Let’s face it. We live in a competitive world. We live in a world where everything is a race. Not just that, but we are also living in a world full of technological advancements and development in real-time. Why do you think an outdated technique like placing an ad would work when you are looking to hire fresh talent?
Developers are the hot crowd. Everyone wants to hire the best, and they want to do it as quickly as possible. As we mentioned, it is a race.
Before we tell you anything further, you must know that the first thing you need to do to hire talented developers remotely is to establish a virtual office and build a flexible yet sincere corporate culture. This is your ideal first step into the world of hiring talent from across the globe.
Stack Overflow’s survey mentions these essential decision points for developers that they consider while choosing a job:
- Company culture
- Flexible schedule
- Opportunities for professional development
- Benefits
Why is it hard to find the right candidate?
Well, for starters, everyone wants the best for their organization. The demand for developers is more than any other job profiles. Employers post job opportunities to find “passive candidates” these days, the ones they can reach out to later but still keep their details in the contact bank.
This is why most of the developers, programmers, and software engineers change jobs even when they are not looking to find one.
To build a team of developers is rather hard. As a hiring manager, you need to ensure that each developer is an expert in their field and, at the same time, an excellent fit for your organization. That is like finding the right piece of a puzzle.
It is a haystack, and you are trying to find your needle. As per Stack Overflow’s survey on demographics and geographic locations of developers, over 16 million were from different parts of the world such as the U.S., India, China, the U.K., France, Morocco, Russia, Taiwan, Argentina, and more.
And not just this, you are also going up against companies like Facebook, Twitter, and even Google to hire top talent. How do you see yourself standing out?
We have prepared you with a simple guide to hiring developers and teams. But before that, you need to note this: whether you are a company’s CEO or a hiring manager, or a software engineer looking to expand your team – you must ensure that you hire quickly and bring something attractive to the table for the talent. And don’t forget the golden words: Every company needs junior developers.
Seven simple steps to hiring developers and teams:
Step 1. Put your money in senior developers.
While we know that junior developers need to be given equal chances to grow and develop their skills, we stand by the fact that one senior developer is always a better choice. The experience and advanced knowledge of a senior developer come with a return in investment. You might have to pay them more, but you will make better gains. Senior developers bring strategic thinking, experience, and culture to the table. They can avoid making mistakes and develop a better product at the end of the day.
Step 2. Don’t just consider skills, take note of their personality too.
Typically, for a remote team, people would tell you to hire just anybody as long as their skills align with your needs. However, it is essential to treat your virtual workplace just like your on-ground workplace. You need to ensure you hire someone who is fun and comfortable to collaborate with for the other teammates. Always go for a team player when hiring a software developer.
On the other hand, make sure you are not over emphasising on traits like that. Usually, developers are said to be introverted and in that case all you need to do is try harder to understand them.
Step 3. Don’t be gender biased.
We are sure you have heard of this misconception that says most software developers are men. That is not true. Besides, women are equally productive, smart, and skilled. Several studies have suggested that creating a mix of both genders in a tech team facilitates innovation.
Step 4. Make sure your interview process talks about coding, A LOT.
You need to make sure that your developer is a coding craftsman. This is important as you will need someone who has a solid base of coding and development and can implement changes in real-time.
That being said, if you are an engineer, hiring a team of developers, make sure you trust their coding expertise. Second-guessing your development team is a bad idea. The idea is to make sure you mention a specific software stack and then base your questions on that.
Step 5. Test their technical knowledge very thoroughly.
Ensure that your interview consists of all kinds of technical questions that are hypothetical but give you a sense of understanding. It would be best if you made sure that the talent you are looking to hire has your company’s knowledge and skills. So, you must define your requirements clearly to yourself, and to the developer you are interviewing.
Step 6. Learn about the tools your talent will need.
When hiring a remote developer, you must ensure that you will be able to contribute to their work by making it easier and faster. How will you do that? When you move towards the third round of screening and are almost sure that you want a specific talent on board with you, you ask them about the tools they are familiar with, the tools they work with, and the tools they would like to be working with.
This way, you will learn about the software and hardware you should be providing your team for better productivity.
Step 7. Choose a trustworthy platform to hire your developers.
Although there is a long list of platforms you can hire remote developers from, it is always better to look for them on a more relevant site than generic ones like LinkedIn. These platforms also will make it easier for you to post jobs with fewer rules and restrictions, ultimately leading to attracting quality developers. Here’s a list from Codementor to get you started.
All you need to keep in mind is that your screening process is meticulous. Just follow a step by step vetting process, and you should be able to hire skilful talent from across the globe.
