You want the best talent for your IT team. However, in today’s economy, with ever-evolving technology, the competition is fierce. How can you go about hiring a web developer that is an excellent fit for you and your needs?
Leading companies are willing to pay a premium for the best tech talent. So if you’re on a shoestring budget when it comes to hiring, consider a freelance web developer or contract-to-hire employee instead. This will enable you to get the specialized skills you need, whether it’s for full stack, front end, javascript or php, without adding to your fixed overhead.
What’s the difference between freelance & contract-to-hire?
With a contractor or freelance web developer, you’d simply use them for a set period of time; for instance to complete a defined project, like building a new website or piece of software. Once it’s done, they are released and move onto their next assignment.
For contract-to-hire developers, you’d essentially be testing out the candidate for an agreed upon time period, at the end of which you would decide whether or not to extend a full-time offer. This cuts down on the risk of hiring mistakes, while enabling you to determine whether you truly need a full-time employee.
What if you need to hire full-time now?
Then you have to consider the fixed cost to hire a web developer to ensure you’re able to offer a competitive compensation package. It depends on the skill set you’re looking for and whether you’re hiring a new graduate, a junior developer or a senior one.
For instance, a senior full stack developer in Washington State can demand anywhere from $120,000 to $140,000. An entry level one will cost from $52,000 to $82,000 a year.
If you want to hire full-time, you also have to go beyond salary to attract a solid web developer. Tech candidates place a high values on other perks, such as flexible scheduling, working from home, vacation time, and advancement opportunities, all on top of generous pay and traditional benefits.
What skills should you look for?
Regardless of whether you’re looking for an entry-level developer or a veteran one, you still need to rigorously evaluate their skills to ensure they’re right for you. To do that, here are a few tips:
- Evaluate their open source portfolio on sites like GitHub or their own portfolio website.
- Conduct behavioral interviews where you ask about specific projects they’ve worked on and situations they’ve dealt with.
- Ask them to complete a small coding project so you can see their work first-hand.
- Assess them for soft skills, such as communication, problem solving and collaboration, to ensure their personality is a fit for your company culture.
Want to outsource your efforts to hire a web developer?
Provisional Recruiting is here with the knowledge, abilities and networks to source and recruit candidates for a range of positions, from .net developers to javascript ones. These are pre-qualified and rigorously screened candidates who can get up and running quickly with your most pressing IT projects. Contact us today to get started.