How to Hire Software Developers?

Digital transformation trends have significantly boosted the growth of software development services. Organizations are actively looking for software solutions that can help them be more efficient or generate more revenues. Many opt for COTS software whereas businesses with unique requirements hire a bespoke software development company that can deliver top-notch custom software applications. 

Either way, to develop and deliver top-notch digital products, you need talented & experienced software developers. But how do you hire them? Well, there are many aspects to consider, so let this blog post act as your guide to hiring software developers.

1. Qualities Of A Good Software Developer Candidates

1.1 Versatile Technical Skills

It is something that is very obvious and hence the first and foremost quality for all top software developers is a knack for technical skills, programming languages, and versatility. All good software developers must be sound with the latest technology trends. They should be consistent in maintaining speed while writing logical, clean, crisp, and high-quality codes. 

To be uniquely identified from many other software developers from competitive companies, it is good to have technical knowledge of full-stack development. Though we know that software development encompasses numerous layers starting from the front-end, back-end, or database so to know full-stack will prove extremely beneficial.

1.2 In-Depth Business Acumen

Just technical skills will not suffice for the software development team. So a good understanding of business processes with advanced technical skills is an ideal trait of a software development company. In addition, here are some of the basic factors that are expected from a software developer to have.

• Understanding of the client’s business and their user persona.
• Building a transparent communication network between both teams.
• Consistent idea generation and using it in the client’s business.
• Implementing end-user feedback.

1.3 Effective Time Management

Every business aims to save time and money in all the ways they can. Maybe that’s the most vital reason why businesses tend to hire software developers with experience. Therefore, all businesses need to hire software developers who can enhance their productivity and profitability with speed and precision.

1.4 Learning & Adaptive Attitude of Software Engineers

This aspect holds another vital importance when it comes to hiring developers. Since the world is moving towards regular technological innovations. So will your business demand you to learn new technologies, programming languages, and skills that will lead you to become a modernized, skilled developer? Adopting a development methodology like Agile and DevOps in the custom software development process is also a very important factor.

1.5 Effective Soft Skills of Software Engineers

It is quite observant that most of the technical workforce in the software development industry are not skilled with good communication skills which makes them lag behind others. There is a possibility that they are brilliant in technical skills but need to catch up in soft skills. This is the rarest and most desirable quality businesses look for when they hire software developers.

2. How to Hire a Software Developer

2.1 Analyze the Market

Examining macro market tendencies is the first step in finding suitable mobile & web developers for your firm. Your startup’s need for developers and the current demand for abilities in a given tech stack may both be gauged with a little bit of legwork.

Market trends analysis can help you figure out which technologies are in most favor. In response to an increase in demand, wages tend to rise as a result of increased competition for available applicants.

Reviewing recent studies is a good place to start when learning about the software engineer employment market. 

The rate of technological adoption is an important factor to consider when assessing the availability of talent. Seeing how popular a technology is might help you estimate how challenging it will be to find a qualified software engineer with experience in that area. With this information in hand, you can make more informed recruiting decisions and keep costs down without sacrificing quality.

Find out what software engineers are being paid currently so you can estimate how many people you can afford to recruit. It’s possible to discover qualified people at lower costs by looking outside the traditional employment centers. You may check out foreign employment websites to get a sense of the standards in that nation.

2.2 Create a Detailed Job Description

Before you hire, you have to prepare a detailed list of the work that you need to get done in this project. This list acts as a criterion for selecting the right candidate for your development team. To create a job description, you first have to list out the features you want in your software, the tech stack needed to build it, and the platforms where you will deploy it. 

Once you have finalized your project requirements, create a candidate profile that can help you fulfill all these needs. Explain why you are hiring and give a proper description of what kind of skills, knowledge, and experience are you looking for in your software developer. 

You need to include the necessary details but don’t create a misleading job description. It might distort the message and create confusion among the job seeker. Creating a perfectly detailed JD can help you attract suitable candidates for the job.  

As you are looking for the right developer, the candidates are also looking for the right company. So, in addition to sharing vacancies, you should also provide a reason why your company is great to work with.

2.3 Identify Your Candidate Requirements & Project Scope

Market research may cause you to reevaluate your expectations of a developer. Sometimes expenses are more than anticipated. Or, maybe it’s more challenging than you anticipated to locate someone with the particular set of abilities you need.

It is the time to go back through your previous work and tweak what needs it. Here is a comprehensive checklist of everything you need from the startup developers you hire:

• How much do you plan to spend on the next version of the site? And how much of that can be used to pay for new programmers?
• Can you elaborate on the specific abilities and/or technical understanding that will be necessary?
• In other words, what is your top priority? 
• What kind of monetary constraints are being met?
• Locating a competent programmer? Maybe you’re collaborating with someone in a certain geographical area.
• What incentives do you as a business owner plan to provide to the engineers you hire? 
• Where’s the benefit for them?

Software developers who are more interested in working with your software development firm might be attracted once you’ve determined your organization’s demands and how you would like your objectives satisfied.

2.4 Verify the Expertise

You need to do thorough research into the history of software developers or development firms that you want to hire. You must verify that they are capable of doing the work and possess the necessary experience.

You should read the feedback posted by previous customers of the software developers you are considering employing. Get a list of their completed projects from them. With this method, you may exclude applicants who lack the necessary abilities for your project.

Use the same criteria while searching for an IT outsourcing company. Go over the reviews left by former customers and, if at all feasible, contact some of them to get their input. Several details regarding the company’s standing may be gleaned from perusing its LinkedIn page.

It’s important to choose software developers with not only technical knowledge but also “soft skills,” such as good communication, collaboration, and the ability to think ahead. You and the developer’s ability to communicate effectively will be crucial to the project’s success. Make sure communication is easy and that everyone is on the same page.

Good cooperation, clarity, versatility, and speed may all be yours when you hire a dedicated team of software developers for your business. The programmers need to be self-motivated and able to solve problems on their own. Potential employees should provide comments and raise concerns without being asked to do so.

2.5 Conduct Interviews

You’ve already spent a lot of time and energy in advertising positions and screening resumes and portfolios of potential applicants. Even so, you shouldn’t relax your standards when conducting the interview. Here are some guidelines to follow to make the interview process smooth and successful for everyone involved.

1. Practice skill-based interviews.

In job interview, your time is of the essence. You need to be confident in your ability to make a hiring judgment based on the short minutes you spent with the prospect.

Seems challenging, but with good time management, it’s certainly doable. If a candidate has previously been subjected to a skills evaluation, for instance, further testing would be unnecessary. Go at the outcomes, identify any flaws, and question the applicant on them.

2. Preserve the standard of distant interviews

The future of remote work is uncertain, but one thing is certain: it’s here to stay. It’s for this reason that an increasing number of businesses are turning to online chats & meetings  instead of in-person interviews.

The difficulties of interviewing via the phone or the Internet are real. You can’t expect that applicants would ignore flaws just because it’s a casual medium. Our suggestions include keeping a level head at all times, keeping the applicants in the loop, avoiding last-minute cancellations, and checking that all equipment is in working order.

Check if the potential employee has the necessary equipment to operate from afar. Investigate factors including remote work history, the availability of a dedicated work area, time management expertise, and the capacity for remote collaboration.

3. Avoid making irrational choices

Interviews are a breeding ground for prejudice because of how informal they tend to be. You need to have techniques to actively prevent prejudice because most individuals aren’t even conscious of their own internalized notions. To ensure that all applicants are given a fair shot, it is recommended that you use a panel of interviewers rather than conducting individual interviews and that you keep track of each candidate’s performance during the interview process.

4. Communicate as much as possible

You must tell all of the interviewees of your final decision. You should thank them for their time and explain the decision-making process and schedule to them.

Those who were not selected for an open position should not be ignored, since this would provide a negative view of your organization. Inform them of the outcome of the interview and provide your support and encouragement. A few encouraging words may do wonders.

2.6 Build Your Hiring Funnel

This section will teach you how to define your hiring funnel, as well as the fundamentals of a successful recruitment campaign.

A hiring funnel is a graphical representation of the steps that prospective employees go through to become hired.

While the specifics of each company’s and each candidate’s funnel will vary, For an instance:

1. Sourcing and selecting

When the position’s specifications have been finalized and advertised on job boards, a pool of qualified candidates may be narrowed down to a manageable shortlist.

2. Screening 

This preliminary evaluation takes place over the phone with the HR or recruiting expert and helps determine which candidates are the best fit for the position.

3. Interviewing

Human resources and a company specialist in the industry typically do this to learn more about a candidate’s character and technical skills. There might be a sample task involved, depending on the position.

4. Negotiating the deal

A candidate may have second thoughts about the offered salary or benefits package, or you may opt to throw in some extras to close the deal.

After you have a sense of how long each step of the funnel is expected to take and the people who are responsible for making each step, you can fill in the details. The recruitment process should be clear to anybody on your team that looks at this funnel. The hiring process is a more manageable task when everyone is on the same page.

2.7 Onboarding and Integration

Now is the moment to have your new team of dedicated developers set up and ready to go. A reliable service provider can help you plan the new hire onboarding so that they can start contributing to the team right away.

Here are some things you can do, especially if you’re working with a freelance development team rather than a software development firm, to make the operation go even more seamlessly:

• Communicating your expectations to new employees will help prevent confusion and miscommunication.
• Make sure your new devs have access to all of the resources they’ll need to do their jobs.
• Provide detailed instructions for the developers on how to establish a productive atmosphere.
• Call a meeting of the whole team to introduce the new full-time programmers to the rest of the in-house staff and go through their responsibilities for the project.
• Assist any new team members in understanding the project’s current standing. Make sure they have read the relevant materials and are aware of the objectives.

If anything has transpired since you recruited your new developers, be sure to revise their job descriptions. In addition to keeping everyone on the same page, this will also make your recruits feel more comfortable in their roles.

3. Challenges in Hiring Software Developers

To improve a business process, companies around the globe take advantage of outsourcing by partnering with companies that have expertise in software development. Thus more and more technology advancement leads enterprises to hire good tech leads to developing cutting-edge applications. However, hiring the right set of resources is a tedious and cumbersome task.

As per the facts and research by Glassdoor’s HR and recruiting stats in 2019,  the average cost per hire was about $4000  and the cost per quality is expected to grow which will make it more challenging to hire talent.

There are innumerable obstacles that businesses face that restrict them from outsourcing. Further enlisted below are some of the business challenges in the process of management and hiring procedure of a software developer.

3.1 Limited Pool of Experienced Candidates

It is nothing new that companies from all domains and verticals know the fact that there is a lack of tech talent. However, there are millions of tech graduates graduating every year but still to match the talent force with the desired skill set is an arduous task.

The common reason that most of them face is a lack of relevant skills and experience that is required for their project. It is always a concern that you may find one type of skill set in a specific business but other skills may not match. Therefore, in this industry where there is already a shortage of skilled resources and finding an ideal software developer for your business needs. Experience in Development methodologies like Agile and DevOps is very important. These standard development methodologies are very important to implement.

3.2 Excessive Hiring Cost of Tech Employees

As we discussed, recruiting the right set of resources is a herculean task. Especially hiring a specific set of resources as per the business-specific needs takes a lot of time, effort, and money. For an excellent match of qualities in software developers, the hiring cost runs out of budget for the company because they demand a higher salary package.

In short, this process of hiring resources is not just tedious and challenging but is exorbitant. Thus, hiring a third-party software development company with all desired skills is an easier solution.

3.3 Lack of IT Education Background

“Practice makes a man perfect”- Unquestionably this goes true that there are umpteen employees who have started in an IT company and continue to grow there whilst learning things from the IT environment. Therefore one thing that is lacking in all of these ingrown employees is a lack of formal IT education, i.e. Software Engineering in IT or computer science.

It may not be a concern to all businesses but some of them consider this an important aspect to make sure to hire software engineers from a technical background.

3.4 High Salary Expectations

A survey from StackOverflow suggests that the growth rate of wages for developers is expected to increase by 22.7% and 16.9% in India and Brazil.

This means that if you hire a consultant, a freelancer, or even a software developer for your unique business needs, you might run out of budget because of the salaries they expect.” Cost-effectiveness” is one of the essential factors that makes outsourcing a viable choice for most of the businesses.

4. Conclusion

Hopefully, with this blog, we have helped you to understand the major factors that influence your decision to hire a software developer. In this blog, we explored all the factors playing a vital role in hiring software developers and its challenges, tips on how they should resolve these challenges, and cost factors. These are just ballpark figures for pricing; it depends on the type of technology you want to use and the complexity of development.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Software Developer Team?

Entry-level software developers charge about $20-40 per hour whereas experienced Software developers charge $50–75 per hour. Based on the geographical location, required skills, and experience, this amount can go up to $120 per hour as well. 

2. How Do I Find a Software Developer?

You can find software developers through various job platforms, developers’ community forums, conferences and meetups, outsourcing companies, staffing and recruitment agencies, and more. 

3. Which is the Best Way to Hire a Software Developer?

There isn’t the best way to hire the best software developer. You have to check whether they possess the required skills, experience, and commitment that can help fulfill the needs of your project or company.