Hiring the right developer for a project is an important decision to make and one that can be hard if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Though you should always test your candidate’s skill experience, there are several traits you can look for that will help you determine if they’re a match for your project.
Passionate
You won’t find anyone more effective with their work than someone who is passionate about the field they’re in. Passionate programmers will oftentimes consider what they do both work and a hobby, and often find themselves searching for new concepts or technologies that they can adopt into their work. People who are passionate about their work will more than likely push themselves, not because they have to or because they want your money, but simply for the fact that they enjoy a challenge.
Focused
While having someone who is passionate is a plus, you also want a developer who is focused on the task in front of them and knows their short-term and long-term project goals. It’s all fair and well having someone who gets excited about their work but that all becomes null and void if they don’t spend that excitement on things that matter and instead spends most of their time implementing codes or technology that isn’t needed or important to the project.
Fast Self-Learner
Being able to pick up or build on existing skills is important since state-of-the-art programming is constantly evolving. If a developer understands the core concepts of programming, they should be able to quickly build upon that knowledge or even pick up new techniques without someone teaching them. If they’re unable to do this then they will not last long. Being able to stay up to date with the changing tech and techniques is a must for the success and innovation of a company.
(Sub-) Domain Expert
In today’s day and age, companies have been veering away from hiring ‘generalist’ roles instead of hiring people who have specialized knowledge of a system. While generalists have their advantages in utility if you need specific technology for a project you want to hire someone who has specialized knowledge on it. Since most generalists are not up to date with techniques and technologies, as they have no need to be, it’s better, in the long run, to test for specific job needs when interviewing candidates.
Team Player
Developers have their own individual way of doing things which is why it’s so important that your new hire is able to work well with working in a team environment. It’s important that they know how to write their code in a way that everyone on the team understands and is able to work on without having to ask them for assistance. Not only will this help a team to work cohesively but will also make the work go quicker as no time is wasted asking for assistance.
Problem Solver
Problem-solving is a core aspect of what a programmer does whether that is quickly identifying an issue or how efficiently they solve the issue that arises. They also need to show determination and efficiency in solving the issue, whether it’s a bug within the existing coding, a scalability problem with how to handle increased demand, or a maintenance issue with the complexity of code, potential programmers need to be able to handle these issues.
Craftsman
You need to look for someone who takes pride in the work that they accomplish. These programmers will usually write out efficiently thought code and make sure it is well tested before being permanently implemented. Craftsmanship is about the quality of the product and they deliver.
