If you plan to develop software, you can create your team or outsource the project to a dedicated development team.
To hire developers for a startup, especially an early-stage one, is tough. Developers prefer to work in established organizations for more stable conditions, benefits, and more room for growth. A startup can not compete with established companies regarding salary and other perks.
Many early-stage startups opt for outsourcing as an alternative form of recruitment, which has become a norm in the industry. Almost 40% of startups outsource their business processes, which is expected to rise.
In this article, we’ll describe some helpful and proven strategies for hiring developers for the new startup and leveraging the outsourcing development model for your benefit. This article will help even the non-tech startup founders hire developers successfully and understand what they can expect from candidates.
How to hire developers for a startup
- Create the detailed project description
- Define the job description, profile, and requirements
- Analyze existing similar solutions
- Define values, mission, and vision
- Describe the important features
- Create opportunities for professional growth
- Choose the employment model
- Create a shortlist of potential candidates
- Make job offers to the shortlisted candidates
- Clear requirements and terms described in the contract
Define what you want to build
To hire developers for a startup, you need an evident vision about recruits’ value to your startup. Be careful because a startup couldn’t afford to hire developers who are not qualified for the job, outsource or not.
The most important question you have to answer is – what kind of project will I build?
Remember that software development is not a one-person job. Mostly you will need a team, not just one very qualified person. There are different types of developers: backend, front-end, middle tier, full-stack, desktop, web, mobile, and the list goes on. You have to figure out who you need and clearly define the job description, profile, and requirements of your task beforehand.
How to hire dedicated software development team
While hiring freelancers or an IT dev team, check the background to ensure that you can trust their expertise and that hired developers can create the software you need.
While hiring a programmer for a startup through different platforms, look through the reviews of other clients for the freelancers, and analyze a list of previous projects accomplished. It can be beneficial for filtering out candidates that don’t have vital skills needed for your startup.
The same approach will help you to choose an IT outsourcing company. Read all the feedback from past customers talk to them directly, if possible. You can see a lot about the reputation of an outsourcing team by browsing through the company’s profile on LinkedIn.
The expertise of the hired team is essential. Still, you have to ensure that the developers have specific soft skills for positive communication, successful teamwork, and anticipating. Effective communication between you and the developer is crucial for success. The most important thing is the common language on some high level to exchange opinions without difficulties.
When hiring a dedicated team, you expect it to be self-organized and capable of tackling issues independently, which is necessary for good teamwork. The candidates have to be proactive and capable of making suggestions and reporting issues without being prompted.