Hiring could be the most important aspect of your startup’s growth. That’s why it is crucial that you find the most capable and hard-working person for any job at your company. Nowadays, all companies’ operations involve technology up to a certain point and finding the best software developers is also something that will help your company stand out from others in the field. And as tech jobs increase, remote working becomes more popular. We’ll show how to find the best remote software developers for your startup.
1. Test aspiring workers with real-life examples of challenges to expect in the company
Everybody’s skills are different, so it’s important to know if those specific skills will work on what you want for your company. So don’t look for a sample test on the internet and use it to know if the aspirants will be a good fit or not. These tests are usually very generic, so they don’t accurately show you if they will do the work you need.
2. Have you tried hiring someone smarter than you?
Former Forbes publisher Malcolm Forbes once said: “Never hire someone who knows less than you do about what he’s hired to do.” This quote couldn’t be more accurate. Hiring someone that is smarter than you will ensure that you’ll have someone that sees other solutions you may not find at first. This is truly the best thing to do to keep your company’s effectiveness on top, especially when it comes to software development.
3. Don’t limit yourself by just using one specific programming language or tool
It’s good to be flexible when it comes to programming languages that your developers can use since this way, they’ll focus more on solving the problem with different techniques and languages. For a software developer, it may be easier to learn a new programming language rather than learning new methods to solve a problem with one single language or tool. So when you’re hiring one, make sure to focus on how they solve problems rather than testing their proficiency in a specific language.
4. Communication skills are crucial
Most software engineers are excellent at what they do, which is essentially tasks that involve coding. However, they are not mind readers—they need to know your perspective of the project and how you want to approach it. Besides, you need someone that is capable of telling their blockers, their limitations and even their opinion on how things could be done in order to have the best outcomes.
5. Talent might be more important than experience
We know that a prospect who has a killer resume might look very attractive. But you need someone that can solve the specific challenges they’ll face in your company. There are some people with less experience who also possess great skills that can help you solve those problems. For instance, there are great candidates coming out of coding bootcamps that have less experience but are highly skilled. Do not gloss over the talents that come knocking on your company’s doors and you should weigh every candidate’s viability equally.
6. Be clear with the expectations before hiring them
When you hire someone, it’s important to be clear to them about what they can expect from the company and vice versa. Failure to do so might lead to bad communication or lack of commitment. When it comes to software development, it is very important that the developers know exactly what they’re expected to do so they can work toward delivering the desired outcomes.
7. Ask about their working style or preference
When people work from home they can usually be less productive than usual because they don’t discipline themselves as much as they would when they work at the office. However, there are people who have created a clear and effective remote working routine, and this is exactly a good fit for your company.
8. Ask about their passion and motivation
There are two types of software developers; those that work to pay their bills and those who work because they’re passionate about their career. Ideally, you’d want to hire the latter. People who are passionate tend to be more productive and better problem-solvers. If you ask about what makes them passionate about this job, you’ll find out if they’re the candidate you’re looking for or not.
9. Make sure they can produce well-written code
No matter how functional the algorithm is, you surely don’t want to work with messy code writers. This is going to decrease the productivity of your team since they’ll have to replace or rewrite most of the code that was already written, making you pay for a redundant cost. Always ensure that the software developer you’re hiring knows how to produce code that is on par with the company’s standards.
10. Be clear on how time zones might affect your deadlines
Remote working is great, especially for software developers. But since they’re working away from the office, they might not have the same timezone you do. So it’s important to keep this in mind when you’re setting deadlines for your software developers. Before hiring someone remotely, ask them about their timezone and create assignments based on that time and yours to make sure that work is going to be ready on time and avoid any misunderstanding.
