With first-hand industry experience, we understand what a talented and diverse team can accomplish.
Honest and pragmatic
We love our clients, but no company is perfect. We let candidates know what’s great about a job and where the potential skeletons are. Helping both sides go in with eyes open boosts retention and trust.
All about community
We’re at all the developer conferences and meetups because they’re our scene. Our recruiters are in constant contact with the tech community and get to know great people long before they need our help.
A process that works
Lucky to have worked with the best
Proudly Est. 2012
Our first placement was the first technical hire for a startup (👋 Airtasker) and the second was a lead developer with the ABC.
More than a decade later, we’re still happily working with a diverse range of organisations, pairing them up with the missing pieces of their team puzzle.
You could be a corporate or a startup. Legacy code everywhere or a 100% buzzword compliant stack. Based in an office or a remote work pioneer. If you’re building a product and care about your people, we’re keen to help.
How we helped Sendle scale
Their Challenge
After raising $20m in Series B funding, Sendle needed to double their engineering team. It had to be done quickly without diluting their high standard for engineering talent.
Our Solution
We worked partially on-site, taking responsibility for the entire candidate funnel. We helped define each role and create effective assessment rubrics. We trained interviewers so it wasn’t all on Sean the CTO’s shoulders. By spreading the interview load we also created redundancy in the process and brought more of the team along for the hiring journey. We helped drive adoption of their ATS across the team and ran sessions to rethink their careers page.
What our clients say
Melanie Cole
Car Next Door
As a Talent Acquisition Manager, I’ve always been hesitant working with recruiters but have had such a great experience working with Lookahead. Through their specialised focus, and relationship with the engineering community, they have brought some amazing people into our business. They took the time to understand our culture and roles on a fundamental level, and because of this, we have found success in partnering with them and I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.
Kris Howard
AWS
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve recommended Lookahead to both candidates and hiring managers. The team is honest and reputable, and they genuinely care about supporting the Aussie tech industry. I’ve only ever heard good things back from the folks I’ve sent their way.
David Banham
notbad.software
I’ve worked with Steve for many years on both sides of the fence. I’ve hired teams through him and been placed with his clients for consulting work. Steve is good people. He takes his work seriously, works hard and chooses the people he works with carefully. I’ve never come across a recruitment agency that has anything like Lookahead’s reputation amongst technical candidates. They have access to candidates nobody else does.
Principles we stand by
Be a trusted advisor
We inform and empower developers, teams, and hiring managers to get the best outcome for all parties. Unerringly honest, we have the tough conversations to manage expectations and keep everyone in the loop.
Empower each other
We’re always transparent, sharing candidates, tools, and techniques. We learn together and we play as a team.
Quality over quantity
We’re discerning about the clients and candidates we take on. We do less so we can do it better, with greater focus.
Play the long game
We build lasting relationships, prioritising long-term engagements over short-term transactions. Because we’re invested in your success, we function as partners, not vendors.
Cultivate community
We actively support Australian developer communities. That means regularly sponsoring meetups, events, and being active participants and organisers.
Team Lookahead
Sarah Jacob
LinkedIn
Maureen Gilles
Part of something bigger
Memberships
We’re the first company to take the talent partner pledge in Project F's Program 50/50. We’re also proud supporters of EFF, the leading nonprofit defending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation.
Sponsorships
We love being part of community meetups and industry events. In the past we’ve sponsored SydJS, ReactConf AU, SydCSS, JSconf, RubyConf, CSSconf, Cocoaheads, RMIT Hackathon, MusesJS, Code Heart Design, React Sydney, Sydney Tech Leaders, Debugging Diversity, Technologists Who Give a Sh*t & CampJS.
