Are you looking to hire Ruby on Rails developers but aren’t sure how to begin? Are you currently working with a Ruby developer and want to know if they’re the right fit? If so, here are 10 tips to help you land the perfect Ruby developer.
1) Use Upwork for your hiring needs
There are a lot of people out there who have great technical skill, but aren’t necessarily up-to-date on industry practices and trends. This can be solved by using a site like Upwork to hire someone with greater expertise. Finding a good developer is difficult—but it doesn’t have to be impossible
2) Post a clear job listing
The first step in hiring a new developer is posting a clear job listing. It’s essential to convey exactly what you’re looking for, what kind of experience you need, and how long you expect them to be on your team. Don’t worry about being too specific—that can help you get someone who fits in with your company culture and work flow. But make sure that every bit of information is there so they can know if they want to apply or not.
3) Choose your requirements carefully
Before you hire Ruby on Rails developers, you need to make sure you’re clear about what you want to get out of your relationship. Take time to write down every detail of what your ideal candidate would be able to accomplish, then rate each item by importance. The result will be a list that’s easy to sort through and prioritize when it comes time to hire someone new.
4) Ask the right questions
When searching for a new developer, consider asking questions like: What kind of experience do you have? Can you share an example of your work? Will you use a particular set of tools or libraries to complete your project? How long will it take you to deliver on a typical project? Be careful not to ask biased questions, though—questions like What are some challenges that you’ve encountered in previous projects? can result in less-than-helpful answers.
5) Get references from past clients
Before you hire a Ruby programmer, ask his or her previous clients if they were happy with their work. Did it meet expectations? Were they professional and efficient? It’s important to take into account that past experiences may not fully reflect how your own business relationship will go, but it can be an effective starting point in gauging whether or not you’re about to make a good decision.
6) Make sure you test them on real projects
Test candidates on real projects, not coding exercises. This can help prevent you from hiring a coder who makes all kinds of promises in an interview and then fails to deliver once they’re hired.
7) Hire multiple developers at once
Hiring a team of developers at once is both faster and more cost-effective than hiring one developer at a time. Rather than waiting weeks or months to find your next candidate, you can hire up to three developers in as little as one day with RubyOnRailsJobs. Hiring three developers gives you a chance to test out different work styles and personalities and find someone who’s well-suited to your team.
8) Pay fairly by using market averages as a guideline
According to Payscale, someone with a bachelor’s degree in computer science makes, on average, $60K/year. Now, as you know (or should know), every person is different and some developers might be worth more or less than others based on a number of factors. For our purposes though, we’ll use that figure as a general benchmark when determining how much to pay your chosen developer.
9) Understand their strengths and weaknesses
One of your most important tasks when you’re interviewing is to understand a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. Use open-ended questions to dig into their background, especially previous roles or projects that have shaped their approach. Also talk about what they like (and don’t like) about working in a particular industry or with certain technologies. By talking through these topics, you can get a sense of how they think and whether they’ll be able to work well on your team.
10) Hire someone who matches your company culture
The most important thing you can do when hiring a Ruby on Rails engineer is to hire someone who will match your company culture. The ideal candidate should be comfortable within your environment, and work well with you and your team. This means it’s also important to hire someone who will become an integral part of your organization—that may mean choosing a candidate who may not have all of the skills you need initially, but has excellent potential to learn everything necessary.