Startup hiring guides
How to hire an app developer for your startup
Having an app developer on your team can be game-changing for a startup. Sure, you could outsource your app development, but it’s great to have someone on your team who can tackle new app projects, patches, updates and all of the other tasks that come with app development.
The only problem – how do you hire someone who can do what you need? App development is a multi-faceted role. You might need a simple internal app to help one department, or you might need a highly complex app that is used throughout the company. Maybe your business is your app. Regardless, you want a quality hire. Dover has you covered. This guide will walk you through the app developer hiring process and link you to the Dover tools you need to get a great hire as soon as possible. Let’s dive in.
Introduction
App developers are essential in the startup landscape. An app developer with the right skills can design a beautiful, user-friendly app with minimal bugs that does what you need to do. They can build internal apps, client-facing apps, desktop apps, mobile apps and more. The right developer can also handle everything from initial development and brainstorming to ongoing updates and maintenance.
But hiring the right app developer can be tricky if you don’t have a roadmap. Making the wrong hire is expensive in any scenario, but it’s something you especially want to avoid with app development. It’s much easier for an app developer to jump onto a project from the beginning stages and follow through than hiring someone to jump in and take over someone else’s unfinished work.
Understanding the role
App developers are experts in coding, but their role is much more involved than that. They should also have creativity and a talent for user experience. A well-rounded app developer can handle the architecture of your app, scalability, bug fixes, security and more. They should also stay up to date with the latest trends to deliver relevant experiences to users. Plus, they need to have collaboration skills to work with other team members.
It’s also important to understand that app developers often specialize in mobile apps, desktop/web apps, or both. Knowing what kind of app you need built will help you reach out to the right candidates with the skills and programming language knowledge necessary for the job. This is a big differentiating factor when hiring an app developer compared to your standard software engineering role.
Understanding the role of an app developer can help guide your overall hiring process. With that in mind, let’s start with the first step of hiring an app developer – planning and prep.
What to look for in an app developer
When you’re looking to hire an app developer, try to find someone with technical expertise, creativity and the soft skills needed to thrive in a growing startup environment. Keep key qualities in mind like:
Technical proficiency - Make sure they have the requisite knowledge about programming languages and technologies required for your app projects.
Problem-solving - Coding requires creative solutions, especially when developing an app. Make sure they can think on their feet and come up with innovative solutions.
An eye for UI - User experience is king in app development, so make sure they have the knowledge and skills needed to create apps that are user-friendly and intuitive.
Adaptability - The tech world is ever-changing, and adaptability is especially necessary when working at a rapidly growing startup.
Communication skills and teamwork - They should have the communication skills to work within a team and communicate with stakeholders involved in the project.
Planning & preparation
Before you dive into hiring, it’s good to plan and prep first. While this can take some time out of your day, it will save you time in the long run. You can lay out exactly what you need and ensure your job description doesn’t attract any unqualified candidates.
Part of your planning process should also involve putting your hiring team together. This team should include the hiring manager, team members who will be working with the new hire, and any other stakeholders that should be in the loop about the role. Once you have your team together, you can align with your team and ask some of the following questions to get on the same page:
What will the day to day responsibilities of the role include?
How much experience do they need to be successful in the role?
What team will they be joining?
What skills do they need – for instance, is the app iOS, Android, cross-platform, desktop? Is the app internal or customer-facing?
What programming languages are a necessity for the role? What languages are nice to have, but not required?
What’s the market rate for this position for companies of your size and funding? What’s your budget?
Is this a full-time or part-time position?
Once you have a clear understanding of your needs, wants and budget for the role, you and your team are ready to start putting together your job description.
Crafting the perfect job description
Crafting the perfect job description is easier said than done, but it’s worth the effort. A great job description will achieve three things:
Attract the best possible candidates for the job
Screen out unqualified candidates so you don’t get overloaded with applications
Communicate your company’s goals and culture so you find good fits for your team
To create the perfect job description, you can start by referencing your list of questions covered during the planning and prep stage. First, you should be specific about the skills and experience required for the role. Make sure to include details about the technologies and programming languages your team uses.
It’s also a good idea to highlight the mission and culture of your startup to appeal to candidates who can get on board with your vision. To attract top talent, you’ll also want to list out perks and benefits that they’ll care about.
It’s also a good idea to include a salary range. Pay transparency will prevent applications from candidates who are expecting much more than your budget allows. This saves time for both your recruiting team and the candidates. Also, it’s worth noting that pay transparency is legally required in some states and counties, so make sure you’re adhering to your local regulations.
In short, a clear and compelling job description will help you stand out in a competitive market. This is a crucial step of the hiring process, so taking the time to make it perfect will be worth it in the long run.
Sourcing & evaluating candidates
The sourcing and evaluating step can be the bane of recruiting teams, but all hiring processes have their pain points. Even with a perfect job description, you’re likely going to get a lot of candidates applying – whether they’re right for the role or not.
Sourcing and evaluating candidates is best approached with a mix of strategies. Job boards are one of the most common approaches, but be prepared to field plenty of applications. Still, it’s good to get on the job boards to reach a diverse range of candidates.
Also, don’t forget to turn to your existing team. Referrals are a great way to quickly find top candidates. Having a good referral program in place encourages your employees to make suggestions, and since you already know them and trust their judgment, you may get some great hires out of it.
Another great option for sourcing and evaluating candidates is using a recruiter to take most of this process off your plate. But, full-time and agency recruiters can be exceedingly expensive, especially if you’re a growing startup. That’s where solutions like Dover can help.
Our recruiting partners are affordably priced for startups. You get the flexibility of stopping and starting services as needed with expert full-cycle recruiters with a proven record of helping startups make hires..
Interviewing candidates
Once you’ve narrowed down a pool of applicants to the top candidates, it’s time for the interview process. This step is critical for assessing their technical abilities and whether they’ll be a cultural fit for your startup. For app developers, the interview process typically goes something like this:
Screening call - The first step of the interview process should be the screening call. This is typically handled by HR or a recruiter, and involves screening potential candidates to ensure they have the necessary qualifications for the role. You can also learn a bit more about the candidate’s personality to see if they’ll be a good culture fit for the company.
Hiring Manager Interview - The candidates that are moved to the next phase of the project will have an interview with the hiring manager. The hiring manager interview can be similar to the screening call, but is usually longer and more in-depth. The hiring manager will have more questions about qualifications, experience, technical skills, social skills, and more to determine if the candidate should move to the next phase of hiring.
Technical Interviews - Technical interviews put the skills and qualifications a candidate has to the test. These interviews can include multiple tests, including an interview with technical questions, coding exercises, take-home assessments, and more. Your technical interviews should accurately assess if a candidate can complete their responsibilities in an app developer role.
Virtual Onsite - By this stage, you should only have a few candidates remaining. The virtual onsite is a nearly day-long process for the candidate that includes interviews with leadership, cross functional behavioral interviews, and whatever else is needed to finish vetting the candidate. Those who interviewed the candidates can then meet and talk about who they think is the right addition to the company.
Track candidates from application to offer with Dover’s free ATS
If you want to have a birds-eye view of the hiring process from application to offer, an applicant tracking system is your solution. Unfortunately, many applicant tracking systems are expensive and startups burn money on them.
Why not use a free ATS instead? Dover’s ATS provides you with best-in-class features at no cost. You can access job description templates, schedule interviews with one click, view all applicants in one intuitive kanban view, see applicant feedback and scores, collaborate with other stakeholders on your hiring team and much more. Get set up with Dover in minutes if you want to make your hiring process seamless and less time-consuming.
Hire top talent fast with Dover!
Top talent can be hard to find, but they’re out there. With the right tools, you can get connected to the best people for the job fast. That’s where Dover can help. Dover’s ATS and hiring tools can help you through every step of the hiring process, whether you’re looking for developers, sales, customer support or any other role.
Ready to find your next stellar hire? Start your search with Dover today.
Interviewing candidates
