A company’s website needs are among the
major requirements to brand building. Therefore, hiring a web developer
who is good at what he does is paramount to ensuring your business
success.
What
are your business needs regarding hiring a developer? Do you need a
full-time person or part-time? If your business is purely online, then
you may need a full-time person. However, if you are not majorly online
and your staff is equipped with site maintenance, you may just need a
part-time person.
Hiring a web
developer could be one of the most critical hires in your company.
Getting the wrong person for the job could be detrimental to your
business.
How do you hire a web developer?
1. The Job Description
Before
even starting the process of vetting people, have a job description.
Have a summary of the qualifications you need the developer to have.
First,
with the online world changing every so often, you need somebody who is
market-savvy, somebody who knows the current market trend and how to
use that to your advantage. Get somebody who understands SEO well and
keyword search.
For technical skills, they depend on your requirements. Some of the skills people look for are:
- CSS
- HTML
- PHP especially if you use WordPress
- Adobe Photoshop
- jQuery
- JavaScript
2. Working out the Compensation
Is
your business a startup? How much work do you need to be done? Is it
part-time or full-time? All these questions should help you get a figure
and budget for it.
Startups
have the potential for success or failure. If you are a startup, you
know that having a good credit history gives you a chance to get loans
which you can be able to pay the site developer with. However, you may
be fresh from school and have no credit history. Look at these pointers
from Crediful.com and see how you can build your credit from scratch.
Depending
on how skilled you want the developer to be, you can now know how much
you are willing to pay for the services. Several online sites can help
you see how much web developers are paid and decide on how much to
spend.
3. Don’t Look at Experience Only
As
an employer who wants to give everybody equal chances during the hiring
process, you need to provide them with space to show and demonstrate
their skills.
First, you need somebody with adequate experience and who can perform the set tasks according to your job description.
Employers
will find themselves hiring and firing people because they initially
thought they were a perfect fit but months later realize they are not
what they were looking for. During the interview process, try getting to
understand an interviewee’s personality and see if it is in line with
your company.
Lay down the
company’s objectives and see if they can relate. Experience is not what
you should be looking at only, get to see if the developer is the right
fit for the company.
When
starting out, you need people who are risk takers, are driven and are
bringing value to the table. Can they meet deadlines?
During
the interview, be open about your business situation. If the business
is a startup and can’t afford to pay much, state that so that when you
finally settle on somebody, they’ll be willing to grow with you.
4. Attracting the Right Person for the Job
Hiring
sometimes can be a lengthy process, and you may end up hiring the wrong
person. Where do you advertise the job vacancy? As much as listing the
job at Craigslist, it could be more effective on LinkedIn as you can
easily see the past experience of applicants.
Referrals
are also a great asset as you are more likely to get somebody who can
deliver results. Contact other business friends you have that are in the
same niche as you are and you never know, you could land a great
person.
Don’t pay peanuts and
expect to get a qualified person who will do everything you need to be
done. Pay a considerable amount, and you’ll get a perfect fit for the
job.
5. Try with a small project first before full onboarding
Sometimes,
it pays to get to see somebody’s style before entirely hiring them long
term. How about giving your desired developer a short task to see if
they can deliver?
As the
employer, you can see how he performs on the job and make the final
hiring decision. Some people may seem competent, but once they get down
to work, they may not deliver what you expected.
You get to see their creativity and how they approach certain problems.
Getting
somebody for the job can be a lengthy process. However, knowing how to
go about it makes it easier. Once you hire the best person, you can be
sure they will contribute to the growth of the business.
