Entellects

Are you looking for a mobile application developer for a project? Are you unsure where to start? You could find hundreds of developers with a simple LinkedIn or Google search, but none of those developers will matter unless they’re exactly what you need. The following are five tips to help you hire the right developer for your project.

Create an Accurate Job Description

A developer that can code a mobile app, right? Well posting a job description that only says, “Hiring: Mobile App Developer” will get you a whole slew of developers, and there’s a good chance none of them are what you need. Several questions you need to ask yourself before beginning the hiring process include:

• How long do you need this developer for? Do you need a developer on full-time, or is this a one-time project? If this is a one-time project, how much time does the developer need? Will periodic adjustments/improvements need to be made on the app in the future? Specify full-time, contract, hourly, or per-project.

• What coding languages does the developer need to know? HTML5 is the latest advancement in the development world. Developers can now use HTML5, a language that is supported on nearly every platform and browser and on computers and mobile devices. Is that what you’re looking for in a developer? What other skills should they have? Java, Javascript, CSS3? Should they also have web app skills?

• How much experience should the developer have?              Is this an advanced project that needs a highly experienced developer, or is this a simpler job for a recent college graduate? Should the developer’s years of experience be in a specific area or can it be tech in general? If you are familiar with the difficulty of your project, you can determine the necessary experience level of your candidate.

• Are there specific traits that a developer should possess? Is the developer going to be answering to someone, or working on his/her own? If a developer has only worked on a team, but you aren’t hiring an entire team, that seemingly minor aspect could be detrimental to your project. Consider the variables and abnormal conditions in your project and include them in the job description.

Interview Like a Pro

Many potential employers ask all the wrong questions in an interview. If you ask  the following key questions, then a hiring disaster can be avoided.

• “What were your responsibilities?” You can assume that “developed a shopping cart app for pet food vendor” on a developer’s resume means that the developer created the app start to finish. If you ask how the developer was involved in the app development, you might hear that it was really a school project, and the developer only coded a small segment of the app. Knowing the extent of a candidate’s experience will determine their usability for the project.

• Ask specific technical questions. There are developers out there who don’t have the skills they claim to. Trust us, you’d be surprised. There are many ways to “cheat” and “steal” code from other sites or apps. If you have enough tech-savvy to ask specific coding questions, you can identify their true skill set sooner rather than later.

Take Time to Test

Testing a mobile app developer might seem like a waste of time. Many experienced developers will complete these tests without a second thought. Tests, however, can prevent unqualified candidates from sneaking through your hiring process. The app development world can be a lucrative profession, and you will probably encounter several dishonest applicants. Simple tests can be purchased from a variety of sites and the pittance you spend on the test could save you a fortune later.

Check References

Check references, because no hiring process is complete without this essential step. References may reveal more about your potential hire then five interviews could. Creating a mobile app is an expensive and time-consuming task, but if you hire the wrong developer, that task will evolve from an accomplishment into a nightmare. It’s imperative that you know who you’re hiring, so check those references.

Offer Reasonable Compensation

Pricing models for an app developer vary greatly. Many developers work on an hourly basis. Developers charge anywhere from $50-$200/hour, depending on the project and their skill level. If this sounds like a lot to you, consider the high demand for developers today, especially for mobile developers proficient in the latest coding languages such as HTML5. Offering less than $50/hour isn’t just compromising on quality, it’s unrealistic. If you are unsure what to offer, then ask several developers to quote their rate and determine a reasonable offer based on their answers.

Hiring a mobile app developer is a complex process. If you aren’t sure what you need or where to start, then please contact us. Not only can we help you find the right developer for your project, but we can also help you complete projects, removing all the headache of hiring a team and project management.

 

 

Image courtesy of ausnahmezustand.