Work

The Ukrainian market has been operating in a full-scale war for five years, and the IT industry is no exception. If earlier the choice of a cooperation model between an individual entrepreneur, a gig contract, or a staff was mostly a matter of taxes and flexibility, today it also determines the legal status of a specialist during mobilization. There is still a misconception on the market that a gig contract gives the right to an official deferral for a specialist, but in fact it does not provide for such guarantees, since it is of a civil law, not a labor nature. As a result, a paradoxical situation arises: some IT specialists who previously chose flexible models of cooperation are now asking to be transferred to the staff under the Labor Code. What is the difference between a gig contract and an employment contract, what are the nuances of working on a staff, and how are companies changing the model of cooperation with teams today? Let’s figure it out in order.

Pet-проєкти, open source та фриланс-досвід давно стали частиною ІТ-резюме. Для одних це спосіб увійти в професію, для інших — можливість прокачати нову технологію. Але чи реально рекрутери зважають на цей досвід під час найму? І чи бувають випадки, коли саме він стає вирішальним? dev.ua запитав про це представників EPAM, SoftServe, Ciklum, Railsware, Intetics, PlantIn, Mate academy та Pingle Studio. Загальний висновок — так, звертають увагу. Але значення такого досвіду сильно залежить від рівня кандидата та контексту ролі.

January 2026 was one of the most difficult for civilians during a full-scale war: massive attacks, long blackouts, lack of heat in parts of the cities. For IT companies, it was again a test of resilience — not only of business processes, but also of real care for people. On the last day of this extremely difficult winter, we tell you how Ukrainian companies supported their teams — from generators and sleeping rooms to hotel compensation and relocation programs. And we really want to believe that the coming months will be a little easier for all of us.

Hello! It’s #vsrativakansii again. The last winter selection of this year is about the strange behavior of employers during interviews, working for free, ageism and the meaning of being of candidates.

Software Engineer Viktoriya Kostak asked her colleagues about their work chats. Spoiler: the IT guy from Glovo didn’t write about his chat with tips.

Career trajectories in IT have long ceased to be linear. Someone changes companies every 1–2 years, someone builds a ten-year history in one product. But which of these looks riskier for a recruiter? Frequent transitions or long-term «sitting» in one place? We asked representatives of recruiting and talent functions of Ukrainian and international companies what they think is more harmful to a candidate — job hopping or working for one company for a long time. The answers were less clear-cut than you might expect.

«Jokes about 'I’m already over 30' stop being jokes at some point,» says Stas Sokolov, Communications Lead at Railsware. He adds: today, taking care of your health is not about emergency visits «when it’s really bad,» but about the habit of living a data-driven life. Tests, regular checkups, consultations with doctors, according to him, are like a gym or a barbershop, only for the internal systems of the body. «I clearly know my „weak points“, so I understand which indicators should be kept under control and which specialists to visit for coffee (and consultation). My motivation is simple: it is better to manage the condition of your body based on data, not assumptions. A banal case: I was sure that everything was fine with my nutrition, but I decided „just in case“ to check my vitamin levels. The test results surprised me — the deficiency was found where I did not expect it. Thanks to the doctor, we quickly selected a therapy, and I felt a significant difference in energy. Therefore, like my colleagues, I approach this as follows: data-driven solutions work not only in IT, but also in health,» he shared with dev.ua. His story is instructive: thanks to timely diagnostics, you can quickly correct the condition and feel the difference in well-being. It seems that the approach of «being guided by data, not assumptions» has long gone beyond product solutions and IT processes. dev.ua asked EPAM, SoftServe, Ciklum, EVО, PlantIn, ZONE3000, Railsware and Intetics how they help their specialists take care of their physical and mental health — and what exactly they consider part of a corporate culture of care.

Senior Product Designer Denys Osadchy shared his own approach to finding a job using artificial intelligence, which consists of several steps: checking the suitability of the vacancy based on its knowledge base, writing a cover letter in his own style for a specific vacancy using a «text template», and checking the relevance of the information.

Head of Talent Acquisition Viktoriya Potyagaylo asked the community if IT professionals have a plan to leave IT and what field they are considering for this. «Have you had (or do you have) thoughts about leaving IT? If so, where would you move, what would you do?» she asked.