words Alexa Wang
Almost every entrepreneur and tech startup has experienced this dilemma; you develop your mobile app business plan or simply come up with a brilliant idea for an app but don’t know anyone who can bring it to life.
In a perfect world, you’d launch your startup with a technical co-founder aboard to take care of all your programming work. However, in today’s ever-changing digital world, this isn’t the case and not everyone can easily find a software developer who is ready to get aboard their company or startup to help the business grow.
Nearly every sector and industry around the world has become reliant on app and software development. As such, the demand for software developers is higher than ever before. Though the number of graduates in the software development field has been increasing significantly in recent years, companies are facing difficulties when searching for skilled software developers. The truth is that there is a software developer shortage and it can be tough to find the right guy for the job.
According to a Recent Survey by CareerBuilder, nearly 75 percent of employers lose an average of $15,000 for every bad hire they make. Additionally, the U.S Department of Labor indicates that a bad hire can cost a company up to 30 percent of the employee’s first-year earnings. If you hire a software developer without determining whether they’re truly invested in your vision, you’ll harm your business. That said, here’s how you can find the right programmer for your mobile app idea:
Define Your Business Needs
One of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs and companies make when hiring a custom web development company is to rush the entire process, settling for someone who doesn’t add value to their vision. As mentioned, a bad hire can be expensive and disastrous for your company. A mediocre or non-ideal candidate will not only blow up your app development costs but also slow down your development cycle.
It’s crucial that you take the time to clearly define and outline your app concept or idea, your target market, and exactly who you need to hire. This should be the first thing you do even before you start meeting and interviewing potential candidates. The clearer you are about what and who you need, the easier it’ll become picking the right developer since you already have an ideal candidate in mind.
Research Well
You’ve clearly defined your business needs and goals and know who you need to hire. But before you hire someone for your app development work, you must understand a few basics about their job. This includes learning about the different programming languages used, popular online platforms to find developers, average developer rates, and the essential details of a developer’s work procedure. You want to make sure you know the ins and outs of the industry so you are better placed to have productive interviews and meetings with candidates.
Check the Developer’s Portfolio and References
Whether you’re looking to hire a company providing the best software development services or an independent contractor, it’s important that you ask them to share samples of their past work and client references. A great developer should have excellent UI/UX skills. And the only way to assess their skills and determine whether or not they’re a good fit for your project is by checking their portfolio.
Their portfolio should align with your needs. Will your partner need to conduct a test? Do they need to specialize in Java? Make sure you look at the UI/UX and quality of design of the apps they’ve built for previous clients. You also need to talk to the developer’s or agency’s previous clients so you can get real feedback on the quality of their work. You can as well try some of the mobile apps or products that the developer has developed for them.
The Best Software Developers are a Partner
There’s more to finding the right software developer or agency than just hiring someone with the right experience, skills, and technical background. You want to find a partner who is truly invested in your mobile app idea and can offer value beyond just creating the app. Such a developer will have insights that could help refine your idea and make your app even better.
The right developer should be able to not only guide you and your team through the development process but also provide valuable insights based on their experience with similar mobile apps they’ve worked on.
Examine Their Communication Skills
Hiring a software developer won’t make your app magically appear: you’ll need to work as a team, managing them, and guiding your project forward. Mobile app development is a collaborative process. As such, you cannot overlook the developer’s communication skills. You want to make sure the person you hire understands your business’s needs and goals and can grasp your vision. Developing an app usually involves many cycles and evolutions which require constant user feedback. The right developer for your app is someone with whom you can understand each other and get along with ease.
Post-Deployment Support for Your App
Finally, you must look at the developer’s reliability and ability to stay committed to the end. Discuss with them about their commitment to your app development project. Someone who isn’t ready to offer post-deployment support isn’t invested in your idea and thus, shouldn’t be hired. No matter how experienced or skilled your development team is, you’ll always need to change some of the features and fix bugs based on user feedback. Look for a developer who is interested in providing support and working on updates after the app is built.
