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Tag: remote workers

  • 5 Questions to Ask Remote Web Developers

    5 Questions to Ask Remote Web Developers

    Great web developers are waiting to be hired. Your company could seize upon the opportunity—but only if you’re willing to be patient, dedicated and a little creative.

    Don’t scare away qualified remote web developers with a few poorly worded questions or a mistimed probe. Ask direct and concise questions that can help you understand the candidate.

    Be sure to include the questions listed below to ensure you’re interviewing a remote web developer to the best of your ability:

    1. Have You Worked Remotely Before?

    Remote work is different from many traditional forms of work. For a company to properly manage a remote web developer, the web developer must have a solid understanding and knowledge of remote working environments.

    If an exceptional web developer candidate hasn’t telecommuted before, it doesn’t bar them from the pool of qualified candidates. However, it is easier to onboard and retain remote web developers who have had the experience of working remotely beforehand.

    2. Are You Familiar with Popular Web Development Frameworks?

    Remote web developers, like any other web developer, must stay abreast of the latest trends and advancements in the web development field. To master their craft, they must keep a running knowledge of the latest tools, frameworks and web programming languages.

    An experienced web developer should, at the very least, be aware of a large and robust framework such as Bootstrap. They should be able to explain how the framework works, why web developers use it (it’s much better to utilize a framework to save time, in most cases) and the drawbacks of utilizing a premade framework.

    3. How Much Experience Do You Have with Web Programming Languages? Are You Familiar with Server-Side Languages?

    Every web developer should be proficient in HTML and CSS. Scripting languages such as Angular.js, Express.js and JSON are important, too. JavaScript adds interactivity to websites. HTML acts as the skeleton and CSS acts as the design.

    Preferably, an experienced remote web developer candidate will have three to five years of experience with these languages.

    It’s also important to ascertain whether the web developer you’re interviewing has the ability to code the back end of websites. Do they know how to set up a database? Do they understand how to store values in a website’s database?

    4. Which Content Management Systems Do You Use?

    A content management system (CMS) helps streamline organizing, adding and managing content for a website.

    One of the most popular CMS is WordPress. Web developers leverage CMS to utilize built-in structures and architectures to create dynamic blogs and alluring corporate websites.

    Setting a website up with a CMS also makes it easier for writers, marketers and designers to tweak already-developed websites. They can add content without needing the web developer to intervene.

    5. Are You Comfortable with Regular Phone and Video Meetings? Do You Have Experience with Telework Software?

    Remote work has unique challenges. One of the most challenging aspects of working remotely is maintaining communication. Miscommunication can occur more easily for remote workers, so it’s important that you keep communication lines open and stress the importance of speaking clearly and confidently.

    It’s much better if a candidate already has experience with telecommunication software such as Zoom, Skype or Slack. Knowing how to interact via these technologies will lessen the chances of miscommunication in telework environments.

    Conclusion

    How you conduct a remote web developer interview is entirely up to your organization. There are several methods for conducting technical interviews, telework interviews and startup interviews. Each one of them is effective in a unique way; very few are ineffective or harmful. Adding a few questions to your interview script could help make whichever strategy you employ more effective.

    Ask remote web developers about their experience working remotely. Remember to ask about experience with certain telework software programs and telecommunication applications. On the technical side, be sure to ask about programming skill, familiarity with web frameworks and their experience with CMS.

    Companies that seek to hire remote web developers should take note of the interview questions listed above. By asking these five questions, interviewers can gain a great deal of insight into a web developer candidate’s habits, passions and challenges.

    Using these interview questions should make the vetting and hiring process easier for everyone, helping interviewers assess a candidate’s adaptability, experience and dedication.

    — Anthony Coggine

  • Should Your Company Hire Remote Full-Stack Developers?

    Should Your Company Hire Remote Full-Stack Developers?

     Is your company seeking to hire a qualified full-stack developer? It seems like an easy enough task—create a job listing, read resumes, conduct technical interviews and make the hire. Finding engineers who understand every layer of the stack is difficult, however. Companies compete for the best and brightest full-stack developers and, unfortunately, they are in shockingly low supply.

    What’s the solution? One way to circumvent the full-stack developer talent shortage is to leverage telework. By seeking to hire remote full-stack developers, you can gain to a global pool of talent.

    There are many other benefits to hiring remote full-stack developers. However, hiring remote developers isn’t always the right fit. Read on to see if your company is ready to hire remote full-stack developers.

    Is Your Company Looking to Save Money on Office Space?

    Hiring remote full-stack developers is a major decision. When companies think about utilizing remote talent, they usually think of the headache of adopting a new form of work and of managing employees who work out of the office. However, it is also important to note one of the major benefits of leveraging remote developers: the cost savings.

    Other benefits to consider: boosted productivity, higher workplace satisfaction and lower incidences of interpersonal issues between coworkers. If you believe your company might be able to benefit from hiring and managing full-stack developers remotely, then you may want to consider beginning your hiring journey seriously.

    Does Your Company Prioritize Quality or Community?

    Finding the top full-stack developers can be extremely difficult. By opening up your search and tapping into global talent by seeking developers looking for remote work opportunities, you can put a greater emphasis on quality and technical excellence.

    If your company is more focused on creating a cohesive community or company culture, you may want to focus on hiring full-stack developers that can come into the office, interact with coworkers and build a rapport with managers, clients and fellow developers.

    However, this isn’t to say that it’s impossible to foster caring and authentic professional relationships with remote developers. It may simply prove more challenging.

    Are You a Brick-and-Mortar or a Click-and-Mortar Company?

    If you run a traditional brick-and-mortar organization that’s been around for a while, it may be more difficult to adjust to change. If you run an online business or if you’re a burgeoning small business or startup that is heavily reliant on tech, then it may be significantly easier for you to adopt telework.

    If you do run a traditional business with a traditional office and traditional approach to project management, it may take a bit of adjusting to accommodate for remote workers.

    You may want to try out remote work in a trial capacity by bringing on remote freelancers or allowing current full-time developers to work from home for a few days out of the week. If you find your company easily adjust to the changes, then you may want to consider hiring fully remote full-stack developers as well.

    Do You Want to Access Global or Local Full-Stack Development Talent?

    As mentioned earlier, full-stack developers are in incredibly high demand. Unless your business is headquartered in a major city, it’s going to be next to impossible to find the top full-stack developers. If your company is just starting or simply short on cash, then it can be difficult to bring on such an expensive full-time employee as well.

    If you want access to global talent, you’ll need to open up to remote work. Through telework, even companies in small cities and towns can gain access to top talent. If you’re more interested in fostering local talent, however, you might not be interested in leveraging telework.

    Conclusion

    Hiring remote full-stack developers isn’t always a simple process. It requires your company to remain open, adaptive and innovative. Without these traits, managing remote full-stack developers will prove challenging to say the least.

    How can you ascertain if your company is ready to bring on remote talent? First, it’s important to assess how much cost savings, boosted productivity and higher workplace satisfaction rank for you. In addition, it’s important to gauge whether  community outweighs the desire for the production of quality code.

    Finally, you’ll want to access your technological readiness and ability to adapt. Are you willing to search for global talent and leverage technologies, platforms and software programs that will assist you in this endeavor? If so, you may want to consider hiring remote full-stack developers.

    — Tania Brooks