How to hire good software developers?

Hiring good developers is one of the most difficult challenges for today’s recruiter. Effective interviewing and hiring is both an art and a science. Seeking software development talent – true talent – is a professional skill that combines social networking, technical base, process management, and intuition. Anyone who has ever had hiring experience understands the breadth and complexity of the challenge all too well.

Long before the interview, the process of identifying and employing the true tech talent begins. A systematic strategy to discover potentially eligible individuals can dramatically streamline and boost the efficiency of the overall recruiting process.

Where to find the greatest freelance developers?

Platforms for hiring

Some platforms examine and systematically arrange software development companies in lists according to various criteria. The platform conducts the research; all you have to do is utilize their listing to employ the developers you desire. You may generally hire a company through the platform as well.

Clutch

Clutch is a database of over 7,000 organizations operating in various IT-related industries. Only authenticated client reviews and comments are published on the platform. They contact the clients and do research, providing you with the complete picture rather than a distorted perspective. Their assessment is based on several critical aspects, including the provider’s total offerings and market position in the different categories.

Explore our company’s profile on Clutch.

GoodFirms

GoodFirms offers you hundreds of organizations worldwide from which to recruit software engineers. It’s a list of businesses with information like the estimated hourly rate, firm size, and locations. You may refine the listing based on the type of software development you want, as well as examine agencies’ reviews.

Furthermore, GoodFirms provides research on a variety of areas relating to software development outsourcing. Within each outsourced domain, for example, you may discover insights on application development time, influencing variables, or problems.

Check out our profile on GoodFirms.

Wadline

Many software service companies have their profiles published on Wadline. It’s a basic search for you. You decide what tech stack you want, your budget, and even where you want to work. Wadline will then provide a list of businesses that fit your criteria, including reviews. The nicest part about Wadline is that they provide you with contact information for crucial people. You may bypass the conventional routes and get straight to the people that matter.

Platforms for hiring remote devs

If you want to recruit a remote developer rather than a team, you should use a job board or platform. The employment strategy has changed in the last decade, and there are now a plethora of respectable websites where you may employ remote developers and engineers looking for new gigs or projects.

Upwork

With millions of users, Upwork is a well-known platform for hiring. It is utilized by competent freelance engineers and makes hiring for companies considerably easier. To find a remote developer, you can either browse their database or publish a job ad with some details and wait for them to contact you. Upwork is one of the most effective intermediaries between the employer and the remote developer. All payments are done through Upwork, which safeguards both parties.

Take a look at our Upwork page.

Freelancer

Freelancer offers a large number of developers available for employment, but the database is less than that of Upwork, and the number of devs with a good skill base. It’s still a popular platform where potential employers may advertise their needs and choose from developers who provide services. Payments are also processed by Freelancer to guarantee that the contract is completed.

Toptal

Toptal is a marketplace that focuses on software engineers (as opposed to Upwork and Freelancer, which also cover other areas such as marketing, design, writing/editing, and so on). According to them, their unique business intelligence checks all freelancer applications in the system and picks the top 3% to interview for your job ad.

Toptal provides a risk-free trial version to customers and only bills them if the project tasks are accomplished. Involving the platform is a win-win situation for both the company and the developer.

Other ways of hiring

Developer blogs and conferences can be an excellent source of qualified candidates. Technical articles can give excellent insight into a developer’s technical aptitude, problem-solving methodology, and writing abilities, all of which are key factors for finding top candidates. Conference presenters and co-attendees at relevant technical conferences are frequently useful resources for eligible applicants.

Exploring open-source projects on sites like GitHub and SourceForge can lead to the identification of highly competent applicants. This technique has the extra benefit of allowing you to examine and assess a candidate’s code samples before ever deciding to contact them.

Platforms like Facebook and Linkedin are excellent resources for hiring good developers. There’s no denying that Facebook has more users than LinkedIn, but it doesn’t always imply that it’s more valuable as a professional network. LinkedIn has made the majority of its popularity from its benefits as a recruiting tool, and they have even more profit from their premium service called LinkedIn Recruiter, which offers more features and access to more profiles than the free version. 

What makes a software developer a true choice for you?

The best option is to find a developer who has hard, soft, and communication skills combined in one person. 

Hard skills

An accurate assessment of technical skill extends well beyond the subtleties of a particular programming language or technology. While these technical nuances are important indicators of true professionalism, they are usually not the most significant aspect of the evaluation process.

Strong developers don’t waste time memorizing information that may be found in a language specification or API manual. Furthermore, for a skilled developer, learning new technologies or design patterns is a matter of a course. As a result, the technical strength and comprehension of the applicant, as well as creative thinking and problem solving, are crucial to evaluate.

A tried-and-true approach for doing this is to present a programming task. Give the applicant an issue to solve and ask him or her to code a solution in the language of their choice. The only constraints should be that the solution is complete and correct, including any edge circumstances or potential mistakes. Remember that the purpose here is to assess the candidate’s problem-solving abilities, computer science knowledge, and coding style.

Another useful strategy for assessing technical aptitude is to request that the candidate supply a list of open source projects that they have created or contributed to on sites such as GitHub. You may then go into the interview having read their code and ready to ask them specific questions about design decisions, coding styles, patterns used, etc. Such a discourse can be far more beneficial than merely quizzing the candidate on the technical nuances of a language.

Soft skills

While analyzing these factors is not a simple part, it is critical in the effort to employ the best candidate. Yet far too frequently, attempts to assess these critical characteristics consist of questions or tasks that are sufficiently clear for the “right” responses to be evident to the vast majority of candidates. As a result, questioning them gives nothing. A typical way of interviewing is a concentration on technical detail rather than analyzing the candidate’s ability to problem solve, think creatively, and collaborate with a team.

Communication skills

Mature communication skills are required for software engineers who want to carve out a career in a highly competitive industry. While technical skills such as coding or programming will always be essential for a job in software development, a successful developer is also well-rounded and has mastered the art of interpersonal communication. Developers that excel at communicating both inside their teams and with clients are more likely to be perceived as successful professionals.

For the beginning of an interview, engage your candidate in a non-technical “small talk” to gain insight into his/her personality and communication skills. During this period, you may be able to learn a surprising lot about their interpersonal engagement. And, of course, if they’re confident with a good sense of humor, that’s usually a good indicator.

To sum up

The tips discussed here are a helpful base for seeking and hiring good developers. However, it is critical to remember that hiring is a long and challenging process. A static process can lead to failure, hence it must be constantly re-evaluated. Every company’s path will be unique, according to its ethics, culture, and goals. There will be triumphs and failures, but as long as you learn and correct your approach, you will find and hire candidates as a piece of cake.