hiring freelance developers So you have a pending project in the pipeline and need more hands-on-deck? Freelance software developers can save the day, BUT… Unfortunately, the challenges associated with searching, testing, and onboarding a truly great freelance developer candidate cause most employers to give up before they even start. You are looking at recruitment expenses, time-lapse, and the struggle to find the right candidates in a sector currently plagued by a mix of both good and bad apples in one basket. While hiring freelance developers is not a walk in the park, the benefits are worth the effort. In this article, we’ll provide detailed guidance to help you dodge the common pitfalls and set yourself up for success. Popular Regions To Outsource To The majority of companies hiring freelance developers favor outsourcing to Eastern Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East in that order. Often you will never go wrong with the first two, but this is not to say you can’t find real gems in Asia and the Middle East. Establish Your Expectations Before you set about hiring new developers, make a quick rundown of what you want to achieve with your workforce. This way, you can set a reasonable budget in accordance with the costs and talent you expect to meet. What tasks should you assign to freelance developers? Most businesses assign freelance developers simple tasks such as edits, quality assurance, or integration with third-party apps. Only very few companies trust freelance developers with software architecture and security tasks. Usually, such companies already have well-defined structures for protecting their sensitive information. If you are not confident about your security, it’s best to assign low-risk tasks to freelance developers. The Hiring Process Searching for a good developer can take months. However, when it comes to freelance developers, the process is somewhat simpler. You are looking at a procedure whereby you can just look up a specialist on a dedicated platform, reviews included. A simple inquiry using the method of your choice can quickly provide you with a shortlist of contractors who can start working on your product within a few hours. Below are a few steps you can follow to make your selection process more insightful and yield the best results. Scan The Portfolio It’s not enough to just have a developer claim to be competent in something. Make sure you review their portfolios along with the resumes. Developers typically post code samples on resources like GitHub; these are a great place to start. You will also need to contact traceable references from other people or organizations they have worked with previously. This will help you determine how they will fit into your team. Test For Proficiency One great way to test a developer’s proficiency is with test tasks. You can put together a task that helps you gauge the candidate’s approach and performance on the tasks they will be handling on the project. You can even have a trusted party evaluate the code written by the […]
