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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN HIRING A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

Advancements in technology are usually brought about by man’s development of 2 sides of a unit – hardware and software. And in a world that’s largely going digital, software development is fast becoming a universal language. How do you find and hire capable software developers?

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Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

What is a Software Developer?

CHAPTER 2

Why are Software Developers Important?

CHAPTER 3

Important Skills and Traits of a Software Developer

CHAPTER 4

Where to Hire Software Developers?

CHAPTER 5

Hiring Considerations

CHAPTER 6

C9 Staff Software Developers

What is a Software Developer?

In a nutshell, a software developer is someone that creates the program that allows you to interact with any electronic device.

Do you want to send an email through your computer? It is the email software in the computer that enables you to do that. Do you want to withdraw cash from an ATM? It is the software programmed into the automated teller machine that does that for you. Do you want to play a game on your phone or mobile device? It is a software that allows you to do that.

A software developer bridges the gap between human intention and electronic reaction.

It can be said that software developers are the top creative professionals in the digital world. It takes a special kind of skill and creative talent to look at human actions and thought processes, and design software programs that can translate those into commands and code that electronic devices can understand.

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Why are Software Developers Important?

In the modern world, almost all human interactions get touched, in one way or another, by software.

Your mobile phone is packed with software. Home appliances nowadays are interconnected through what is known as Internet of Things (IoT), and thus are run by software. The computer you use at work is packed with software. Cars have computer boxes that use software. Traffic lights are programmed with software. In industrialized countries, even garbage collection schedules are governed by software.

As the world dives deeper and deeper into the digital realm, software developers are becoming more and more important.

Nowadays, as companies are forced to adapt work from home arrangements for their employees in order to keep operations going, it is software that keeps things together. Even the education sector that has adapted homeschooling options to keep children and students from staying outdoors rely heavily on specialized software.

All modern industries: from manufacturing to marketing; from food and beverage to health and fitness; from electronics to agriculture; from eCommerce to retail; from medical to entertainment; and every other industry in between all rely on software. Thus, to say that software developers are important is an understatement – they are essential.

Important Skills and Traits of a Software Developer

The following are important skills and traits of capable software developers:

Strategic, creative, and analytical skills – a software developer basically answers the question, “How can I, a human, make this machine do what I want?”. As such he needs to find the common thread that bridges the analog or physical intentions of humans to the digital and binary understanding of electronic and computerized devices.

Effective research skills – not all software need to be designed and developed from scratch. Many times, existing software just need to be improved and developed further. That being said, a software developer needs to possess excellent research skills in order not to reinvent the wheel every single time that software needs to be developed.

Critical thinking – a significant portion of a software developer’s job is data analysis, strategic planning, and problem solving. 

Ability to adapt quickly – software development is an ever-changing and dynamic world. A capable software developer has to be able to read the terrain and adapt a strategy that is responsive to sudden changes and at the same time retains its effectivity and efficiency.

Being receptive to new things – as mentioned earlier, the world of software development is dynamic and ever-changing. New technologies are discovered and developed on a day to day basis. As such, software developers need to be open to these changes and developments in order to come up with software solutions that are able to adapt to the changing times.

Where to Hire Software Developers?

Like most professionals nowadays, one can easily find software developers online. It’s only a matter of vetting them as far as experience and capability are concerned.

The first thing you need to decide when deciding to hire a software developer is whether you want to hire a local or a remote one.

The advantages of hiring directly include:

  • Ease of access and the ability to work with you personally – it’s always easier to work with someone face to face.

  • Less cultural and social adjustment needed – you’re most probably living in the same city as your software developer so you’re in the same time zone, speak the same language and share the same culture. This makes work so much smoother.

  • Better team-building opportunities – being in the same place physically creates plenty of opportunity to train, collaborate, build rapport, and get feedback.

On the other hand, hiring local talent can have the following disadvantages:

  • Specific skill sets can be harder to find – if you’re limited to a particular geographical area, finding a rockstar will be challenging.

  • Overhead expenses – if you hire locally, you’ll be obligated to keep an office which means you have to pay rent, pay for supplies, pay for electricity and other utilities. If you already have an office, you’ll have to provide your new hire with a work space which translates to the same thing – increased overhead.

If you decide to hire a remote worker, you need to decide if you’re hiring a project-based software developer or a full-time one.

In any case, here are the advantages of hiring remote talent:

  • Access to a global pool of talents – you’re not limited to who’s available in your city and what they know. Hiring remotely gives you access to talented software developers from different countries who may even charge relatively smaller fees than local recruits. This is true to both project-based freelancers and full-timers.

  • Little to no overhead – most remote workers work from home so you don’t need to worry about providing them with work spaces. This is especially true for project-based freelancers. However, for full-time remote workers, you may be required to subsidize their internet connection, computer equipment etc. But these costs are still far less compared to local overhead expenses.

  • Less contractual obligation – you can hire software developers on a per-project basis. If you like their work, continue to give them projects to work on. If you don’t, just don’t give them any more tasks to perform and that’s that.

On the other hand,

here are the disadvantages of hiring remote workers:

  • Trial and error – you can’t really gauge the level of expertise, experience and even work ethic of the remote worker until you take a leap of faith and hire them. The good news is, if you don’t like their performance on the first project, you can just part ways right then and there.

  • Time constraints – if you hire a remote software developer, particularly a freelancer, you need to understand right off the bat that you’re probably sharing him with several other clients (some paying more than you). That means your project is at the mercy of the freelancer’s workload. This may not be the case, though, with full-time remote employees.

That being said, here are a few places where you can find software developers online. Note that in some of these websites, you’ll have the option to hire either locally or remotely. It’s all up to you, your needs and your budget:

Upwork (local and remote) – geared more towards the US market. You can post a software developer job, and available contractors can start lining up to apply. All you’d need to do is choose the best candidate. This is a good place to look for either part-timers or full-time software developers.

Fiverr (remote and local) – contractors already post their services and their fees upfront. However, there’s still room for negotiation once you’ve touched base with a contractor. This is your best choice for one-off projects.

People Per Hour (remote and local) – geared more towards the European market. Just like Upwork, you post a job and contractors will apply. You can choose the best candidate and go from there. This is also a good place to look for either part-timers or full-time software developers.

C9 Staff (remote) – specializes in providing remote staffing services from a global pool of talents spread across 35 top international labor markets. It is considered a concierge service where you don’t simply hire a software developer (or any other kind of remote worker for that matter), you hire a software developer with an entire management service behind him to keep him accountable and always on his toes. This is ideal for people looking to hire the best and expecting to get the best while keeping costs relatively competitive.

Hiring Considerations

When looking to hire a software developer, whether it be local or remote, there are a few important considerations you have to keep in mind.

Do you already have a working software developement department that you want to improve? Or is this your first venture into software development? Do you plan to integrate a software developer into an existing team? Or do you intend to build a team around your software developer?

Is it going to be a one-off project or do you have a series of projects in your pipeline?

Next, what level of experience or proficiency would you like your software developer to have? Would you be okay with a mid-level one or are you looking for a senior level one?

Finally, how much do you have to spend? Do you have just enough for a one-off deal? Is your pocket deep enough for a part-time or even a full-time recruit? Are you ready to spend good money on a senior-level software developer salary or is your budget pointing towards a mid-level one?

Why C9 Staff Software Developers Rock

Here at C9 Staff, we have software developers in all levels of proficiency. Whether you need a mid-level one (with 1-3 years experience) or a senior level one (with 4 years experience or more), we have a software developer that fits your needs.