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Welcome to Codi: How I got here, and what I plan to achieve.

George Double

07 February 2025 - 3 min read

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People working in tech deserve a recruiter who understands them.

I entered tech in 2015 when modern JavaScript was transforming the web. The web as we know it today was just taking shape, powered by a new version of JavaScript called ES6 that opened up more possibilities. I found myself in the middle of something special - right time, right place - and this moment sparked what would become my career.

I was surrounded by a community of passionate engineers who were pushing the boundaries of what was possible in the browser. Every company wanted a piece of it, but few could actually build it for them. For those few who could, they became very selective about their next moves.

This meant I had to dive deep. It taught me to go further, understanding people's motivations and the technology they use to become successful.

Today, innovation in the web is more stable, but it taught me something crucial: the best matches happen when I go beneath the surface. Deep enough to have real conversations. The product, architecture choices, framework decisions, and why they matter.

A decade later, this is the principle that drives me and forms the core foundation of Codi's existence. With our mission to hire the best people for the best teams, it's about understanding what drives people so they can upgrade their careers, and knowing what teams really need to become more complete.

The technology landscape has evolved.

Fast-forward to 2025. Quality expectations are different. The market for hiring engineers has transformed. Ten years ago, Venture Capital investment wasn't a big proportion of the market in Australia, Canva had just 30 engineers (Today, > 1,500). Most of our work back then was for software teams within enterprise. In 2024, Australia attracted $4.0 billion in VC investment, and this is just the beginning.

When a company is purely software, everything changes. Quality becomes paramount. Tech debt is more visible. Engineers are more than just technical resources; they're at the heart of the business, needing to understand the product they're building and it's core business problems.

This shift has also elevated the role of Talent Acquisition teams. Internal TA capability has grown exponentially in my 10-year career, often producing better results than "specialised" recruiters. We have to level up. This means supporting and complementing TA teams' work; being curious and adaptable, finding ways to add genuine value rather than sticking to rigid, outdated services.

The rise of AI has and will continue to change the game. While it handles routine coding tasks, this will raise the technical bar. Senior and Staff engineers, now operate at an even more demanding level. They need to understand and leverage an expanding array of tools and resources effectively. Paradoxically, AI has expanded the scope of skills engineers need, requiring them to be more technically sophisticated, not less.

This evolution demands a different approach to recruitment. The old "keyword matching" approach is dead. Deep understanding is the only way forward.

At Codi, we believe in being selective - and we help our candidates and clients be selective too. We guide them in understanding what interviews they want to take, and more importantly, what interviews they don't want to take.

So how are we going to do it?

We're not reinventing the wheel - we're building a better one. One that will eventually scale, but never at the cost of quality.

We bring empathy, curiosity and depth to everything we do, which helps us build stronger connections. Simple things make a difference - like meeting every candidate (and client) face-to-face. Combined with our quality-first practices, this translates to more accurate matches. At Codi, we believe every interview that doesn't lead to a hire is wasted energy - both ours and our clients', who trust us to save them time.

We're chameleons. We pay careful attention to how our clients work - their values, tools, and philosophies. Instead of forcing clients to adapt to us, we'll integrate into their world. The traditional recruitment method is about control and rigid processes to quantify outcomes. While that would be easier for us, it's not who we are.

We want to be experts - this is the fun stuff. Talking to hundreds of people in a highly specialised domain gives us a unique perspective, and we love that. We listen carefully, observe patterns, staying ahead of trends, adding value to everyone we speak with.

Our goals for the year:

First and foremost - ensuring every client gets an exceptional experience. No compromises.

Second - building a sustainable, growing community that truly understands the value we bring. Not just another recruitment agency, but as a partner who gets it.

And third - setting strong foundations for others who share our philosophy. We want to create meaningful, purposeful careers here which will increase the impact we can have. People achieving their goals while helping others achieve theirs.

At the end of the day, we're here to solve real problems and add genuine value to those who need us.

As an individual, this year is about me embracing the hands-on, I'll double down on my craft, and be the best I can be.

If you're building something special and you need someone who really understands your world, or if you're an engineer still looking for your tribe, lets chat.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!