10 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Hiring the Perfect Ruby Developer

When it comes to hiring the right Ruby developer, there are so many options that it can be difficult to figure out how to choose the right one. And when you’re trying to find the right person, the last thing you want to do is start off on the wrong foot by making critical mistakes that you could have avoided. So here are 10 ways to increase your chances of hiring the perfect Ruby on rails developers for your team!

1) Give them clear specifications

For example, if you are looking for a new developer to join your team, don’t write: I need someone smart and personable who knows what they’re doing. That is like saying I need someone who is not fat and likes dogs. Instead, be specific with your requests by breaking down what exactly you expect from them by asking questions such as: What languages do you know? How many years of experience do you have in web development?

2) Offer realistic deadlines

When you first start hiring remote workers, you may feel tempted to offer an overly optimistic deadline for your job postings. After all, as a business owner who needs work done quickly, it’s hard not to want everything done yesterday. But if your deadlines are unrealistic—say, if you need a lot of coding and only have two weeks from conception to launch—you’re setting yourself up for frustration and failure.

3) Ask for relevant examples

If you’re looking for a developer, ask for relevant examples of prior work. If they have some cool things in their portfolio, have them walk you through how they did it. If not, let them know that you’re looking for good examples and need it to make a decision. Tell them how crucial it is that they provide something relevant because if they don’t, you won’t be interested in talking further.

4) Don’t be afraid to ask about other projects

This is particularly important if you’re interviewing a lot of candidates. You want to see what they can do on their own, so asking them how they went about solving problems in previous roles or projects is a great way to learn how adaptable they are.

5) Try out different freelancers for each project

I’ve worked with a number of developers who were fantastic, but I will say that it’s hard to find someone you can work well with. When you find one, hire them again and again. There are two reasons for this. The first is that they already know your processes, so they can hit the ground running on any new project.

6) Be specific when asking questions

It’s important that you get specific answers from your prospective developer. Open-ended questions are great for establishing rapport, but when it comes time to really find out about their experience, remember that there’s no such thing as a stupid question. If someone asks me a question and I can tell they didn’t do their research beforehand, I think less of them and then tend not to want to work with them, even if I do like them personally, says Amlani.

7) Make sure they have time on their hands

A good developer needs time to think. No matter how detailed your schedule is, there will be times when you need your developers to churn out large amounts of work in a short amount of time. But if they’re constantly running behind, they can’t be expected to deliver high-quality work.

8) Tell them your budget upfront

Letting a prospective developer know your budget is essential to narrowing down their experience and skill set. By being transparent about what you can afford upfront, you’ll give them an opportunity to hone in on their skills that are most applicable. If they know they can’t handle your project (or be honest with themselves), it saves everyone time and energy in the long run.

9) Trust your instinct

If you feel a candidate is smart and would be an asset, trust your gut. The cost of hiring wrong is real (the individual will take up time and energy), but going against logic isn’t worth it if you know in your heart that there’s something promising about a particular person. If you get a bad feeling about someone or their skills aren’t up to par for your company’s needs, move on.

10) Look at their portfolio, then have a conversation

Before you talk with a programmer about your project, check out his or her portfolio. This will give you a sense of how long they’ve been coding and what kinds of projects they’ve completed in the past. You can also use their portfolio as an opportunity to find common ground—if they built something similar to what you need done, that’s a good sign.