Ever since the pandemic occurred, there has been a rise in the popularity of freelancing careers. Many employees find remote working easier and more convenient. Companies hire freelance developers as it benefits them by saving expenses on infrastructure and hardware. They can even access global talent much more easily. With IT professionals switching to freelancing as a career, you can find a large variety of places to hire freelance developers.
Though a lot of platforms are available to find freelance developers, the real question is- Have you evaluated the need for the developers and how you are going to screen them? It is important to evaluate your requirements beforehand so you can select the source to hire freelance developers effectively. Some sources provide developers on a contract basis, some for quick jobs while others provide all. What is ideal for you will depend on your clarity of goals. Let’s read the article to learn how to hire freelance developers for your project.
What are Freelance Developers?
Freelance developers are skilled professionals who work on a contract basis and offer their skills and expertise to clients. They specialize in specific areas such as,
- Frontend development
- Backend development
- mobile development and design
- web development
- Full-stack software development
- Data analysis and system integration
- Testing and debugging
They can work with a variety of clients and companies as they are self-employed. This not only gives them independence and freedom but also control over the kind of work they want, their schedule, and their workload. Startups hire freelance developers as they offer a wider and more flexible range of expertise than an in-house developer team.
Steps To Hire Freelance Developers
1. Identify Your Needs
Before you start to hire freelance developers, you have to be clear about your requirements to save time and resources. Few things you need to have clarity about:
- Project Requirement- Is it a small task or a complex one?
- Scope of project- Be detailed.
- Developer need- Would you require a team or one specialized developer?
- Check Skills and experience of developer with respect to project’s demand
- Budget: Price of the freelancer- hourly rate or fixed payment. Project expenses- project management tools, licenses.
- Timeline and deadlines
2. Find Skilled Candidates
A major benefit to hire freelance developers is to bring highly skilled candidates on board with minimal expenditure. But how to find a freelancer who will be ideal for your project? Here are some places you can find freelance developers-
- Freelance Platforms: Sites like Upwork and Fiverr are made for the purpose to hire freelancers. You can find freelancers in many fields which you can filter and search through the ones that fit your needs.
- Online marketplaces: These platforms offer freelance developers and remote employees for various projects. You can contact platforms such as Optymize which can connect you with developers within 48 hours which you can then select and hire. You can also create a post on Job boards such as Indeed and LinkedIn, stating all requirements and have developers come to you.
- Niche Platform: Certain websites offer developers in a particular language. Such as RubyNow which offers Ruby developers, PythonJob.xyz for Python programmers, etc.
3. Evaluate Candidate Profiles
To hire freelance developers successfully, you need to know about their expertise. A few things to look for-
- Portfolio: A portfolio gives highlights about the developer’s skills. Check the expertise level, years of experience, quality of work, previous projects, etc details and see if they are good for your project.
- Experience: A senior-level developer will be expert enough to manage a whole project. While if you hire freelance developers on a junior level, they might only be able to fix a few bugs.
- Skills: Hire freelance developers who are well-versed in the programming languages, frameworks, and technologies your project needs. They should also have good communication and problem-solving skills.
- Other details: You can look at the Github profiles of the freelancers to get a deeper understanding of their skills. Ask previous clients, and companies they are associated with and take feedback before you hire freelance developers.
4. Negotiation and Onboarding
After selecting the freelancers, the next step is to negotiate the terms and close the deal. Things you should discuss to hire freelance developers-
- Discuss the technicalities, scope, and timeline of the project. Also, the working hours, ways of payment.
- Negotiate the price. Some freelancers and platforms have fixed non-negotiable prices which you have to make sure are within your budget. Anyhow, the payment should be done in a clear and transparent manner.
- Identify the ways of collaboration and communication. Would it be in the freelancing platform itself or some other mail, or video conferencing app?
- Provide regular feedback and support.
- Brief all the terms and conditions while making the contract. Maintain transparency.
- Set the deadlines straight. Discuss how the work will be done in a scheduled time and any reasons that might affect the work progress.
Make sure the agreements made are clear and work for both parties. You can have written contracts to avoid any misunderstandings.
5. Management of Freelance Developers
After you hire freelance developers for your project, now it’s time to manage them properly. You have to look after their work quality, problems they face, their requirements, and if the work is getting done within the deadline limits.
For managing multiple freelance developers, you have to make sure you leverage their skills and expertise properly. A few tips to make a good team out of individual freelance developers-
- Assign different positions according to their expertise. A senior developer to manage the project or junior developers, a frontend designer to create the user interface, and a tester to test and debug programs.
- Create a task board to properly manage and assign tasks to each freelancer and regulate them.
- Communicate regularly about the progress and issues. Give your assistance and support whenever required.
Conclusion
With the rise in remote employment, you can hire freelance developers with the same skill set and commitment as full-time employees. You don’t have to worry much about project completion, deadlines, work quality, etc. You can set clear expectations, though, managing them might require some work from your end. If you are having any problems in properly managing a team or individual freelancers, there are some platforms such as Optymize, where you can take consultations regarding the management and recruitment of freelancers. Optymize has a reputation to hire only the top 3% of the best developers. The platform can help you in effectively recruit a team of developers as per your needs within 48 hours and provide solutions to your queries.