There are many difficulties associated with software development. It may be that you have a good idea for a software application – that unlike the other dozen – could seriously gain some traction in the market. But you just don’t know how to make it happen.
Well, first things first, you can’t build an app by yourself. While it’s not impossible, it’s not recommended. And whether you’re limited by your technical skills or mere time, there are other options.
Hiring qualified software developers to help your project reach the light is your first and perhaps the best option. Ultimately, software developers have the expertise to build from the ground up and they can mitigate any risk associated with your project along the way.
But where do you find developers? When it comes to finding developers, you may want to branch out from your usual stakeouts. You’ll see that the best talent comes from unexpected places. Stay tuned to learn just what those places are and how to find software developers in a variety of networks.
Top 12 Places To Find Developers
There was once a time when people who wanted a job would go from door to door in their respective neighborhoods and drop off their resumes. But nowadays a large part of your circle is likely not local nor in-person. And that’s okay.
So then where do you find developers? Online! Finding developers online can mean more options and more talent. Here are some choice destinations when it comes to looking for developers.
1. Outsourcing Agencies
Outsourcing is a term that comes up every now and then in conversations that revolve around business and economics. By definition, outsourcing is when a company trusts a foreign or outside entity to handle some essential part of their business in turn for using an in-house team.
In the past, outsourcing got a bad rep because it implied that companies lacked a sort of loyalty to their home base. In present implementations, outsourcing can be a fully integrated model of mixing internal and external resources.
For example, Trio is one way to find developers. Trio is an outsourcing agency connecting your business with highly qualified developers throughout South America.
Because of the location, cost reduction is a huge advantage. But Trio software developers are still fully dedicated to your project and seek to incorporate their expertise without disrupting business as usual.
Outsourcing is a means of finding developers without going through an exhaustive hiring process. To be fair, not every outsourcing model is the same. That’s why if you choose to find developers through outsourcing you should pay close attention to how these agencies engage with your mission and objective.
2. Reddit
Reddit isn’t only reserved for hot-headed young people – unless that’s you. On the contrary, there are many skilled developers online lurking on subreddits and waiting to be found.
If you’re not familiar with Reddit, it’s a social network like no other. Reddit amalgamates thousands of discussion-based forums in one place based on the topic of interest whether that’s asking strangers random questions, gaming, shower thoughts, or where to find developers. These forums are called subreddits.
There are many subreddits where you can find developers looking for jobs in the trenches of the World Wide Web as well as subreddits where you’ll just happen to find like-minded people to network with.
3. Referrals
The reality is that little over 6% of developers are actively looking for work, according to the 2019 Stack Overflow Developer Insight Report. Figuring out how to find developers in this market – and good ones – entails more than just learning how to write a job description. You have to do the hunting.
A referral is when someone you know and hopefully trust leads you in the right direction by recommending someone in their own network. This recommendation is more often than not based on the previous work between the recommendee and the recommender.
In other words, you can put faith into the potential hire based on the assumption that your recommender has already worked with them and liked the work that they did.
Of course, this assumption can also lead you astray if for some reason the recommended party doesn’t do optimal work. But that’s a risk many choose to take and have hired great developers because of it.
4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a combination of a social media platform and a job board. It provides the space for recruiters, various companies, and job seekers to host all business-related information whether that be a candidate’s job history or your company’s open positions.
LinkedIn members can also apply to jobs with their resume or profile and both individuals and businesses can make relevant posts about a certain industry or job searching in general.
Needless to say, LinkedIn is a bonafide hub for finding developers as it is a popular professional networking service. The disadvantage is that you may not find top software engineers on LinkedIn or any job board for that matter. You have to go out and find them.
Even LinkedIn hiring statistics from 2016 sustained that referrals are the number one way for people to discover a new job. That said, social professional networks are also the number one source of quality hires.
Just because you don’t find the developer you need, that doesn’t mean you won’t make a valuable connection via LinkedIn. Networking and finding developers go hand-in-hand.
5. Developer Conferences
Developer conferences are another form of networking you can take advantage of to find developers. Simply do a quick search online for ‘developer conferences’ or ‘tech meetups’ or something along those lines and if you’re lucky you’ll see several in your area.
Don’t feel tempted to be too broad. For instance, if you’re looking for JavaScript developers or Swift developers, just put it in the search bar. Getting specific will get you the results you want.
6. Freelancer Platforms
Freelancers offer flexibility, but it goes both ways. You can enjoy the leniency of not having to pay a full-time salary and avoid the expectations that come with that. At the same time, freelancers do not have to be fully dedicated to your project and they can work when and how they so desire.
With the help of the internet, freelancers now have an easy way to promote themselves to interested parties via websites like UpWork or Fiverr.
What’s more, 64% of respondents in a 2019 comprehensive UpWork study of the independent workforce said that more and more high-performing professionals in their given industry choose to work freelance.
7. Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow may very well be the largest community for software developers there is. Just about every developer has a joke or two about cruising Stack Overflow problems late at night to solve a bug in their code.
Although it may seem informal to those who are used to the old fashioned way of finding potential hires, your best bet is to find an active member of Stack Overflow, peruse their profile, and simply reach out.
Alternatively, there is a Stack Overflow job board purely for software developers. It does its best to stay spam-free which is sure to attract many job seekers’ attention.
8. Quora
Quora is an online question and answer community and is ranked highly in search engines because of this distinctive trait. Many professionals flock to Quora to answer the questions of curious minds. Thus, you can find developers on Quora.
Browse topics in the subject area that are most pertinent to your project and scout for talented developers. Spaces is a feature of Quora allowing members to form communities based on shared interests. This is another good place to look.
9. Coding Challenges
Coding challenges test the technical and problem-solving skills of any developer who wishes to participate. Although coding challenges can be useful for the hiring process itself, websites that feature coding challenges can be good for finding developers in the first place.
Some sites to take a look at include:
- CodeChef
- HackerRank
- Codewars
- Topcoder
- Coderbyte Enterprise
- CodinGame
- Codeforces
The leaderboards, forums, and blogs of these websites will be particularly helpful for you.
10. GitHub
GitHub is a repository for developers to collaborate and store code. On its own, it might look like gibberish. But viewed as a portfolio for a developer you have in mind to hire, you have the opportunity to take a close look at that potential candidate’s past projects and decide for yourself if they were up to standard.
11. Medium
Medium is a publishing platform and a model example of social journalism where both amateur and professional writers alike can blog as they wish. Given its accessibility, you’ll find many passionate developers writing enthusiastically about their niche on Medium.
The cool thing about Medium is that you can follow topics directly and see who’s talking about them. You might want to check out the articles listed under software engineering!
Other sites like Hacker Noon or Free Code Camp are similarly practical bases for looking for developers so make sure to check them out too.
12. Hiring Marketplaces
Hiring marketplaces mirror the more traditional mode of hiring. Using Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Hired, or what have you, you can post a detailed job description and wait for people to apply with their resumes. Kind of the same thing as going door to door, right? Except it all takes place online.
What To Look for When Hiring a Developer
Once you’ve found some developers, if you want to take charge of the hiring process you need to know what to look out for. In brief, you’ll want to be certain that the developers you need to have the technical skills you need.
This could mean knowing how to do specific tasks related to your project or having several years of experience in one or two programming languages. At any rate, you should have this worked out prior to searching for developers.
One thing to keep in mind is that soft skills can make or break the value of a supposedly talented software developer. In spite of whatever technical skills they may have, if they’re lacking characteristics like empathy or effective communication, your project can go downhill fast.
Need more details on how to make the right decision when hiring a developer? Trio has an in-depth article all about it.
Conclusion
Now that you know where to find developers, it’s time to start searching. You can take to the address bar and go to your preferred destination. Pay close attention during the hiring process and ensure that your potential hires have both technical and soft skills.
Finding developers can be an admittedly hard task. And if you’re willing to trust someone else with the job, companies like Trio put in their time to vet and train software engineers so you won’t have to go through the trouble of foraging through a dozen websites.
