As the tech talent war continues to rage, it is no wonder that hiring the right developer takes forever. Managers face numerous difficulties not just hiring but retaining the right talent.If we are to go by statistics, the average time-to-hire for tech positions in the USA is 35 days.

A realistic expectation is crucial while you hire as you don’t want to end up hiring the wrong person too soon.We have compiled a few pointers to help you hire the right developer.

PS.The technical skill set of every applicant is for you and your hiring team to analyze and assess.

Junior Developer: Trial and Error Warrior

Just graduated or kick-starting their first job- junior developers are often hired by organizations with an eye to reduce cost.Brimming with energy which often the senior counterparts lack, junior developers, tend to  overlook the larger context. Usually, they need supervision and guidance from other team members to complete complex tasks. Their primary aim is to make the software work.

What are the expectations of a junior developer?

• Small bug fixes that involve 1-5 lines of code
• Work on internal tools/features
• Assist in sprint and project planning
• Focus on minor aspects of backend
• Familiarize and get comfortable with the codebase 
• Adapt well to existing work conditions

What are the skills and perspective of Jr. developers?

Coding Skills

Being inexperienced, junior developers often consider working software and good software as equivalent. Complex abstractions and quirky one-liners can easily help you recognize their code. What they fail to understand is that focus should not always be on the computer side but also on the human aspect.

Independent work

Expecting junior developers to work independently is way too much. They need strong guidance and close supervision to grow their skills.

Experience

The key to success for newbies is the willingness to work and learn. You cannot expect your newly recruited developers to solve complex challenges using the appropriate technology but they can be good with routine tasks. 

Working in a team

To grow and succeed professionally, a novice should stay engaged and gain as much knowledge as possible from the team and its activities. 

Training

A beginner is always more receptive and this can help you easily convince them to follow best practices. This can include the DevOps approach of incorporating testing as early as possible in the development stage. Thus, you quickly hone the skills of your new junior recruit. This is in stark contrast to a senior developer who has been following bad practices for almost 7 years.

Vision

The new-age jr.developers rather are code-focused rather than being development-focused.The change is essential for them to see the big picture.

5 Key Considerations when hiring a junior developer:

• He/she needs supervision, frequent code reviews and guidance as they are likely to produce code with bugs
• Has no significant experience in the best practices to follow while developing
• Is likely to take twice the time when compared with a mid-level specialist
• May lack the ability to gather requirements for a particular project
• Not in a position to liaise with customers 

Takeaway

Hiring junior developers is a long-term investment rather than an immediate payoff

Mid-Level Developer: The workhorse of the office

After gaining an  experience of more than three years, Jr.developers can leverage their skills to become mid-level specialists. When it comes to the routine code, workhorses aka mid-level developers deliver the maximum results. What’s more? Solving targeted technical problems comes easy to them. 

What differentiates a Mid-Level Developer from a Senior Developer?

Okay, so don’t jump to the conclusion that mid-level developers are  senior developers. Undoubtedly, they have mastered skills from the perspective of a junior developer or even other mid-level counterparts.What differentiates them from senior developers is the perspective.

Like junior developers, they view working software and good software as same and are usually pretty good at building working software.

What are the expectations of a mid-level developer?

• Produce codes that others can easily manage 
• Make necessary changes to the code to make it more efficient
• Ability to break big tasks down into smaller tasks
• Create testing schedules
• Review code with the utmost detail
• Detect major bugs
• Work on big chunks of code in a go
• Set goals for junior team members
• Perform multiple tasks for different projects

Mid-Level developer skills and perspective

Coding Skills

The coding skills of a mid-level developer is somewhere between the junior and senior developers but it  leans more towards the senior side. This holds as the mid-level specialists have worked on almost all the stages of a development cycle.

Independent work

Obviously, they deliver work with less supervision when being assigned to routine tasks.

Experience

With an experience of three to four years, he/she has already worked on several projects. 

Working in a team

The mid-developers are known to actively collaborate with other team members including project managers, business analysts, designers.

Vision

With a deep understanding of development cycles,they have mastered the agile process. This helps them learn how to overcome or avoid problems  in the future.

2 Key considerations when hiring a mid-level developer

• He/she may still need a mentor or some guidance as they may not come with an experience in solving tasks of different levels of complexity.
• They are likely to have a fixed mindset

Takeaway

Hiring a middle developer is a fantastic choice when you need to get the job done quickly, but lack the budget to hire a  senior counterpart.

The bottom line

Go for a Junior, if

• You consider him/her valuable in the long run 
• A hire’s professional passion is more important to you than their initial technical expertise. 

Go for a middle if:

• You need an experienced, yet affordable expert to manage certain development areas of your project.
• An experienced and knowledgeable mentor to guide your team of juniors.

Senior Developer: Problem-Solver

Deep specialized knowledge, exhaustive experience, ability to mentor peers are some attributes that describe Senior Developers. What makes them different from a junior and mid-level developer is the strong knowledge of the business domain they support. Being a problem-solver, the developer tries to foresee potential system bottlenecks, security vulnerabilities and other problems.

What are the expectations of a senior developer?

• Make intelligent and well-reasoned decisions for all the projects
• Can handle the entire software development lifecycle
• Capable of handling multiple development and deployment workflows
• Exhibits leadership skills
• Takes responsibility for mentoring other team members
• Conduct regular code reviews 
• Can manage a team of junior and mid-level developers
• Excellent problem-solving skills

What are the skills and perspective of Senior Developers?

Coding Skills

Codes written by senior developers are simple, straightforward and easy to understand. Unlike their junior counterparts, the code is developed with maintainability and scalability in mind. He/she writes codes thinking about the people who will work with the code in the future.

Independent work

They are not only capable of working independently but also guide other team members. With excellent soft skills, a senior developer caters to both the team and customer’s needs. 

Experience

A senior developer comes with five to eight years of extensive experience in different stages of software development and solving problems of varying levels of complexities.

Training

In case your specialist has worked with bad practices and process for years, it will be really difficult to change his/her style of work.

Vision

The long-term vision of a senior developer ensures that the software brings value to the end-user. 

Key Considerations when hiring a Senior developer:

• You already have a team of junior and middle developers to manage
• Highly-experienced and qualified, he/she must be paid well
• Your projects need developers with deep technical knowledge and skills

Takeaway

Hiring senior developers bring numerous benefits to your projects/products/services depending on your affordability. 

Now that you clearly know which developers (junior, mid-level or senior) to choose, do you actually need an in-house developer? Go for freelance or outsource to a reputed agency and enjoy scores of  benefits. 

Outsourcing Software Development 

Reducing costs and allowing organizations to focus on their core competencies, outsourcing software development has proven to be a great success for organizations across the globe. Before you take the big leap, consider:

Onshore Software Development

Onshore Software Development refers to working with companies located in your home country to develop software. It offers numerous Advantages including 

• Clear communication as they speak the same language as yours
• In-person meetings
• No time zone barriers

Disadvantages

• Higher development cost
• Smaller talent pool

Offshore Software Development 

Affordable yet hard to maintain, Offshore Software Development involves hiring a team from another country to create software. 

Advantages

• Cuts down the development cost significantly
• Quick turnover
• Easily add more resources to your project as per need

Disadvantages

• Language barrier
• Time zone differences

Nearshore  Software Development 

It is the process of delegating software development to a neighboring country with a convenient time zone and location.

Advantages

• Better control over operational costs
• Ease of communication
• Convenient time zone 
• Cultural proximity 

Disadvantage 

The only major drawback is that offshore can still be cheaper. 

Onshore experience with Offshore pricing

Get in touch with us today to hire experienced developers who not only handle offshore projects but also manage onshore projects and provide support to clients on site.

Happy Reading. Cheers!