technical interview

Many think they have a great recruitment process, others seem to struggle in one area or more. Today, we will look at 5 ways you can improve the process for technical hires. Even if you have a high success rate, you may find some tips to get the most out of your process.

#5 – Going over the CV before carrying out a technical interview

There are some parts to a CV that are irrelevant when hiring technical talent, or at least not as important as the candidate’s technical abilities. Looking at things like which school they went to or what interests they have may lead you to form an opinion of this person before learning about their skills. Once you know a candidate has the right skill set, then you can find out more about the person.

#4 – Having an unclear strategy to measure skills

It is quite normal for companies to have more than one person carrying out interviews. It is also common practise for management to ask engineers to devise their own sets of questions to ask in the interview. On the one hand, it shows your team members that you have faith in them. On the other hand, candidates who are interviewed by different people will not be asked a set of standardized questions. When it comes to regrouping to discuss the potential talent, you won’t have a fair assessment of the various candidates.

Some may choose to assess a candidate’s knowledge of JavaScript, which is more than just general ability. You can’t compare this candidate with another who wasn’t assessed on JavaScript.

Decide what skills need to be tested in an interview and how exactly they should be tested. This way, when the interviewers get together, they will be able to compare the results based on the same test.

#3 – Letting interviewers see other feedback before they have written their own opinions

If more than one interviewer will be conducting the interview it is because you value the opinions of each. It is incredibly easy to be swayed by someone else’s opinion before concluding your own. It is pointless sending in multiple interviews if they are all going to have the same feedback.

When using applicant-tracking systems, be sure to select the option to hide other people’s feedback. This way interviewers can’t read what someone else thinks about a candidate and unconsciously form the same opinion.

#2 – Setting open-ended take-home assessments

Some companies will set a take-home task to complete before a face-to-face interview. Candidates are provided with instructions and guidelines. If a candidate reads that the take-home assessment will take approximately two hours, it is likely to put them off before they begin, as this is a lot of time with no guarantee of a job. Some people will invest significantly more time in the hope of getting the job. When they don’t get the job, they often feel negatively towards the company.

Many of the take-home assessments are open to interpretation and therefore don’t provide a true assessment of a candidate’s skills.

#1 – Reviewing CVs as the first step of the process

We create a lot of biases while reading CVs. A CV rarely fills in all of the information we need. A CV might have all of the right qualifications on paper yet turn out to be a bad cultural fit for your office. Or worse, the qualifications aren’t as strong as other CVs but the candidate has the immense determination and high problem-solving abilities. You may reject the second candidate based on a CV and ultimately make a mistake. Focus on assessing skills rather than going on what it says on a piece of paper.

It is natural that one day you are going to need a mobile app developer considering just how many apps there are today. While there are plenty of developers you can hire, it is important for you to hire one that suits your needs. We are going to provide 9 simple steps to help you make the right choice. We will also give a little more information on how much it could cost to hire the right developer.

Step 1. 20 key things to consider before you start

Is your app for iPhones or Androids?
Are you looking for someone who can programme on both platforms?
What languages does your programmer need to know? Java, Objective C, Swift?
Will C++ knowledge be an advantage?
Do you prefer that the developer can work with cross-platform development?
What kind of apps will the developers be working on?
Do you already have a desktop version/web-based software?
Will you integrate GPS or similar mobile technology?
Do you just need someone who can create a mobile version of a website?
What sort of work will your developer have to carry out?
Is there a particular tech stack you would like them to use?
What field will the developer be working in? Should they be familiar with finance, education, etc?
What is your budget?
Is your budget realistic? Have you looked at the income of various developers?
Do you have a deadline for your project?
Do you know when you want to hire the candidate?
Do you have other requirements, for example, testing abilities, experience with certain libraries, Android’s open-source ecosystem or continuous integration?
Which version of Android does your developer need to know?
Does your developer need experience with certain platforms like Apple Watch or Apple TV?
Are you going to publish the app on Google Play or the App Store?

Mobile app development isn’t the same as app development for other devices. Each wave of new apps provides users with improved features. Candidates should be familiar with UX (user experience) and UI (user interface). Whether it’s for Android or Apple, there will be guidelines that must be followed.

A huge part of your success boils down to the correct UX/UI. Apps today have to be more than just good code. With millions of apps on the market, yours needs to stand out in order to get people to download it. Not only does it have to look great, but it also has to function well. When somebody uses your app you want them to have an amazing experience, rather than just uninstalling it.

Basically, you need a developer who can create a fast, attractive, easy to use app, and within your budget.

Step 2. Writing the job description for a mobile app developer

Your job description needs to be appealing in terms of work and your company. Expectations must be clear with no room for misinterpretation. You only want to include what is necessary. It is a good idea to describe the ‘must-haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’. This is the first impression potential candidates see of your business, so it has to be error-free and accurate. We suggest your tech team or engineers review the advert to make sure you have included all the necessary requisites. Including things that aren’t true or incorrect will only cost you in the recruitment process.

Step 3. Choosing the right place to put your job advert

You want your post to be in as many places as possible in order to reach the maximum number of potential candidates. We have a few options below but this is not by any means the only way to source mobile app developers:

Referrals

You never know unless you ask!! Speak to friends and family to let them know you have a position available. Ask them if they can share it on their social media sites. The same goes for your development team. They may know of a fellow developer that is looking for work.

Recruitment marketing

There are Facebook groups and LinkedIn profiles that you can look for, even job boards such as Angel.co and workinstartsups.com are worth checking out. Conferences, hackathons and meetups are becoming more and more popular. If there are any local to you, you can visit them.

Mobile developer communities

There are various specialized online directories (They Make Apps) and job boards (Get Apps Done) that will help you find app developers. Also, some of the best places to look are on forums. For iOS developers, try iPhoneDevSDK or MacRumors. If you are looking for an Android developer, look on Android Forums or AndroidPit.

App stores and GitHub

If you are ready to take it to the next level, look at similar apps to yours and contact the developer directly. You could also enter GitHub or GitLab and search for keywords related to your app. You may find codes from developers who could be ideal candidates.

Step 4: Understanding the developer’s salary

There will be quite a difference in salaries depending on the skills and qualifications.

There is only a slight difference in the pays between iOS developers and Android developers. The problem is, there are a lot more Android first developers than iOS first developers, in fact, around twice as many. Therefore they will be more difficult to find.

That being said, if you are making an app for the Apple Market, you need an iOS developer. And if you are making an app for Android, it is only logical that your search for an Android developer.

Step 5. Create a standardized coding skills test

Ask one of your team members to create a test for candidates based on similar skills that are required for the job. The test will filter out candidates with the specific skills needed for your position.

If there isn’t anyone available to create a test, there is a range of software that can help you build a test depending on the level of difficulty and the time you allow. Some software will also calculate results for you to easily read.

Step 6. Analyzing your applicants

This is where the fun begins. You start receiving CVs and so it is time to begin reviewing and narrowing down your options. A mistake in this step can cost you thousands (with no exaggeration), so it is crucial to get it right.

When looking at CV’s, make sure you only focus on those who have the skill sets you require (unless you see an extraordinary potential candidate) and experience. For developers, what is more important than a CV, is a portfolio. A portfolio allows you to see actual examples of the developer’s work. Telephone or video interviews are an excellent way to reduce overheads while getting to know more about your candidates.

Aside from skills, you need to ensure your candidate is a fast learner. It would help if they are keen on learning new skills because of the speed at which the software development industry moves. Communication and the ability to work in a team is also essential.

Step 7. Technical screening

As we have mentioned before, it is necessary for you to implement some form of coding test in the interview process. You might receive hundreds of applications and there is no time to interview each one.

A pre-screening test gives you the chance to see that a candidate’s CV matches their actual skill.

You may also want to prepare a set of questions to ask in the interview. The questions, like the coding test, have to be relevant to the job and with the same degree of difficulty. If you are not familiar with software development, ask a team member for their input.

Step 8. Non-technical screening

While we put a lot of energy into looking for the right skill set, we often don’t put enough importance on soft-skills. You need to learn about a candidate’s experiences and behavior. Generally, you want to get a feel for the type of person they are and whether they are a good cultural fit for the office.

You might ask a candidate to describe a situation to you or the last time they were part of a significant team project success story. You could ask about their tutoring experience or the project they are most proud of.

Step 9. Technical interviews

This is when your tech team should be more hands-on. It makes sense that one of them perform this part of the interview because they will probably have more knowledge than you.

In the interview, you will want to ask questions like “Can you explain the similarities and differences between Swift and Objective-C?”, “Which iOS technologies will be used in the future?. You could also ask them why they prefer one platform to another or one language to another.

At times, it’s demanding for several organizations to find qualified candidates or develop their recruiting effectiveness with in-house recruiting processes. By partnering with an IT Staffing company, you will be able to eliminate operational costs and still see an increase in efficiency as your staffing agency will help you onboard your new members so you can reduce the costly downtime that leaves your recruit stagnate.

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