Remote work has been prevalent for nearly all of the past year. In
software engineering and computer science, shifting to the online mode
has helped companies improve their bottom line. Since administrative costs, office costs, and property rental costs
have been waived. As a result, several companies have been considering
moving to a hybrid model to hire a remote software developer.

This change in employment practices has also led to a change in hiring
practices. Since software engineers are no longer required to relocate
from one city to another physically, hiring managers have a much larger
pool of candidates to choose from. Software engineers can also apply for
jobs in other cities where the concentration of jobs and pay might be
higher.

The techniques used for hiring remote software developers are
significantly different from traditional hiring methods.

Here is a look at how hiring managers evaluate the skills of candidates
for software engineering roles.


How To Evaluate For Remote Software Developer Jobs

1. Opt For A Remote Software Developer Partner

You can choose to work with a third-party tech company to fulfil your
software development needs. Platforms such as Supersourcing
provide you access to competent software development partners based on
the requirements that you communicate to them.

Additionally, working with third-party companies helps you in reducing
the cost of software development while choosing the kind of relationship
you want to have with them. You can also vet their remote software
developers and have them work in tandem with your team without having to
manage them as employees.

2. Asking For A Portfolio

Since it is harder to make software developers demonstrate their skills
live when hiring them remotely, you may ask them for their previous work
portfolio. You may mention the type of projects necessary for the remote software developer job
you are offering and the type of optional projects. Additionally, you
may also set a maximum number of projects that the candidate may submit
to minimize the screening time.

Just as a design portfolio is an essential document for a graphic or
product designer. A programming portfolio showcases a software
developer’s real skills. You may pay extra heed to parts of the
portfolio that have been implemented commercially or are available
online. The portfolio will aid you in choosing the right software
development partner for your specific needs.

3. Conduct A Tech Interview to Evaluate A Remote Software
Developer

Technical interviews are some of the oldest methods technology and
software companies have been using to scout and hire candidates. While
tech interviews have been going out of fashion with companies favoring
projects that the candidates have completed hands-on, they are still
essential tools to determine their conceptual foundations.

On online hiring platforms, interviews can be carried out through video
conferencing. Technical interviews have an advantage over written
technical tests in that they preclude the possibility of using unfair
means over online platforms.

Additionally, they also provide you with a deeper insight into the
candidate’s attitude and personality. Generally, companies organize
multiple rounds of technical interviews to make up for the lack of a
physical examination method. If you opt for a third-party developing
partner, you can also vet their developers using this method.

4. Live Coding Test to Evaluate Remote Software Developer

When companies held the hiring process offline, live coding challenges
were among the most frequent ways companies assessed software
developers’ skills, especially at the entry-level. However, live coding
is harder to assess when it is held online. Over the past year, several
platforms have come up that allow you to carry out live coding rounds in
your hiring process.

When you choose a development partner, you can have them go through a
live coding exercise to assess their competence. The significant
advantage of a live coding round is that companies can assess multiple
candidates concurrently.

Live coding also helps bring a level of objectivity to the hiring
process – in most cases, all you will need is to determine whether the
candidate was able to provide an appropriate code for the problem posed.
This is in comparison to more subjective methods in which your software
engineers might have to glean through the code to analyze its
efficiency.

5. Product Development

Another alternative to live coding is the development of a full-fledged
product. You can divide your candidate pool into groups and provide them
with a problem statement. Asking them to create a software or app to
solve the given problem. You can also give a smaller scale task to
individual candidates and assess their code after submission.

If your company is involved in product development, such problems will
provide you with an insight into how a candidate performs in crunch
situations. When you are offered a choice from among a number of
different partners on an online platform. You can assess their
capabilities by having them develop an entire simple product. It also
gives the candidates a peek into your company’s product development
process before they are hired.

6. Hire Interns

Hiring interns, possibly a long-winded process, but their selection
criteria is considerably relaxed compared to full-time employees. When
you hire interns, you get first-hand knowledge about how they will
perform. You also ensure that training will be carried out on the remote
software developer job. Thus, you do not have to spend your revenue on
training your recruits.

Over the years, several companies have been looking at this hiring
method by recruiting 2-3 interns for every full-time role available.
While internship stipends need to be paid, and this method is
significantly more expensive than the rest. It also helps you gain
better employees in the long run.



Conclusion

Software development shifting online has opened several avenues for
companies as well as budding
software engineers. The above method will help companies hire the best remote software
developer available through a deep insight into their skills and
attitude.

Companies such as Supersourcing can be really useful in allowing you to
gain access to the most competent and capable software developers
available. With Supersourcing
you can match the skills of software developers with your requirements and
create a more streamlined process. 

Do proper research and consider what will be best for your firm in the
long run!