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I've been doing Windows development since the days of VB5. At almost every stop along the way in my career, whether it's been a web dev position, architect, or even CTO of a startup, I have developed apps, utilities and support tools in Windows Forms, WPF and UWP, not to mention all of my personal projects.
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Try using LinkedIn. If you cannot find the right candidate, look for similar technologies like WPF in their skillset. A decently experienced WPF developer can very easily transition to UWP/Xamarin.
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Another option is to hire remote. If you are trying to hire in Chicago, unless you are ready to pay 10-20% above market wage, you may not be able to get anyone, especially if you are a smaller/unknown company. Get someone from the mid-west and have them work remote, and fly them in once a month for in-person meetings. Good luck in your search. 
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Peter Moore - Chicago wrote: Now we need a Windows desktop/UWP/Xamarin developer
IMNSHO, that's why you're not finding anyone. While I know mostly Windows developers, nobody's even remotely interested in UWP. There's more interest in transitioning from Windows to other platforms than UWP.
You'd be better off skipping that requirement so you don't scare anyone away. Instead look for someone who can adapt to new technologies.
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dandy72 wrote: IMNSHO
I had to use a search engine for that one... we need a mouseover window to translate these slangs.
Best Wishes,
-David Delaune
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We just need to use real words.
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Some people use IM[NS]HO (or IM[NSH]O), which arguably might make it a little more recognizable...
I don't know. Myself, I tend to avoid abbreviations except perhaps for things that have been around for years.
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I agree with you but UWP is not a requirement. It's an example of the skillset we're looking for.
Our product is actually WPF right now, but we want to port it to Xamarin or maybe Avalonia longer term if that project winds up panning out. And we also just need help maintaining it because out of our three developers, I (the original founder) am the only one who can do WPF.
These are the actual requirements posted:
- 5+ years’ experience developing Windows desktop (WPF or Windows Forms), UWP, or Xamarin Forms applications using C#/.NET and XAML
- Knowledge of the MVVM pattern
- Basic understanding of SQL
Doesn't seem super esoteric, but I agree it's not what the kids would call trendy.
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Peter Moore - Chicago wrote: Doesn't seem super esoteric, but I agree it's not what the kids would call trendy.
Y'all would know. I'm still working mainly using C++. 
But admittedly, I most certainly do use something else much simpler instead when and where possible.
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As long as it's not MFC we won't judge. 
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Peter Moore - Chicago wrote: As long as it's not MFC we won't judge.
I know I've been guilty of that crime in the past, but now I'm rehabilitated, and...
...I use QT.
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I use MFC C++ for windows user mode stuff, and its fine. Does the job every time. 
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Exactly. If the tools are adequate for the task at hand, why change them?
Ad astra - both ways!
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Very much, indeed! I am using QT only because most code is cross-platform. When I need to whip up a native desktop application with an UI, it's going to be MFC all the way.
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OK, you cant do fancy modern UI stuff with it, but quite frankly, I hate the modern UI. Give me grey buttons and edit windows! Thats all I Want! 
I work mostly in the kernel, and that really hasnt changed for ages. In fact since the days of NT!
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Daniel Pfeffer wrote: If the tools are adequate for the task at hand, why change them?
Because of course that is simplistic.
I did work at a company sometime ago where a contract required an update to an app running on Windows 3.1 written in Visual C++ 1.52. The only way we succeeded was because I am a technology packrat and so I had the CDs (not DVDs) with that environment. I still do. The company did not and no one else at the company did either. And I threw out the 3.5 inch disks with Borland C++ on it quite some time ago so no going back on that one.
Same is true for something like Java 6. Apps still exist but the VM is no longer supported. So one risks leaving security holes open unless one wants to patch them in house. Even things like timezone changes would need to be patched in house.
Beyond that one must also be able to hire someone to keep maintaining it because those with experience either move on, retire or even die. I spent years with C but even quite a while ago I found going back to it very difficult. So difficult that my solution actually was pseudo OO rather than structured because I found it impossible to think in structured terms. Nothing wrong with the application that I was working on, but the skills to use it did not exist (I was the one most qualified to work on it by far.)
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If you intend to accept contracts requiring maintenance of legacy software, you naturally must keep the necessary tools and runtime environments. No argument there.
My original point was directed more at new development. I do not believe that using the latest (and supposedly greatest) framework is always necessary or desirable. If an older framework is still supported by the tool chain, and it meets the requirements - there is no benefit to writing the application using the latest buzzword technology.
Ad astra - both ways!
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Peter Moore - Chicago wrote: 5+ years’ experience developing Windows desktop (WPF or Windows Forms), UWP, or Xamarin Forms applications using C#/.NET and XAML
Let's break that down and see why you might be putting people off.
5 years WPF experience? Fair enough, you can have that but expect these people to be expensive.
By implication of the start of the sentence, 5 years UWP. Nope, UWP was introduced with Windows 10 in 2015 (okay, there were some diehards trying it out during the beta phase but do you really want to hang your hopes on that). Prior to Windows 10, it was UWA - you know that coders are pedantic so and so's.
Again, by implication of the start of the sentence, 5 years experience Xamarin Forms. Again, this dates back to 2015.
So, if someone comes along having the maximum experience in UWP or Xamarin Forms, your advert is going to put them off. The requirements read like they were written by a recruiter rather than an experienced developer.
This space for rent
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Well, I would just about qualify for that (but for the fact that I live several thousand miles away) but the fact is that I wouldn't always have qualified for that!
I've been in the game for about 25 years but only the last 5 of those have been on Windows desktop and that's been Winforms/WPF not UWP or Xamarin. I've been using SQL for an awful lot longer.
So looking at your ad at any point up to a year or so ago, I wouldn't have met your requirements and wouldn't apply on those grounds. 5 years on a single tech is a big ask in an industry that reinvents the screwdriver on a daily basis!
Let's suppose, for the sake of argument, that I'm your ideal candidate: Your ad really says that I wasn't until a months ago. Now, I'm still the same guy that I was a couple of years ago - I may now have a little bit more exposure to WPF and MVVM but this doesn't really have any bearing on more fundamental questions such as "Can I code my way out of a wet paper bag?"
Sure, you obviously want someone who can hit the ground running with MVVM but would it not be better to ask for someone with 5+ years development experience with knowledge of desktop techs?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Is there something about the word "OR" that folks are not getting?
It should be obvious I'm not expecting someone to have five years experience on UWP.
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Yes, I totally get the word "or", my point was entirely about the 5+ years desktop 
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Ah gotcha. Well I could try making that list a little broader because yes obviously someone with a background like yours - even a year ago - would be a shoo in. Thanks for the insight!
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You might want to look at restructuring it with 'required' and 'desired'.
But even so I would expect a long timeline on a hire and if that isn't going to work then you might want to look for someone that is enthusiastic and with a demonstrated ability to learn.
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That's precisely my skill set. I've been doing WPF since 2010, have always used MVVM, and have a MCSA cert for SQL Server 2012. But, well, Chicago.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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