How To Hire An Android Developer

Introduction

To hire an android developer, what are the metrics to consider?

Will an app creation or debugging process be part of the interview vetting process?

What distinguishes an app developer from the rest?

These are essential questions to ask when looking for an android developer. The benefits of hiring the right android developer are innumerable, and they include creating an incredible software application and minimizing expenses on additional costs and multiple reworks.

In four categories, this article will highlight the practical processes of hiring an android developer.

• What to do before hiring an android developer
• The attributes to look out for in an android developer
• The interview and assessment process
• How Skuad can help

Hiring an Android developer involves a wide range of processes. The project's outcome has to be considered. Also, the idea, execution, implementation process, and a grasp of the project's purpose have to be understood.

The ideal Android developer must understand the intricacies of android app development and be able to relate with the concept of technology agnosticism. Thus, the perfect android developer should be adept, intelligent, and understand the idea clearly.

What To Do Before Hiring an Android developer?

Define three things before you look for an Android developer:

• What sort of projects do you want to build?
• Who will use it?
• What technologies do you prefer?

The last question might not be easy to answer, but having an idea about the latest Software Development Kit, frameworks, and languages currently being used help during the interview rounds.

Whenever you get an idea for a new app and share it with someone, one of the responses can be, "there is an app for that already."

There are 2.9 million apps on Google Play Store. So, from "there is an app for that" to "I have a unique app idea," you will have to determine what kind of project it will be before hiring a dedicated Android developer.

Beginning with the project scope, always identify what your project is all about – is it an eCommerce website, a management portal, an online ordering application, a business-specific website?

Since you are looking for an Android developer, it is safe to assume that you should go for Android.

If not, here’s why:

• Every month, 100,000 applications are released on Google Play Store.
• Android is still one of the most widely used operating systems in the devices.
• As of 2020, 85% of smartphones work on Android.

Even if you are making an iOS-based application, hire an Android developer to create an Android application from your idea.

You will get:

• Ability to increase market outreach.
• appeal to a more significant segment of the audience.

Apart from this, identify your Android application's core value and purpose.

• Why are you making an application?
• Do you want more conversion or looking to delight your customers?
• Do you want to provide a dedicated management portal to your customers, for example, something similar to a hospital-oriented mobile application?

Because except for a few aspects, the process of developing the application will differ from the objective.

Another thing to consider is the user.

Who is your ideal user?

Ask this question while developing your feasibility studies, proof of concept, and discovery workshop.

Here again, the development ideology will change with the end user’s behavioral patterns and preferences.

Once you have the project idea and objective all sorted, let’s understand what you should look for in your ideal Android developer.

The Attributes To Look Out For In An Android Developer

"My Android developer should know how to create a great application."

That is not the answer you should accept and expect. To hire an Android developer, we will divide this part into two, hard skills and soft skills. If you want to work with a technologically sound person and have a great attitude, you need to look at it holistically.

Let’s begin with the hard skills part.

Experience and Portfolio

Well-established organizations with a dream team of developers and other tech experts can afford to hire out-of-college graduates.

But if you are running a startup, then the urge to hire a developer at a low cost is great, but the actual cost of doing it is higher.

Even though the knowledge base of a college graduate and a developer with five years of experience might be the same, the understanding of how the business, team, and culture operate will be different.

Moreover, as a startup owner, you are already wearing different hats, and adding another core function to your list of responsibilities is not an intelligent decision.

Added to this, a developer with a portfolio only makes things easier. This way, you can look at the previous work, expertise, and skillset.

Developers also have their GitHub accounts. GitHub is like an online stage of developers that lets you look at their:

• Followers
• Language and technologies they have worked with before
• Repositories and contributions

In every case, reviewing every profile and then selecting the one, which suits your task requirements, is a smart move.

Soft Skills Also Matter

Team player, communication, and cultural affinities with your company and its values are also essential. Every company has a different culture, and the people working in it will have to realign themselves with those values.

Employees who ignore these changes in the value system find it hard to adjust and become good team players.

However, to identify the cultural fitness and the candidate's ability, you need to ask the right questions in the interview. (More on this later).

Communication is pivotal in selecting the right candidate for your team. Especially if you are working as an agency and looking to hire a new team member, look for the qualities that allow a developer to address both technical and non-technical individuals equally.

Plus, it also requires the developers to possess a high level of English.

The Interviews and Assessments Process

You have the project plan ready and also understand what to look for in the candidates.

Now, let’s move towards identifying the aspects of taking interviews and how to assess the individuals.

The chances are that by now, you have got a lot of resumes either bombarding your inbox or taking up the desk space.

Now, it’s time to filter them out. To do that, set criteria and discard all the applications that fail to meet these requirements.

Your criteria can be anything related to your project and its requirements. Here are some points to set the criteria:

• Experience (number of years your ideal developer must be working for).
• Any specific skill set that is essential for your project.
• Previous Jobs, Portfolio, or Projects.
• The past companies type (Startups, SME's, enterprises).
• Diversity of products or development tasks (eCommerce, business-oriented, social media, networking, entertainment, etc.)

You can either choose a mix of these factors or go ahead with one aspect.

The applicants that do not fit the bill can be rejected right away. Moving forward with the shortlisted candidates, take their interviews.

For the interview, it is better to divide the process into two or more rounds.

1st Round: Assess technical skills and achievements

You can prepare some basic tests and be ready with a list of questions and counter questions if you want. Lastly, ask them for their GitHub account (if any).

Pro tip: Always keep some leverage while listening and understanding the answers. Sometimes, the candidate might have a different perspective on the same thing. This does not make them wrong or at fault. Instead, listen to the answers and infer the meaning.

2nd Round: Assess the Soft Skills

Get to know the developer personally, mentally, and behavior-wise. Present some particular scenarios and listen to the answers. Prepare questions that will help you understand the candidate’s team fitness and accountability. As far as proficiency in English is concerned, you can judge it by the way the interviewees are conversing.

Score the candidates based on the interview and personal assessments. Ensure that you keep your objectives, company vision, and product requirements at the forefront while taking the interview.

Also, think about the future. Your developer should always be ready to learn and grow with time.

How to Hire Android Developers with Skuad?

Ok, everything that you have read above is time-consuming, intricate, and susceptible to errors. Reiterating that the cost of choosing the wrong person (not the wrong developer) is more than the benefit you will get, there is no room for error.

What if we told you that you could bypass the majority proportion of the process given above?

Skuad will help you hire the best Android developer for your requirements. You can choose from freelance, full-time, or contract developers on our list of pre-vetted Android developers. We have developed an in-house rating system that helps assess the developer’s profile.

The rating is based on an assortment of factors, which includes, but is not limited to;

• Past successful projects
• Technical expertise
• Years of experience

Skuad has gone one step further to do most of the work for you. After getting your application, we will have a chat with you to know your requirements better, and based on that, we will suggest developers from our talent pool.

So, we are distilling it down to a handful of developers for you to interview and select. This way, you will communicate with only one person until you are ready to take the interviews. It does not end here; we will also help you onboard our certified Android developers into your team and let you work on other essential things.

We work for your benefit and want you to work with the industry's best Android developers who have the skill set and the ability to propel your company towards success.