- 7 Tips on How to Hire a Software Developer - January 28, 2022
Do you need new ideas for how to hire a software developer? If you manage a tech recruitment team here are 7 tips to help you hire developers.
7 tips for Hiring Software Developers
If your focus is hiring a software developer with good credentials, experience, and proven ability, we recommend following the tips below. They all help increase your chances of creating a high-performance team.
1. Source and Screen Developers on Social Channels
Traditional job boards alone don’t cut it.
Employers can access a lot more information about candidates through social channels. They can find information such as previous work samples and personal interests. And it allows for open, effective communication with the candidate.
To increase the effectiveness of your social search, try tools like:
- GitHub has a membership of more than 8.9 million developers, programmers, engineers and techy-types you can search for by location or coding language. (Here’s a great step-by-step guide on how to get started!)
- StackOverflow — a job board that reaches developers and technologists
- LinkedIn Recruiter has recommended matches and advanced search filters to reach developers quickly. And, of course other recruiting tools.
Note: If you’re interested in mission-driven candidates, a hot new job board is Otta, here are their solutions.
2. Review Developer’s Blogs and Websites
One of the most important things to do when hiring programmers is an in-depth portfolio review. When a hiring team evaluates the technical quality of their websites (or blogs), you find out which skills they have (e.g., problem-solving, depth of perception, writing, technical expertise, and a proactive personality).
If you’re reviewing a developer’s background, ask them A) if they’ve written blog pieces and B) if they have a site that shows their portfolio of work. Examples of good blogs to compare theirs to are Coding Horror and Erik Bern…and here are 10 other Must-Read Software Development Blogs.
3. Conduct Interviews with Technical Assessment Tools
Another tip for hiring a programmer is to use tools to evaluate and rate applicants’ technical approaches. HackerRank, Coderbyte, Codility, TestDome, and iMocha are all excellent options. These tools run skill-based tests in various programming languages.
Here’s a general pricing breakdown:
- HackerRank — $25/month
- Coderbyte — $99/month
- iMocha — $500/month
- TestDome — $1,200/year
- Codibility — fill out a form for pricing
The price varies depending on the platform (and your needs). So be sure to check out all of them to see which is the best fit for your hiring workflow.
4. Use Boolean Search
This tool optimizes the process for hiring a coder through an intensive search. Boolean Search is an advanced search technique that combines keywords to find results for possible operator candidates, such as: like, AND, OR, NOT, ” “, and ().
With Boolean, you can find software developers with experience in Python and JavaScript on Google. Python and JavaScript, along with HTML and CSS, were the most used programming languages globally in 2021, according to Statista. As a recruiter, knowing the importance of these programming languages will help to hire a software developer with the required skills.
5. Use a Repo Analysis Feature
To increase precision for hiring a coder, we recommend using tools like CodersRank.io. This system has an automated code analysis. The algorithm of this tool calculates the quality points of each coding setup. Through visual charts, you can analyze the performance of each programmer.
Another tool to use for analyzing developers’ code is deepsource.io. It analyzes every pull request made and finds security vulnerabilities, performance problems, and bug risks. It’s also a tool you can use to reduce time spent on manual code reviews in your organization.
6. Avoid Bias in Job Ads
If your goal is hiring coders from diverse backgrounds, you can use recruiting tools to help avoid bias. Tools like Ongig’s Text Analyzer scan your job postings for biased language that might deter diverse candidates from applying.
For example:
- women are turned off by words like “aggressive” and “assertive”
- “master/slave” langauge might turn off Black candidates
- older developrs can get turned off by words lke “digital native” or “recent graduate”
- “a degree from a top school” deters candidates with a degree from a non “elite” school
Note: For more examples of bias in job ads, check out 25+ Examples of Biased Language.
7. Ask your Personal Network for Referrals
Referrals consistently rank #1 in terms of the quality of a hire. A Greenhouse study found that hires from employee referrals make 25% more profit than other sources.
And 46 % of those hires are likely to stay at their position for more than a year, according to Jobvite.
Bottom line…Referrals are cost-effective, more productive, and have higher employee retention.
There is no exact formula for hiring programmers, but there are many IT tools to help find potential talent. Apply the methods explained above, and you will have a team of amazing programmers ready for any project in the tech industry.
Why I Wrote This
To hire the best software developers in the field, you need to either reach out to them directly or write great job descriptions. Consider using Ongig’s Text Analyzer to create effective and bias-free job descriptions.
Shout-Outs:
- JavaScript Vs Python: The Major Differences (by Joshua Weinstein)
- How to: Use GitHub to Find Super-Talented Developers (by Social Talent)
- 10 Awesome Diversity Tools For Hiring (by Joanne Derecho)
- Most used programming languages among developers worldwide, as of 2021 (by Statista)
- Must-Read Software Development Blogs (by The Phrase Blog)
- 4 Reasons to Invest in Employee Referrals (by Kristen Hudson)
- Here’s How Employee Referrals Save You Time and Money (by Roots Technologies)
This is a guest post from David Torrealba
From Zulia, Venezuela, David started working with Career Karma in October 2020. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Communication and Print Journalism from Universidad del Zulia. He works as a journalist at Noticia Al Minuto alongside his content writing duties with Career Karma. He previously worked as a content writer with AKB Fintech. His interests include journalism and marketing.
