Did you know? According to recent data on software engineer age structure, the majority of developers, 48.42%, are between the ages of 25 and 34.

Hiring software developers is a difficult task. Hiring the appropriate individual for your team — both in terms of hard skills and culture — is challenging, time-consuming, and costly. Add to that the fact that demand for developers is at an all-time high, and your startup's funding is limited. And you have a setup for trouble. 

So, in this blog, we've offered a detailed guide to assisting you to hire a software developer for your company.

Is It Worth Hiring Great Software Developers?

Hiring talented software developers is similar to bringing in the most significant players for your team. Excellent IT professionals bring quality to the table, which is essential in a fast-paced, technology-driven area like software development.

They produce high-quality results because they are more efficient and cost-effective expenditures.

However, they are difficult to locate. To access a larger market, established and new enterprises focus more on digital acceleration. Great software developers are too far separated among firms looking for their services.

You'll have fewer chances of recruiting qualified software developer candidates if you don't have a good framework. Knowing the appropriate technique, on the other hand, will connect you to the top software developers, resulting in well-made software and giving you a major advantage over your competition.

The Qualities You Should Look for in Software Developers

The following are a few elements to consider when recruiting software engineers. This will be useful whether you're seeking a remote freelance software developer to work solo or as part of a team, a developer to fulfill a temporary requirement for your development team, or even if you're outsourcing the full development project to third-party organizations.

1. Make Sure While Hiring the Software Developer That He/she’s Flexible

Mastering all of the programming languages, tools, techniques, and frameworks are nearly difficult. There are just too many, and breakthroughs in these technologies occur essentially every day, changing the way software developers approach development difficulties.

However, rather than looking for someone who is a total specialist in only one language, it is always better to look for software developers who are familiar with two or more languages. Look for someone flexible. This will save you money.

Great software engineers are not only trouble solvers; they are also open-minded individuals who are willing to enhance their knowledge and abilities. Because technology will never stop evolving, they all must learn about new technologies in order to be competitive in the field.

2. Hiring a Creative Software Developer

When you already have a concept for your project, a talented developer will bring it to life. They can add features that improve functionality and user satisfaction. While philosophical and technological abilities are important, creativity is required for project development.

You'll need employees who can think quickly on their feet and collaborate successfully with the team before the real development process begins. When working with creative developers, you will gain a broader view or a fresh aspect to explore when developing your software project.

3. Hire Someone Who Can Communicate and Collaborate

Even while working alone, a highly motivated software developer often completes tasks quickly, but success requires teamwork with others. A project can sometimes be completed by a single person. But, at some time, any developer will have to collaborate with others to improve things.

As a result, a skilled communicator is required to unite the efforts of the team and improve operations. Consider this: as a business owner or team leader, you are unlikely to allocate all responsibility to a single individual. And because each one has unique traits, close teamwork is required.

A high-quality software development project is the result of developers who can not only fulfill their specialized tasks but also supplement the demands of others in the team. This is particularly true when using lean techniques.

Clear communication is required for this to occur. Team members will not be on the same page if there is no clear communication; things will go crazy for a software development team with everyone working in separate directions, which will only slow down the process. This applies to both in-house and remote developers on the same team.

Developers should also possess good communication skills in order to fully appreciate your project's vision and effectively share their opinions on it.

4. Search For A Professional Coder

Software development is a difficult process. Clean programmers, on the other hand, make the job easier, especially when it comes to maintenance, debugging, and future improvements.

Coding exams, which are commonly used in the recruiting process for software developers, may be used to test for these. Great developers can make difficult tasks appear simple.

On the other side, hiring unprofessional coders would only complicate the project's development and make it more difficult for developers to interact with others. Overall, it will slow down operations.

5. Prioritize Skills Over Experience

When choosing between a skilled developer and an experienced developer, go with the first one. This is not to say that experience isn't valuable. It is necessary if you want the job completed in a technical way.

However, if you want to offer something new to the project, out-of-the-box ideas that will give you a competitive advantage, you should prioritize skilled developers.

However, keep in mind that various software projects need different types of developers.

What Are the Best Ways to Hire a Software Developer?

A personal interview and a technical interview are two methods for screening applicants when hiring a software developer. These sorts of interviews are essential for determining whether an applicant holds the relevant qualities.

1. Technical Interviews

It is necessary to test your applicants' programming abilities. To achieve a better picture of your applicants' talents, make sure the interview is conducted by a senior or experienced software developer. The technical interview should provide you with perspective into your candidate's programming talents and allow you to judge them.

You may, however, check for technical abilities more simply by conducting a programming-related test. TestGorilla's programming test suite is one example with several benefits.

2. In-Person Interview

You are probably aware that the personal interview entails getting to know the personalities of your applicants. It's also essential to use the interview to see if your applicant has the soft skills needed for your software development position. 

Of course, you should also consider whether the candidate is a good fit for the corporate culture, as well as how your present software developers function.

Things to Avoid While Hiring A Software Developer

1. Avoid Using Inaccurate Job Descriptions

You'll need them to avoid misleading or inadequate job descriptions. Determine the type of developer you want, the talents they must acquire, and the project's detailed information right from the job posting. This way, they'll know straight away whether or not they qualify, saving everyone's time.

There's nothing worse than hiring a developer for one thing and having them handle another. You will be entirely responsible for this confusion unless you adequately explain the job description. Strategic planning will be easier for team leaders if everyone understands what is and is not expected of them.

2. Avoid Poor Orientation and Training Practices

Providing a supportive environment to get every software developer on the team on the same page. Instead of releasing them into the unknown right away, it's best to get them accustomed to the project's goals, existing issues, duties, procedures, and work culture.

3. Avoid Uncertain Expectations

Assumptions have no place in your software development team. Avoid changeups that cause a lot of conflicting viewpoints among team members. Inform your freshly recruited software developer about the team's present capabilities and how they might enhance the capabilities of those already on the team. This allows them to provide more value, minimize disruptions, and produce higher-quality output.

Wrapping It Up

Hiring a software developer can be an extremely effective means of throwing money at a problem, but it is far from guaranteed.

Sometimes the atmosphere and surroundings you give a developer aren't favorable to their productivity, or even to realizing that anything is wrong. Other times, you'll need to be on the lookout for certain unfavorable characteristics and habits in your possible employment.

But, for the most part, it's a matter of strengthening your management instincts while keeping your assumptions in control. Is it true that the software developer in consideration is a good fit for the position and your team? It's all up to you.

Do you want to find the best software developer for your project? Test2Hire can help you cut down the screening time by 89%. Sign up for our 7-day free trial to get started. We'll take a look at your project and make sure you're getting the best software engineer candidate for the job. Plus, we have a demo video that will show you just how easy it is to use Test2Hire.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is it difficult to find a software developer?

Hiring software developers is a difficult task. Hiring the appropriate individual for your team — both in terms of hard skills and soft skills — is challenging, time-consuming, and expensive.

2. Why are software developers so well paid?

Because of supply and demand, software developer earnings are so high. Because there aren't enough developers to fulfill demand in the marketplace, competent developers receive a significant salary. Technology is also continuously developing, so staying relevant takes a lot of effort.

Hiring has never been simple, especially when you're recruiting for startups. At times, it might feel as if you're competing in a time-limited obstacle course competition on television. You see, startups are typically young businesses that are just launching into the market. As a result, their status is made more difficult by their low financial resources. They have a tight labor market, fierce rivalry, and labor-intensive sectors. Recruiting a person who doesn't align with the startup's beliefs, objectives, and mission could hurt its ability to succeed in the future.

According to Forbes, this frequently occurs when businesses expand to much more than one location, bring in more than $20 million in revenue, or employ over 80 people. The employees are ultimately what matters because they propel a startup's expansion and ultimately lead it to glory.

How Can Top Talent Be Hired for Startups?

Sadly, only about two out of every five businesses make money. The rest either fail or continue to lose money. Thus, it is crucial that the hiring process is seamless and that candidates are engaged in novel ways. Most of your associates should stay with you for about four years if everything goes right. Here are the 11 revolutionary methods to assemble a startup team with outstanding talent.

1. Determine Your Hiring Criteria

Make a note of the following:

• Organization's goals and missions

• What stage of development is your startup?
• Goals and aspirations for the near- and medium-term future (considering the long-term ones)
• Roles and responsibilities of the current workforce

Uncover the talent gaps by mapping these at this stage. Estimate how many new employees you'll need to bring on board over the course of the next year. Sort them according to their roles and functions. Write down the specific reasons why you must hire the applicant for each post you would like to fill.

2. Establish A Hiring Budget

It's challenging to run a startup with very little to no money, especially when you have to hire for a startup. Hence, besides considering the costs related to prior recruitment efforts, consider a few more, including, 

• The sourcing method that has historically produced the best results for you (depends on the role and position)

• Determine and monitor the cost of each hire for a startup in addition to other recruiting and onboarding variables.
• Consider budgeting tools (a spreadsheet might work in the beginning) and maintain records of all the costs associated with hiring.
• Emergency funds

Based on them, you can determine a preliminary estimate of the entire recruitment budget.

3. Select Candidates Who Possess These Qualities

If your company is in its early stages, you should consider hiring generalists, those who are persistent, who are enthusiastic about the startup's aims and vision, etc. 

Usually, these traits would nevertheless be relevant if you were in the growth phase. However, you may relax a little bit about the aforementioned conditions. Most likely, you should choose those who:

• Are professionals
• possess the capacity to expand a startup (prior experience is definitely a plus)
• having the capacity to swiftly adjust and handle numerous changes
• can help broaden one's goals and ambitions
• are representatives of your startup's culture and brand

All in all, a person's attitude should be valued more than their knowledge or expertise. 

4. Possible sources of prospects for your startup

You can find the types of applicants you're looking for by using the channels listed below:

• Business community:
• Social media
• Agency
• Jobs Boards
• Forums and platforms for industry
• Internal recruiters

5. How to Draw Applicants to Your Startup

Very few individuals will be interested in joining your startup when you're fresh in town. Naturally, it will be rather simple for you to discover viable candidates for your firm if you have obtained some investment and have made some headlines.

The first step is to be extremely clear on the goals and vision for your firm. The ability to pitch your firm to potential hires should follow, similar to how it might at an investment pitch meeting.

They won't likely join if they don't have faith in your concept or the potential/goals of your startup. You never know when circumstances can alter, and they could be excellent candidates for openings in your firm and eager to join your business.

Your job postings and advertisements should showcase the character of your company. Use original ideas when posting on social media. Create a positive candidate pool from the very beginning of the screening process. Offer to publish guest blog pieces on well-known websites and platforms. Give media articles your insightful advice. Request invitations to conferences and events.

These procedures will assist you in creating a strong employer brand, but keep in mind that a false brand won't be effective.

6. Create Appealing and Intriguing Job Descriptions to Attract Talent to Your Startup

Read other people's job descriptions. Do not copy them verbatim. What you want the individual to do after joining your startup should be expressed in your own words. Their tasks and roles would be established by this.

Be as precise and succinct as you can. There should be no room for ambiguity. Discuss your startup's mission, goals, and activities. The culture and working environment at your startup should be highlighted.

Unless you are Elon Musk, avoid promising Mars and the moon to applicants and instead use language to pique their curiosity in working with you. Keep in mind that creating a job description is likely the first step in connecting your firm with prospective employees.

7. Draw Up A Pay And Benefit Schedule

You can rely on a recruiting firm or an in-house recruiter to gather the data for you. Or, you can use platforms like Glassdoor to figure out the market rates for specific roles.

The compensation trends can also be investigated by speaking with other business founders. Having mentors and subject matter experts who have handled employee remuneration and benefits in the context of your industry of operation, the positions you are recruiting for, and the locations of both you and the prospects is also beneficial.

8. Create A Smooth Interviewing Procedure

No matter how tiny your business is, establish an interviewing procedure. Prior to the interview, thoroughly get to know your prospect.

• Make a list of questions and ask as few ambiguous, open-ended inquiries as possible. (For instance, what do you envision yourself doing in 20 years?)

• Align the group of candidates for the interview with the duties and responsibilities of the position, the perfect candidate, and the importance that you assign to various qualities in a possible employee.

9. Consider Using Freelancers And Remote Workers

The culture of a startup is more vibrant, adaptable, and open than that of the majority of large corporations. You might prefer an independent contractor over a standard contract if that's what you're searching for. The realm of freelancing is a wealth of skills and talents that can satisfy your needs. Additionally, you can come across outstanding individuals who prefer remote work or a flexible work schedule.

What Positions Should You Start Filling for Your Startup?

Budgets and demands vary among early-stage businesses and startups. You must determine the ideal candidate profile that serves you best. The roles listed below are ones to consider.

• A manager of operations or human resources. They are abreast of new laws and compliances. Thanks to the implementation of payroll software.
• A promoter. Someone that can develop content, qualify leads, understands SEO and email marketing, etc.
• A salesman. Your salesperson ought to be so good that they could even offer ice to an Eskimo.
• Finance Manager. Someone who is capable of managing all the funds, working on a budget, and monitoring the bottom line.
• Product Manager. The person in charge of overseeing the changes made to your product and how they can be improved further is your product manager.

Do and Don'ts of Hiring for Startups

Throughout the entire recruitment process, there are a few actions that you should or shouldn't do. Have a look. 

Certain Considerations You Must Make While Making Your Initial Employees

• Pay attention to potential, soft skills, and a solid background.
• Always keep the objectives and vision of your firm in mind.
• Throughout the entire process, be absolutely clear with all the information.
• Keep current workers informed of new recruitment
• Let the applicant or employee go if you believe you made a mistake somewhere along the hiring process.

Absolute No-Nos When Hiring in a Company

• Just while there is a lot of work to be done, you shouldn't rush the complete experience.

• Do not try to imitate the approaches, styles, or techniques of your rivals (every company is unique)
• Do not be scared to inquire frequently.
• Do not be reluctant to ask an expert or any other employees of the core group for assistance.
• Do not underestimate the influence a strong onboarding procedure may have

One of the most challenging aspects of starting a business is recruiting people, but you must get it right (a few mistakes are acceptable) to ensure that your company is scalable and sustainable.

Wrapping It Up 

Your business may have trouble hiring staff members and handling payroll, particularly if you plan to expand internationally and must comply with various labor laws and regulations.

Are you in need of a new employee but don't have time to go through the lengthy hiring process? Test2Hire is the perfect solution for you. With our online skills testing tool, you can quickly and easily examine a candidate's language competency or standardized intelligence abilities. You can also make precise predictions about how they will perform in the near future.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Only one-third of recruiters believe job seekers are genuine about their abilities, while the remaining 85% feel candidates hype their abilities on their resumes.

Resume screening saves recruiters time throughout the hiring process and allows new workers to be onboarded more quickly. Whether you screen resumes physically or with tools, utilizing the best strategies will help you find the most qualified candidates. 

What is Resume Screening?

By restricting the number of qualified candidates, resume screening plays an important aspect in locating the ideal applicant for a position. Recruiters either manually evaluate resumes or use technology to do so.

Recruiters analyze each resume individually in manual screening, whereas software-based resume screening uses artificial intelligence methods to scan resumes for pre-determined criteria. Resume screening is a simple method for eliminating unqualified applicants from the application process and shortlisting candidates for interviews.

What Are the Reasons for the Widespread Use of Resume Screening?

1. It Significantly Reduces the Recruiting Process 

A significantly larger number of candidates frequently implies extended hiring periods. Companies are looking for new techniques to screen out unwanted applicants in order to speed up the hiring process, including resume screening. This significantly decreases time to hire and time to fill, allowing you to enroll the ideal candidate much faster.

2. It Narrows Down a Vast Pool of Candidates 

Finding the ideal candidate amid a large pool of applications can be difficult. Resume screening allows you to eliminate unwanted individuals, leaving just those who appear to be best fitted for the position.

3. It Allows You to Evaluate the Success of Job Postings 

Recruiters can also decide whether a job posting is successful or reasonable for the company's needs by screening resumes. For example, if none of the resumes you check contain the abilities 

specified in your job posting, it may be a hint that you need to rethink your expectations.

How to Screen Resumes?

Most recruiters utilize an application checklist to sort prospects into categories such as "must-sees" and "potential interviews."

A checklist is a simple approach to searching for keywords in resumes. Some candidates will utilize meaningless keywords in order to stand out. 

Responsibilities are also taken into consideration during the recruitment process. A quick resume screening by a smart recruiter will look for figures and indicators of development, such as making 100 videos with over 1,000,000 views in two months.' To stand out from the pack, candidates should showcase genuine tangible accomplishments.

When two or more opportunities are open, people may be more qualified for a job for which they did not apply. Calling in a candidate for future interest in other job openings is an excellent recruitment strategy and resume screening procedure.

These are some simple resume screening ideas; however, everyone has their resume screening procedure. Follow these top tactics for successful recruiting if you're seeking fresh ideas.

1. Make A Specific Job Posting

The more specific you can be when describing the position's functions and responsibilities, the more likely you are to attract the top candidates. To limit the number of candidates, list all abilities, software expertise, and years of experience required in the job description.

Rewarding recruiting begins with you, and a clear set of requirements will help candidates decide whether it is worth their time to apply or not.

2. Analyze Any Employment Gaps

If you notice a gap of more than a month between jobs while scanning applications, ask the candidate to explain why. Some people have valid reasons for gaps, such as military duty or parental leave. However, before recruiting, you must ensure that your candidate is committed to long-term employment.

3. Set high expectations from the start

If you find typos or obvious flaws in a resume when screening it, discard it before continuing. This is a clear indication that the candidate is not detail-oriented. 

A CV that seems to be copied and pasted shows that the person is not genuinely interested in the job vacancy. It can also be interpreted as a warning against job-hopping or tossing resumes into the wind in the hope that one sticks.

Reading a resume should be straightforward. It should clearly and simply summarise relevant experience and credentials. Do not spend your time examining resumes that were created with little consideration or effort.

4. Job Resumes

Resumes may include information on interests, volunteer opportunities, and trips. A professional Resume should only include credentials, not hobbies or interests. All non-professional resumes with no relevant work experience should be rejected during resume screening.

5. Make Cultural Fit A Priority

Even candidates with outstanding qualifications on their resumes may struggle in person. In your search, always prioritize communication skills, leadership, and cooperation.

If a candidate is unable to cooperate with others, you may find yourself publishing another job offering and evaluating resumes sooner than you would want.

6. Prioritize Quality Over Quantity

More positions on a resume do not imply a more unique background. This is most certainly a symptom of job-hopping, especially if the individual appears to change jobs every few months.

A candidate who has worked for a company for numerous years has obviously prioritized long-term growth.

Challenges Faced While Resume Screening

For many years, resume screening was a time-consuming and labor-intensive manual activity performed by a single recruiting manager or recruiter. This, of course, creates several problems in the search for top employees.

Let's take a look at the well-known challenges of resume screening.

1. Personal Experience of the Recruiter

A recruiter is assigned to assess applications and bring in the finest applicants, yet they are frequently unfamiliar with the available position. Detailed IT roles can be more difficult to screen than general managerial positions.

A recruiter can bring in the wrong prospects simply because they do not completely know the job's needs and credentials.

2. It's Time to Hire

Qualified individuals will receive several offers. The average time to recruit is 30 days, but your top choice might be taken by another organization that is quicker in presenting a position.

Shortening the period between resume screening and job offers benefits both you and the firm. Get ahead of the curve and employ exceptional candidates before it's too late.

3. Volume

The average number of applicants for a new job is 250! Imagine you spend 10 minutes reviewing each resume in depth, which averages to more than 41 hours of resume screening. After reading so many applications, anyone would become exhausted.

What makes it much more challenging is that more than three-quarters of the candidates will be irrelevant or lack the necessary qualifications.

4. Getting Settled too Quickly

Sometimes a recruiter might locate what appears to be the ideal Resume towards the top of the pile and call them in the hopes that they would work out. This frequently excludes other applicants who may be more suited but happen to be further down the list.

This is one of the disadvantages of accepting and reviewing resumes on a rolling basis rather than waiting for applications to be filed before assessing resumes.

5. Recruiting Quality

Quality of hire is simply a measure of how much value a recruit may provide to your business over time. Although there is no set method for evaluating quality, recruiters recognize that this factor is important to think about when reviewing resumes.

However, this can be problematic, especially because the key indicators required to fulfill these criteria aren't clearly identified by looking solely at a candidate's resume.

6. Experience of Recruiters in Every Field

It is difficult for recruiters to get information outside of their field. Recruiters frequently review resumes for multiple industries. 

A recruiter in an organization, for example, may be screening profiles for marketing, sales, IT, and engineering positions. We cannot expect them to know all of the verticals, especially if they are technical. This frequently results in the wrong profile being shortlisted for the wrong position.

In such cases, the recruiting manager is frequently in charge of most of the screening. The time spent by recruiters on such initial screening is completely ineffective.

Wrapping It Up

Traditional hiring is similar to a cone. It begins with a large group of candidates about whom we know little and concludes with one person about whom we want to know a lot. Resume screening is an important step in the shortlisting process.

Recruiters can use Resume screening to narrow down a big list of qualified applicants, advancing the top candidates to the next step of the recruiting process, which is generally an interview or an invitation to complete skills testing. It can also assist companies in determining whether their job posting is attracting qualified candidates.

Although there are obstacles associated with the procedure, screening resumes boosts the possibility of a company's time-to-hire and time-to-fill, making the complex hiring process manageable.

Stuck with screening hundreds of resumes? Save your valuable hours by creating pre-employment assessments within a few clicks!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)