Successfully Hiring Developers

Finding and hiring developers can be a tricky affair. You must not only assess candidates’ technical knowledge, but you must also evaluate how they will fit into your team and work culture. And even if you get everything right, it still might not end exactly how you’d envisioned.

This can generate a total project breakdown and cause severe damage to the entire team’s morale.

Yet, successfully hiring developers is a vital step to keeping your budget under control. Remember: the average IT project overrun is about 27%, with 1 in 6 projects overrun at 200%, and a 70% increase in the time spent on such projects.

Hiring Developers

The process of hiring a developer is a multifaceted challenge that must be continually re-evaluated and tweaked toward optimization.

It begins with the daunting task of finding a tech-savvy developer who is also a good communicator, a team player who also shares your values.

So, before you even start to look for the right candidate, you must first analyze your specific needs, and identify the kind of talent that will fulfill and enrich the entire development process.

Start by asking some essential questions like:

• What is the technology or programming language you need to develop?
• What kind of expertise / seniority do you need?
• Do you need a dedicated managed team?
• Is this a permanent position or a time-specific project?

Once you have a clear idea of what you need to accomplish, and the resources you need in order to do so, write a clear job description that includes the details of the offer. This very important piece of content sets the tone for the whole hiring experience, attracting or repelling the candidates you are looking to recruit.

Consider the following points to be included in the job description for developers.

• Be specific in the knowledge and skills needed for the position. List the technologies and programming languages required.
• List job responsibilities, minimum and desired qualifications, and what is expected of the candidate.
• Be sure to include any other job requirements like location, project time and dates, and any other relevant information.
• Every offer should list compensation and benefits, so as not to waste anyone’s time.

Find a Developer Near Me

Now comes the exploration stage, when your success will determine the quality and quantity of talent from which to choose. The proper process for each job will vary, depending on the type of project, the amount of resources available, and other details that are particular to each project and organization.

If you have your own recruitment team, you can further boost your efforts with traditional methods like networking, referrals, and job offering sites like Indeed and Glassdoor.

Today, our digital lifestyle has opened new and successful recruitment methods, like posting job offers on social media networks like LinkedIn, niche forums or discussion groups like Stack Overflow, and freelancer networks like Upwork.

For those who don’t have their own recruitment team, or who need to outsource the entire development process, there are plenty of companies who provide software development with different outsourcing models.

For example, Webcreek provides custom software development with a nearshoring outsourcing model. This means that we provide development and IT outsourcing services with top developers and engineers that works in your same time zone and language– thus increasing productivity and shortening gaps in communication and response times.

Vetting Developers

The vetting stage includes all steps candidates must take in order to be properly assessed, qualified, and accepted into the team.

There are no written rules and best practices regarding the testing and assessment process; it is very subjective, with each organization forming its own method to complete candidate assessment.

Although, in most cases, this stage involves 2 main evaluations: a technical testing and an interview process.

In many cases, these steps are further broken down into sub-tasks or rounds of interviews with different people in the organization.

But sometimes, more does not equal better; a long and time-consuming vetting process can end up discouraging exceptional software engineering candidates.

For example, Google favors a short, 2-part vetting process. The first round is a Google Hangouts call that lasts between 30 and 60 minutes, with a shared Google Doc where the candidate will respond to any technical questions that require a real-time demonstration of skills .

The second part is an in-person interview, and only a few candidates who were successful in the first step will take part in this interview.

But in all cases, it is a good idea to explain all steps at the beginning of the entire process, so that everyone can prepare themselves and maintain clear expectations.

Testing a Developer

This can be a tricky and sometimes controversial step. Test results can indicate great talent, but they might also indicate that the candidate is used to and has practiced answering these types of tests.

Real-life situations require different skills and aptitudes that may not be measured in traditional testing. Likewise, a great developer, communicator, and team player may not do well on a specific set of test questions. Sometimes, a great front-end developer may not know all there is to know about JavaScript, but still perform as an excellent front-end developer on the job.

Recommendations:

• Give candidates a guide of topics that will be covered on the test, allowing them to prepare themselves.
• Prepare a questionnaire of “must have knowledge” in order to test candidates.
• Try to keep the test as brief as possible.
• Notify candidates of their test results. If you can include some pointers on how to improve, candidates will surely appreciate the gesture.

Integration

There’s still one very important step, crucial to end the hiring process successfully: integrate and support the incoming talent.

It is a good practice to have a paid trial period to assess performance, productivity, and fit of the new member. This trial period should be agreed upon by both parties and will guarantee that the process has a happy ending.

To facilitate the integration, the organization should make expectations clear to the new member, as well as provide support that sets up success.

The onboarding process should inform new hires of your organization’s structure, rules, workflow, and any specific documentation that reduces time spent adjusting to their new positions.

Onboarding documentation definitely helps optimize the onboarding process, standardizing the integration phase for the next developer that joins your team.

Wrapping It Up

Hiring top developers is never a “one size fits all” situation. Every organization should continually review and optimize its process in order to better attract, evaluate, and retain the best talent.

One last thing: depending on your specific development needs, you might consider hiring a dedicated development team that is already consolidated and certified– saving you the trouble of finding, vetting and hiring each developer.

Talk to a Webcreek representative to learn more about our IT staff augmentation services.