Freelance programmer

How to attract top freelance programmers to work for your company?

Tom Potanski

Last updated on July 12, 2020 | 13 min read

GuideOutsourcingSoftware development

Ways to attract top freelance programmers to work for you

1. Understanding what freelancers want

It is a common mistake for companies to perceive a freelancer as a typical employee. Instead, working with freelancers should be viewed as working with a business partner. The majority of them perceive themselves as entrepreneurs and business partners. Additionally, one of the main reasons these individuals chose to go freelance, is to become their own bosses. This is exactly why you should create an open and cooperative relationship with them so that you are rewarded with their best performance.

2. Respectful relationships

As previously mentioned, freelancers want to be recognized as your business partners or stakeholders. They are experts in their fields and can deliver the best results for your company if you treat their work with respect. Whenever they deliver positive results, let them know that their job is much appreciated. This simple yet meaningful gesture will surely end your meetings on a good note.

3. Offer contribution to personal development goals

Unlike employees, freelancers do not rely on companies to give them free training or any in-house help. More often than not, these people work alone. It is up to them to improve their skills whether that would be through experience or paid training. What better way to attract these talented individuals than by offering them a great learning experience? Surely, they would be open to this opportunity. But of course, do not forget to pay them for the work that they do for you.

4. Interesting varied tasks

Having one specialty can be quite boring in the long run. Some freelancers might be looking to improve their skills in certain areas related to their forte skills. It is a good idea to offer a little spice in their tasks that they might be interested in.

5. Provide some work perks

Your employees are not the only ones who are excited for cash bonuses, gym memberships, and health insurances, freelancers are excited about those too! Being self-employed means you would need to pay for those things out of your own pocket. A company that offers such benefits aside from a salary would be considered as a dream client.
An article from Harvard Business Review explains the most desirable employee benefits – hopefully, you will find there an inspiration for your own company.

When hiring a freelancer you should always be on the lookout for red flags. Some even struggle to get great candidates to apply. Get some good quality tips by watching the video material provived.

Advantages of hiring a freelance programmer instead of a software company

Developing new technology for your company will require a lot of effort and if you do not have the right resources for it, then it is recommended to hire the right people for the job. There are many things to consider such as the project scale, budget, time and expertise. One of the decisions that a company will come across during this process is whether to hire a freelancer programmer or a software company.
At first glance, an established software company may seem to be appealing, however, it is not always the best choice for you. Here are some reasons why you should consider hiring a freelancer instead of a software company.

1. Cost-effectiveness

This is one (if not the top) reason for hiring a freelancer. It is a well-known fact that hiring a freelancer to do a one-time task is much cheaper and effective than hiring a full-time software company. Your contract with a freelancer does not include any additional expenses such as medical benefits, insurances, retirement benefits and agency fees. No need to cover for their water breaks or time slacking off the office. With freelancers, you only pay for the actual project or service they provide for you.

2. Access to top-tier talent

Freelancers were able to take the leap into being self-employed because they have something they specialize in. Most of them are tenured individuals from notable software companies and possess years of significant experience. Simply do a little background check and you will find highly skilled candidates for your company’s projects.

3. Diversity and a new perspective on your work

Most freelancers are remote workers and are globally located. They call themselves digital nomads. This opportunity to work from anywhere in the world gives rise to a new perspective for your company. Remote freelancers are innovative and open to new technologies. That is why they are able to adapt much faster to ever-changing tech trends in the industry. Software companies, on the contrary, are way less adaptive and responsive. Thus, do not expect them to give you as fresh insights into your projects as an independent freelancer would.

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4. Global reach

Is your company looking to expand its borders and go global? If so then hiring a freelancer from outside your country would be a good start. This opens your doors to new opportunities and growth all while minimizing the risks that come along with it. Global expansion is quite a hurdle.
That is why some companies often hire a set of freelance programmers from a different country to test the new waters. Such an approach would not be possible if you hired a typical software company that usually feels safer in the “known territory” and is rather reluctant to go outside its comfort zone (be it a new industry or a totally new technology).

5. Maximum Flexibility

You can take advantage of the timezone differences and hire freelancers from different countries. This gives you the chance to have the right amount of manpower at any time you choose. For example, if you are from the USA, you can hire someone from Asia so you can have them do the tasks while you are asleep. Then the next morning, you can check their work progress and give the instructions before they start.
Furthermore, your programmer can also work for you over the weekends. However, while this is quite advantageous, there are dangers to mismatched hours. That is why it is imperative to track your freelancers through project management tools.
If your company is looking to fully benefit from our modern freelance age, make sure to follow our tips to attract the top-notch freelancing talent.

Exemplary tech questions to ask when hiring a programmer

In order to help you even more with hiring the best freelance programmers, we have prepared a set of exemplary technical questions (with answers) that you can ask in order to test the candidate’s skills and knowledge. Those are the questions that we usually ask at DevsData when looking for the top talent.

1. Do you know what is debugging? What is a debugger?

Debugging is a process of reduction of the number of errors in the software or microprocessor system, which consists of the controlled execution of the program under the supervision of a debugger.
Debugger is a program that allows for:

• execution of the program in a step-mode,
• previewing and changing the content of the register, memory, etc.,
• finding the instructions responsible for the malfunction of the program.

2. What is software testing? What are the reasons for using it?

Software testing is a process that allows you to verify the correctness of software functionalities and provide information about it.
The main reasons for using software testing are:

• willingness to check the software in terms of quality,
• willingness to check the software for compliance with client requirements.

3. What is the documentation? Is it important?

The documentation is a document containing a list of all program functionalities on the developer and user side. It is created for future users of a given solution and for engineers who will modify them in the future. The preparation of accurate and understandable documentation is very important in the process of creating commercial software because it allows for its efficient maintenance and development.

4. Do you know what is maintenance? What do you understand by the term “maintaining the software”?

Program maintenance is a term describing the process of continuous adaptation of the program to new software and hardware requirements. Sometimes it also includes the process of making corrections and improvements. Maintenance is sometimes also a process of adding completely new functionalities. It is a process that starts after a successful installation and lasts for the entire duration of the application work time.

5. How would you describe the term “high-level programming language”?

The high-level programming language is a type of language whose syntax and keywords are to maximally facilitate human understanding of program code, increasing the level of abstraction and distance from hardware (machine code). It is assumed that the higher the level of language, the greater the level of abstraction.
Aside from the tech questions, you can ask less technical questions related more to the way a person works, does his tasks, and keeps track of his work. You can ask about the candidate’s previous freelancing experiences and his habits. Try to deduce if this is someone you can trust in this field. Is the candidate using a calendar? A habit tracker? Maybe some mobile apps? It would be a good sign!

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Summary

Once you understand how to attract a talented freelance programmer to work for you, you will face no problems hiring the top talent. Make sure you carry out a thorough recruitment process in order to filter out only the best candidates. If you still need help in hiring reliable developers, do not hesitate to reach out to us at DevsData.