How to Hire the Best Software Developers for Your Project

Businesses invite developers to perform various tasks such as website maintenance, implementation of additional functionality, development of CRM system, or development of a mobile application to solve a variety of objectives that a business may be trying to achieve.

In a highly competitive environment, companies should pay maximum attention to creating quality products and services. However, you cannot achieve good results without good developers. Moreover, hiring good software developers is not as easy as it may seem at first. That is why we have decided to share some useful tips to help you find a good software developer for your project.

The article will be useful for both current business owners and startup founders who want to build a team from scratch or strengthen an existing one.

Define Your Project Requirements

There are several pillars to the success of software development projects:

1. Know the goals and deliverables you expect from the project.
2. Determine the technical stack (languages, frameworks, databases, etc.) needed.
3. Be clear about the features and functionality you want.
4. Decide on the scale of the project (small, medium, large, enterprise).

Choose a Collaboration Model

You can choose out of several basic cooperation models, based on your business needs and capabilities:

• hiring developers as full-time employees;
• cooperation with freelancers;
• a dedicated team;
• project outsourcing.

In most cases, the best option in terms of price/quality ratio and possible risks mitigation would be an outsourcing model and cooperation with a remote team. You can find more detail in our article “In-House vs. Outsourced Software Development: What to Choose?”

If You Are a Non-Technical Founder, Invite an IT Professional

You and the applicant will find common ground easier if you treat each other as professionals from the very start. It will not do you any good pretending you are an IT expert if, actually, you are not. You may find it better to assess those potential applicant’s strengths that correspond to your expertise, for example, soft skills. For technical evaluation, it would be better to invite an expert in the relevant area.

If you invite a technician to interview a potential applicant and help you make a hiring decision, you may find a balance between the right decision and a potential disaster. Moreover, having several people to interview an applicant may efficiently exclude any biased attitudes.

There are around 26.9 million software developers worldwide and the number is expected to grow to 28.7 million in 2024. There are almost 4.3 million software developers in the US.

— Statista

Study the Applicant’s Portfolio and Experience

If you are going to cooperate with an agency, make sure to ask them to show their portfolio. In case you hire an independent software engineer, you may want to ask the applicant to show you projects they have already completed, tell what problems they faced, and how they resolved them. Pay attention to how the person talks about their work. A professional who loves their job can speak about their projects for hours.

Conduct Effective Interviews

Remember that while technical skills are critical, soft skills are also important for team dynamics and the long-term success of the project. People with excellent communication and adaptability skills can be more valuable than those with only superior technical skills.

There are a few proven tips for effective developer interviews:

• Ask all candidates the same questions to compare them fairly.
• Have your senior developers conduct these to gauge technical proficiency.
• Include team members from different roles to assess the candidate’s interpersonal skills.
• Observe how candidates approach problem-solving in real-time.

The US and India remain the global leaders in terms of software developer population (18.33% and 12.61%, respectively), followed by Germany (6.72%) and the UK (5.37%).

— Stack Overflow

Hire Experience, Not Cheapness

Large companies can afford to hire completely inexperienced employees, assign them to team leaders, and raise their skill level over time. A small company or startup does not have sufficient resources to do so.

Good developers provide expensive services, but it is not worth skimping on software developers. In practical terms, experienced developers work faster and sometimes cost less if you add up all project expenses, its enhancement, bug fixing, and testing.

78% of US-based software developers work in team sizes of 2-9 people.

Gitnux

Look for Talents in Right Places

It is also difficult to hire software developers because good professionals are almost always engaged in some work. They either work for other companies and startups or are actively executing freelance orders. It is unlikely you will find some place where you can simply look through resumes and choose someone from the list.

You may want to choose some right places to look for software engineers. Here are a few options to take note of:

• freelance online platforms;
• online communities like Github and Stack Overflow;
• recommendations from other technicians;
• Google search, requesting “custom software development services”;
• conferences, hackathons, and other technical events.

Be Careful with Test Tasks

A perfect way to know if a candidate is right for the job you are offering is to ask them to solve a small but real problem. The way the specialist solves the problem will allow you to understand if he is a good fit for you.

It is also a win-win situation for the developer, as they will get an idea of the problems and technologies they will be dealing with in your company. This is especially true for startups.

However, you should be careful with test tasks. One that is too simple can significantly lower the bar and allow you to hire candidates with insufficient experience to work on your project. At the same time, a task that is too complicated can scare off highly skilled professionals who simply do not have enough time to complete a lengthy testing task.

You Do Not Always Need a Rock Star

Many companies try to hire the best, proactive employees with extensive experience, etc. However, it is better to choose based on the tasks you will set for the developer hired. Unless AI development or spacecraft launch control systems are on this list, you may not need a superstar.

If your project presumes a collection of forms that accept data from users, process it, and return the result, you need the most common software developer. Most likely, any employee with several years of experience will perfectly cover all your needs.

To Summarize

Finding, hiring and interviewing good software developers is not an easy task that requires some preparation. Technicians are evaluated primarily on their technical skills. However, you must also consider other important factors such as communication and teamwork skills.

Some companies may have a hard time solving the problem of hiring high-quality software engineers on their own. At times, it is much easier just to trust professionals and outsource your project. If you are looking for a reliable technology partner, contact us, and we will be able to offer you the best solution to your business challenges.