Nov 14, 2018 Written by David Barlev

Finding The Right Software Developers For Your Project

If you’re interested in finding the right software developer for your next project, you’ve come to the right place. You’re probably reading this article, at this very moment, because just like every other business owner, you’ve learned the hard way that the biggest challenge of any development project is finding the right people to make it happen.

The State of Software Development in 2017 report from Coding Sans found that over 35% of startups stated that hiring talent was their biggest hurdle for development projects. Prioritizing development came in as the second biggest issue, with 25% voting in that direction.

The study also found that when it comes to hiring criteria, here is how things are typically prioritized:

  1. Work experience (68.5%)
  2. Cultural fit (59.8%)
  3. Test project (31.5%)
  4. Side projects (30.7%)

The stats make a few things pretty clear. Most startups are saying that their biggest issues with software development are based on hiring good talent and making development a top priority. Startup founders seem to have a pretty good idea of what they’re looking for, and it’s clear that previous work experience and assessing a good cultural fit are the top two things they want when hiring.

The truth is, hiring a software developer who is both the right fit and who possesses the right experience is no small task. And, it doesn’t stop there. What about work ethic? What about interpersonal skills? And are you looking to hire a software developer in-house, or would you like to partner with an entire team?

There are plenty of questions you need to ask yourself before you have the foundation in place to ensure you’re going to attract the right candidates.

Here are some tips that will help with finding the right software developer for your next project.

finding the right software developer

Start with defining your goals.

This can be tough to do, but you need to clearly define and articulate what your goals are.

Answer questions like:

  • What is the specific project?
  • What problem will this project solve for users?
  • What is your project timeline?
  • Do you want an in-house employee, freelancer, or agency to partner with?
  • What is your budget for the interviewing and/or test project process?
  • How long do you plan on keeping this person or team around for?

One of the most difficult decisions here will be whether you want an employee, a freelancer, or a team to partner with. Remember that a single person is only capable of doing so much, so if you’re looking for multiple skills like machine learning, front-end development, back-end development, and system administration, you are going to need more than one individual.

Create a job posting or scope of work plan

Now that you’ve figured out your goals, it’s time to put everything down on paper in a way that makes sense to the developer.

Whether you’re going to create a job posting online, or book some free consultations with software development agencies, you want to make decisions on:

  • What is the specific role going to entail?
  • What will the key responsibilities be?
  • Is this a permanent hire, or a project relationship?
  • What are the technical requirements of this role or project?
  • What core skill set is most important?
  • What is the salary or project budget? Are there any additional perks?
  • What is the company’s purpose? What does it mean to work with/for you?

Attacking the hiring process with a plan will ensure you’re crystal clear about what your company needs are. Following this process to ensure you know what you need to get out of this hire and you will get a much better quality group of applications and estimates.

This week, we’re going to dig a bit deeper into the methodology of hiring software developers, so stay tuned for more on how to vet and qualify the applications and estimates you receive.