Hiring a Software Developer: All You Need to Know

Hiring a software developer is a daunting task that is complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. It takes a lot of effort to find the right candidate in terms of hard skills as well as culture. The demand for highly-skilled developers is at an all-time high. The demand is growing faster than the supply, and along with this, throw in the fact that there is a limited pool of competent software developers, and thousands of companies are competing to onboard them on their team. Now, this is the recipe for a nightmare.

We have moved past the time when software programmers used to be lone wolves; now the software development world has adopted methodologies like Agile and DevOps, which accentuate teamwork, communication, and collaboration. Now when you think of "how to hire a programmer?" you need to find a match that not only has top-notch programming skills but is laser-focused along with a dash of creativeness and ingenuity that allows the pros to find highly-performant and futuristic solutions to knotty or complex problems.

Undoubtedly, software engineers are a key player for business success not only in IT industries but also in a variety of industries, including healthcare, fintech, retail, defense, and many more. They are the individuals in a company who ensure all the operating systems and networks are performing at maximum capacity while designing, developing, and implementing software solutions from the ground up. Software programmers enable companies to keep up-to-date with the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Now that you have decided to hire a software developer to be part of your company and want to understand how to hire software engineers. This guide will assist you in outlining the approach that is seamless, efficient, and effective.

However, before we dive deep into understanding the whole lot of “how-tos”, let's first understand what kind of developers you need and why exactly do you need them.

What kind of developer does your company need?

When the software development landscape is constantly evolving, new areas of specialization, technologies, and methodologies keep popping into existence now and then. Nowadays, different types of developers specialize in various techniques and technologies, and they're unlikely to apply their skills and knowledge to other areas of development. It's like asking a web developer to build gaming software; there's no way you'll get the desired output.

That's why when you're outlining your "how to recruit software engineers" guidelines, make sure to keep your first step to first decide on what kind of developers you need. For instance, if you want a mobile application, you should look for adequately skilled and experienced mobile developers. Some of the other kind along with mobile developers and web developers are -

• Game developer
• Data scientist
• DevOps developer
• Desktop developer
• Big data developer
• CRM developer
• Software development engineer in test (SDET)
• Embedded developer
• Machine learning engineer, etc.

However, the broad core categories where most developers fall are the following three classes:

Front-end developers - Front-end is the layer that the end-user interacts with, and a front-end developer is responsible for visual user interfaces, aesthetics, and layouts. They specialize in creating and optimizing visual elements of a software solution, whether it’s a website, an app, or another type of interface.

Back-end developers - The back-end layer of an application deals with the design, implementation, functional logic, and performance of an application. Back-end developers specialize in the architectural and functional logic of a system along with database technologies, such as SQL.

Full-stack developers - This type of developer does all of the above development tasks. Full-stack developers specialize in application design, project coordination, and more. These developers are equipped with the right skills and knowledge to create a fully functional web application.

What does a software developer do?

Your "how to hire software developer" guideline should also outline the key responsibilities that the candidate will perform on a daily basis. It will help you keep the candidate's duties and commitments transparent from the get-go and will eliminate any vagueness and red taping. It will also aid you in sorting out and drawing a genuine target group rather than luring a plethora of applications. So let's take a look at a few of the key responsibilities that a software developer does -

• Producing clean, readable, efficient, and testable code based on the technical specifications
• Extending existing software solutions and network capabilities to handle growth
• Recommend software upgrades and make improvements for existing applications and systems
• Retrieve, store, and understand data to analyze the capabilities and requirements to build a software solution that meets the desired output
• Determine the practicality of cost constraints and devise an accurate time frame for development
• Monitor quality and performance of the developed and existing applications through testing and maintenance
• Document all the work done throughout the software development life cycle for future reference

The future of software development

The software landscape has changed drastically in the last decade. Nowadays, practically every company has become a software company. And, in the next coming 10 years, the landscape will have 10x the change. This means the future of software engineering is present in the current trends being adopted worldwide, and it'll continue to do so. But before you start looking into "how to recruit software developers," you must understand what we might see in terms of new trends in the next 10 years? Take a look at the following trends to get an idea -

• Innovation will multiply at an alarming rate. More than doubled internet users and technologies like cloud, AI, big data, etc. will play a key role in leveraging multiple innovations in software development.
• Technologies like microservices and APIs will ensure that applications keep getting smaller.
• Quantum computing will be a game-changer that will change life as we know it.
• AI is getting smarter day by day, resulting in more proactive software solutions.
• One thing that will be constant throughout the years is user experience. It will still be the top priority of every software development process.

How to hire a software developer?

Hiring skilled software developers is one of the biggest recruitment challenges of today. You need to make sure that a developer is technically savvy and analytical, methodical, and exceptional problem solvers. Furthermore, it is pivotal for your company's success to not lose out on top talent. However, bare-minimum efforts are not going to be enough to fill all the vacant software developer positions. That's why we have put together this step-by-step guide to take you through what to look for in a competent developer and exactly how to hire a programmer.

1. Identify your hiring requirements -

The first step you need to take while hiring software developers is building a candidate profile. When you outline the skills, knowledge, and experience clearly, it increases your chances of hiring the right software developer. Lay out the following aspects for a better outline of a candidate profile -

• The goal and objective of hiring a software developer
• Required technical skills
• Optional technical knowledge
• Experience required or the level of seniority required

This step will help you accurately put together a detailed picture of the candidate you want to recruit in terms of tech competencies, experience, and responsibilities.

2. Create a detailed job description -

Whenever you advertise your open positions; you always need to include a detailed job description that clearly states the required responsibilities and requirements of an ideal candidate. Things that you should consider when creating JDs to hire software developers are -

• Attractive introduction - Software developers have many alternatives to choose from in terms of job applications. Especially in this remote-first world where they get into companies from across the globe. That’s why you need to put up an attractive introduction to your company that describes how you’re different, unique, and better than your competitors. Make sure it is short, to the point, compelling enough to attract great software developers.

• Essential technical skills - It is crucial to mention the main programming language that the software developer would use from day one. This way you can keep the software developers without the right tech stack from applying at your company. After all, It doesn't make sense to hire a software developer who doesn’t have the right technical skills that you require for your company. Additionally, with the rate of technological change, you should find someone who has an interest in constantly learning and updating their skills.

• Optional/preferred skills - You should also mention a few nice-to-have skills as well. These skills are not usually essential for day-to-day tasks but can be useful. You must ensure that these skills don’t come off as must-haves; otherwise, you might lose some applicants.

• Soft skills - Software developers work in a team, and you want to make sure the software developers fit well in this collaborative environment. And in this age of remote work, it is even more important to make sure software developers in your team can communicate and work effectively and comfortably.

3. Make the most of the interview process -

When hiring software developers, you need to evaluate if they are well-rounded team players and coding wizards. You need the right set of interview questions to accurately identify the ability and prowess of your next software developer. Make sure to include both technical and soft skills-related questions to spot a great software developer with the right hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

If it is not feasible to evaluate these diverse set of skills in one interview, then you can conduct two interviews to assess a candidate properly -

• Technical interview - These interviews can be conducted by any of the senior developers from your organization. They can gauge the candidate’s technical skills.
• Personal interview - Any manager of HR professionals can conduct these interviews. They can assess the candidate's soft skills.

4. Try to offer competitive compensation -

As mentioned earlier, software developers already have many alternatives. There’s a high possibility that your selected candidate does not join your company even after sending them an offer letter. Your competitors can poach the software developer by offering better salaries and benefits. That’s why you need to make sure your offered compensation is competitive. Additionally, you also need to be prepared for negotiation in case a candidate gets a better offer from another company.

5. Partner with third-party platforms -

You don’t have to perform this daunting task on your own. Teaming up with third-party platforms can assist you in hiring the right software developers. They’ll perform all the laborious and time-consuming processes of hiring software developers, for example - writing detailed job descriptions, sifting through stacks of resumes and portfolios, vetting any promising software developer, etc. While you can rest assured and focus on your business like never before.

Turing.com is a platform that helps you hire software developers remotely who are competent and experienced enough for your job requirements. You get a planetary pool of software developers and an opportunity to hire elite and pre-vetted software developers with just the push of a button. Our AI-backed Intelligent Talent Cloud helps companies source and vet, match, and manage the world's best software developers remotely. Their streamlined approach makes remote development easy, compliant, and secure.

What do you get when you hire software developers from Turing -

• Turing takes only 5 days (sometimes the same day) to fill most roles vacant in your organization
• You save 50+ hours per hire on interviewing
• Hire pre-vetted software developers who are ready to work in your time zone and at unbeatable prices
• You get 2 weeks of the trial period wherein if you decide the services of the development is not up to mark. You can stop within two weeks, and you pay nothing.

Conclusion

Building a successful engineering team from scratch is not an easy task. That’s why you must apply the above-given tips when customizing your own recruiting guide. Understand that the right approach will always result in success and come out with the best talent every time!