The Most Important Thing to Do When Hiring a Software Engineer

When looking for that right web developer to complete your team, it’s important to take a few things into consideration.

And we’re speaking from our 6 years of experience in IT recruitment in Cluj. After all this time we’ve learned that hiring a bad apple in your company is the worst thing that you can do and it comes at a high cost.

Especially when we’re talking highly qualified specialists like senior web developers or software engineers on key positions.

The most important thing to do when hiring a web developer is to know what you’re looking for first and foremost. And when defining the candidate’s profile, you need to take into consideration both the technical skills as well as the social skills that you need the employee to have.

There is a Romanian saying that goes like this “be careful what you wish for because it just might happen”. And this is exactly what we’re talking about right here.

After you define every detail the ideal candidate must check, then it’s time to get real and see where you can be more flexible with your requests.

Prince charming and the ideal candidate are sometimes hard to find, that’s why being open to ideas and flexible with certain requirements that you have is almost as important as knowing what you want.

What a Recruitment Company Can Do for You

First of all, we start with a technical discussion with our tech advisor to set the candidate’s profile. This first discussion is important so that we understand your needs and requests. For this, we use a detailed profile description form that will help us calibrate the candidate’s profile.

We discuss role, responsibilities and set clear and numerically grounded objectives and key results (OKRs). Afterwards, we move to structuring the interviews properly for the candidate’s set profile.

Defining the ideal candidate’s profile is thus, the most important thing to do before hiring a web developer, especially if it’s a key position in your company.

Other Things to Consider

• Listen to your gut and settle for someone who’s compatible with you.

• References can help you decide if the developer you want to hire is a match for you.

• Ask for another opinion from a technical adviser, an IT recruitment specialist or an employee on a similar position, especially if you’re having doubts or there’s too many outside influences that may blur your vision.

In the end, every manager makes one or two bad hires on their watch. The thing is, there’s no exact formula for a great hire when it comes to a web developer. Still...

Last but not least...

When setting your requirements and expectations, make sure you also emphasize on hiring someone who is compatible with your work ethics and your vision. In the end, you want a team player that will add value to your mission, someone who fits in naturally and is easy to work with.

Skills can be acquired and people can grow professionally if they are self-motivated, but there’s something about being compatible that can hardly change over time. When you know yourself good enough, who you are and where you want to be in the future, it's easier to define the people you need onboard.

And if you need some help with that, we are always eager to land a helping hand! Until next time! #askHumanDirect