Hiring a true IT professional is not easy. With the great boom on information technologies services that lasts for over two decades, there are so many specialists in this field that it’s becoming harder and harder to choose the right one. But unfortunately for a business – time is money and you can waste it on picking them forever. According to devskiller.com, filling up a developer position takes company around 43 days, and the recruitment process overall costs can reach an amount of $ 32 000. And it becomes even longer and more expensive when you are looking for the one with the seniority experience level.
Luckily, thanks to body leasing you don’t have to look for those developers by yourself, software house will deliver them to you exclusively BUT you still need to know how to distinguish a true mastermind from the crowd of experienced developers. See our checklist of the skills and features that a true senior app developer HAS to have and make your hiring decision much more consciously.
#1 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Software development is a curious creature, unlike other fields. You can see there junior and mid developers with no previous work experience or even studies finished kicking those educated and experienced one’s butts. Because most of the time the code and an ability to develop it right is the most important factor here.
But if you are looking for a true senior app developer, he should have some professional experience background. Because there is a difference between creating a code for yourself, to polish your development skills and making something for a client, basing on his instructions and requirements.
Check your candidate CV and ask about actual projects that he was working on and if it’s possible, look for them online to make sure that he is telling the truth and his work is fine. You can also ask his clients or previous employees for a feedback about his work. Also, remember – don’t make a mistake of not hiring someone just because he seems too young to you to be a senior. Age has nothing to do in a software development world! Sometimes, a fresh punk out of college can run circles around veterans who have 20+ years of “experience”.
Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to found Microsoft at age of 20. To some, this might seem foolish but considered at 20 he had spent nearly half of his young life programming, in 1975, only maybe 50 people in the world had the experience he did. His experience gave him the foresight to see the future in Microsoft. So yeah – he was a senior developer at the age of 20. Programming is a bizarre world where code is the king. Some achieve the above in 2 years or less, others take 10 years.
#2 LEADERSHIP AND OVERSEE SKILLS
A true senior app developer is not a lone wolf – he is a real team player. As he often tends to oversee and mentor junior developers on projects, he has to know how to do it right. So if you will see a developers CV where there is not a single word about working in any company and/or doing any group projects – it’s not the right person for the position. He may be the best java whisperer in the world – but it’s not enough if he doesn’t see the world outside of his computer.
Look for someone who can prove, that he has got some of the management skills required to lead a team of other developers. Also, he has to be eager to teach less experienced ones than himself, otherwise – the whole project may occur to be a huge failure. Mobile app development process is a team effort, not a one-man show. Find someone who truly understands that.
#3 A HOLISTIC POINT OF VIEW
As in every part of life – also during an app development process – something can always go wrong. No matter how hard you try – there is no way of excluding that possibility entirely. So what should you do, to minimize the damages caused by some unexpected factors? Hire someone who instead of looking at things in a short-term way, will see them from a broader perspective.
A true senior app developer understands the business purpose of the thing he is working on and will see it in the context of the entire application. Thanks to it, he will be able to determine which parts of the application are critical to the business and make them as flexible as possible. Then, when he will see that something is about to go wrong, he will be able to implement some changes and painlessly adjust to the current situation.
Ask your candidate during an interview, what he would do if, for example, the software he based his whole application on had just lost support and it is certain, that it will not be developed and updated anymore. Listen carefully to his answer – if he will remain silent, it’s definitely not the right candidate for you. If he will go with some clever answers, as best backed with his own experience – hire him immediately, you just found a true diamond!
#4 STRONG KNOWLEDGE OF USER INTERFACE
Senior app developers participate in the design phase of app development projects. Some will actively create design plans, while others assist the UX/UI designers in planning and creating standards for the project. Nevertheless – they need to have a greater understanding of user experience and user interface guidelines.
The senior app developer has to be present during a wireframes building stage to make sure, that the early solutions presented to the client are possible to develop from end-to-end – in a smoothly and bug-free way. He is not only the coding mastermind – it is also his duty to slow down the UX/UI designers if they propose something that he knows, that with the resources he has got is not possible to achieve.
#5 GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF A MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
A real senior app developer has to know what goes after what and how it is supposed to go. He will be most likely leading a group of developers, along with a project manager, so he has got to possess a deep knowledge about mobile app development process requirements. He will be helping a project manager with picking the right developers for each phase of the app project and the moment when they’re gonna be the most needed for, as he is the best person to evaluate their programming skills.
And it won’t be possible if he won’t be able to differ an agile and SCRUM methodology. You can have the best programmers in the world, but it’s worth nothing if you don’t have anyone who will successfully lead them. A real senior app developer will be able to do that in a way, that his teammates won’t think to perceive him as their boss, but as their true leader.
#6 AN EXPERT KNOWLEDGE OF ONE OR MORE CODING LANGUAGES
I guess it’s obvious that your senior app developer has to know how to code so I’ve put that at the back of our list. But this is a feature that you could easily check by giving him a task, that he will be able to solve (or not) on his own during a recruitment process or by letting him by partly interviewed by your other senior developer.
Coding skills are much easier to check than the rest listed above – but if you hire someone without that “the rest” skills, you won’t get a true senior app developer. You will hire someone who is an excellent code creator. If that’s the only thing you are looking for – that’s fine. But trust my words – if one day you will encounter a REAL senior app developer on your way, you will sense the difference immediately.
KEY TAKEAWAY
A true senior app developer is not an ordinary employee – he is a superhero, ready to make miracles using just his computer. And that’s not all! He will also be able to successfully lead a team of other developers, give guidances to UX/UI designers and most of all – conduct a mobile app development project from the very beginning to its end, no matter what the circumstances are. If you want to have someone like that on your team, don’t waste another second – choose body leasing and hire such a professional choosing him from the selected base of candidates, provided by a proven and experienced software house. I can assure you, that with him on the board, your mobile app great success is inevitable!
Don’t feel entirely convinced yet, that a body leasing is the best option to hire a true senior app developer? Check this article about pros and cons of that option and make up your mind.
