Hiring programmers is often challenging for businesses of all sizes, from startups to SMEs to enterprises. And it can be hard for different reasons, including the scarcity of the required developers and the inability to analyze their skills, evaluate their code, or measure their cultural fit with your company.
But at the same time, Statista reports that the number of software engineers will reach 27.7 million in 2023 and 28.7 million in 2024. So, how can your company find programmers for the project, especially if you have no technical background? Below, you will find a detailed guide on how to find a developer for your startup, where you can do that, and what critical things you have to consider before looking for programmers. Enjoy!
You must take some time to get the answers to several critical questions before you decide to find a developer for a startup. Clarifying such things will allow your organization to realize which programmers you must have on your team. Besides, that helps you correctly explain your expectations to all potential candidates regarding their expertise, experience, soft skills, etc.
Below, you will see a list of questions you can use to define your project objectives and hire programmers depending on their responses:
Ultimately, before you find programmers for your project, you have to determine whether you will build a minimum viable product (MVP) or a full-fledged solution. For instance, your organization may hire a small team of seasoned Flutter or React Native engineers from MVP software development companies to create an MVP, which takes 2-3 months. Meanwhile, the second case requires more diverse tech specialists who will work on your product longer.
Do you need to find a programmer with significant knowledge of this framework?
When considering hiring a programmer for a startup, you should pay attention to the following options:
So, let’s analyze these four engagement models in detail.
Outsourcing is among the most common options when planning on how to find developers for your project. It requires you to delegate the development process to a software agency. For instance, many US companies prefer Latin America or Eastern Europe as outsourcing destinations. Meanwhile, Deloitte reports that the key reason for outsourcing (70%) is the desire to reduce costs.
With DOIT Software, you will find programmers to transform your business ideas into high-quality applications smoothly. Share your thoughts regarding the project, and we will help you build the desired up-to-date product.
If you need the best programmers to do simple tasks such as creating landing pages, fixing bugs, or integrating payment gateways, you should hire a freelance programmer. But if you want to find programmers for a startup and develop your solution from scratch, you will face great issues with freelancers because of insufficient communication and management.
Hiring an in-house software development team means that you will find programmers in the local market who will work from your company’s office. The particular model is perfect when you have years of future work and want to get complete control over everything. However, it is often time-consuming and costly to find programmers to hire for your in-house team.
Companies prefer staff augmentation to find a programmer who will strengthen their expertise level. Due to the flexibility that this model can bring to your project, you obtain much faster app development and launch. It makes staff augmentation beneficial for startups, SMEs, and large enterprises.
Where to find programmers for a project? This question bothers many companies opting for software development. And although developer conferences, tech forums, cooperation with recruitment agencies, and even internship programs are still effective ways to find a coder, we have decided to focus on popular web resources.
So, let’s consider the top eight places on the Internet where you can hire programmers:
Niche job boards
Niche tech communities
B2B ratings and reviews websites
Referrals
Slack communities
Tech forums
Now, after you have learned about engagement models, critical things to consider, and where to find programmers, it is time to get some valuable tips regarding the hiring process.
To enhance your hiring process, consider incorporating video presentation tools into your recruitment strategy. These apps can help you create engaging job openings that stand out to potential candidates. For example, Veed, a versatile video presentation and editing tool equipped with video trimmer function, elevates your hiring process by adding a dynamic visual element to job openings.
Before reaching out to potential candidates, you should create an appropriate presentation of opening positions. This will allow for attracting the necessary people. So, what does the efficient hiring process look like?
Depending on your project needs and their complexity, you should find programmers with a particular experience and expertise level. For example, you may require a senior full-stack developer to assist in delivering a web platform. But apart from evaluating developers’ tech knowledge, you should also pay great attention to their soft skills.
These relevant skills represent personal traits defining how an individual manages his heavy workload and meets deadlines. Also, they help determine what approaches he uses to complete tasks effectively. Which makes them crucial for your potential employee to become an integral part of your team.
Below, there is a small list of questions that will help you find a programmer suitable for your project and team:
If you want to find programmers on freelance websites, you should also evaluate candidates’ cooperation skills and response time.
Since hard skills refer to tech and subject-specific expertise, you have to understand that they may vary depending on the type of coders you want to hire. So how to find a programmer with the right hard skills?
Firstly, you must define what technical tasks your potential employee will perform. This allows for determining the level of required professional competence and specialization. As tech candidates can outsmart recruiters, most organizations use chief technology officers (CTOs) to evaluate developers’ hard skills properly.
However, if you have little or no technical background but you are responsible for interviews, you can consider the following tips to find programmers:
Conducting a tech interview is among the most effective ways to evaluate a programmer for your project, especially if you utilize specific virtual recruiting platforms such as Talentspace and Brazen. This approach enables your recruiters or CTO to evaluate candidates according to previously defined tech requirements.
In addition, utilizing online coding test task tools such as HackerRank and Qualified.io can be helpful in evaluating programmers’ skills without spending too much effort. Ultimately, conducting live coding test tasks is the most effective way to define a candidate’s tech expertise.
Now you know how to find a developer to build a top-notch product. So, what should you do next? The answer is to ensure the proper onboarding process. But when it comes to remote developers, it can be a bit challenging compared to in-house employees. Below, we have defined five critical steps to make onboarding more efficient and prevent potential issues:
Hiring a programmer for a startup or SME requires some effort. Now you know some helpful resources to find talented coders for hire and are aware of the staff augmentation benefits. However, the most significant challenge is to rent a programmer who will meet your project needs as related to experience, availability, and skill sets.
Fortunately, with staff augmentation services, you can extend your team with extra expertise and launch your product faster. That is because the DOIT Software team can provide you with the top 5 % of tech specialists. Hiring programmers with DOIT Software is much simpler since we ensure tech personnel fit by evaluating their:
Need a programmer for your project to boost your product growth significantly? Contact us and get the first CVs of experienced software developers in a few days.
If you need a programmer, you must analyze the available engagement options (outsourcing, freelance, in-house, and staff augmentation). Then you should check specific resources such as niche job boards, tech communities, freelance platforms, or social media used to find software engineers and their portfolios. And finally, you need to interview the relevant candidates.
The cost of programmers for hire can vary depending on their tech expertise, experience, and their location. Thus, the wages may range from $20 per hour to over $100 an hour. For instance, the average middle/senior developers’ rates in Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine, are $40-65.
The platform where you can hire a programmer depends on the type of developer you need. Thus, you can find freelance coders on Upwork or Toptal. Meanwhile, Indeed or Glassdoor are perfect for in-house staff, and Clutch or GoodFirms will help you find a reliable outsourcing or staff augmentation partner.
Suppose you want to find developers for a startup. In that case, you have to first create a list of must-haves and unique product features, define the platforms to cover (e. g., mobile, desktop), and prepare the UI design of your future application in advance. Thus, you will understand what tech expertise and experience your candidates should have. And after selecting a suitable engagement model, you can find the most appropriate coders using job boards, tech forums, social media platforms, or B2B reviews websites.
