How To Spot A Potentially Great Developer During an Interview? Here Are 6 Characteristics
A useful guide for all CEOs and managers in software and web development who are in search of their next best addition to the team.
I’m sure the majority of CEOs and managers of web and software development companies often have to go through the process of interviewing candidates for a position in the enterprise.
The interviewing process is equally exciting for both parties. I’m pretty familiar with the satisfaction one feels when coming across a potentially great addition to the team. At the same time, I’m aware that many aspiring developers will perhaps find these guidelines quite useful since they are soon about to enter the world of web development and interviews for a much-desired position. I hope the following tips and observations will come in handy for both interviewers and candidates.
Being in web and software development is, by all means, a pretty challenging endeavor
Nowadays being a developer seems pretty exciting and challenging to many people out there. There’s this general idealization of the job — you create, you write code, you develop websites and apps, and you are constantly engaged in all things trendy and new. What’s not to like about that?
In addition, being in the web and software development usually goes hand in hand with various types of pros and endless possibilities. Many fellow developers out there have the chance to choose their workplace (hybrid offices are definitely here to stay), create their own desired schedules, be in constant communication with colleagues, etc. With so many opportunities it’s no wonder why so many people tend to choose this field as their future professional development in the search for the perfect career.
But, of course, as with every other specter in life, along with the pros go the cons. I’ve witnessed many people imagine being a web developer to be one thing that quickly turns into a whole different story once they step into this career field. That’s why before entering is important to get to know the sphere as much as you can so you won’t be negatively surprised after.
Other than that, it’s quite likely that many people would easily decide to become developers. Whether they get well ahead in the profession and turn into leaders or decide to establish their own company, or remain at developer positions, one thing’s certain — this job won’t be disappearing any time soon.
This is why it’s crucial for both CEOs and developers to actually be aware of some of the most fundamental characteristics a developer should obtain so that they would quickly turn into the perfect fit for a company’s team.
Good developers present many characteristics and qualifications that are not hard to spot — here are 6
Imagine being a manager or a CEO of a company that needs an exceptional developer as an addition to the team.
What will you do? Essentially, you’ll organize a series of interviews in hope of finding the perfect candidate. Sure, probably you already have posted the official job offer on several job-hunting websites with a thorough and complete list of all the hard skills and qualifications you’d want to witness in the candidates. After careful research on all the applicants’ CVs, you’ve managed to select a bunch of individuals who you invite over for an interview.
So, what’s next?
Here are 6 signs that you might have met the perfect candidate for a web or software development position:
- they are passionate about coding — see, there’s a difference between someone expressing interest in the job itself and someone expressing love for the job’s core. Good developers usually can’t stop talking about coding and programming — you’ll observe their excitement and impatience starting with the next task. Usually, they enjoy coding and talking about it in their spare time too. They rarely view the working hours as this torturous period of the day. This brings us to the next characteristic.
- they enjoy spending time on their computers overall — when you come to think about it, the majority of developers have developed (pun intended!) their professional skills out of sheer genuine interest in spending the majority of their time in front of the screen. Be it gaming, browsing, or just expressing love for technology, developers have successfully obtained a human-machine relationship that allows them to feel extremely comfortable being at the computer for long hours
- good developers are great at the cause-and-effect way of thinking — imagine a non-developer looking at Pinocchio. The majority of people would think how cute the character is and remember some pleasant childhood memories connected with the fairy tale. Now, a good developer’s thoughts may look something like this:
“Hm, let’s observe the Pinocchio paradox! If Pinocchio says that his nose is growing at the moment when it actually does, then his nose should stop growing immediately since Pinocchio is telling the truth. But if the nose stops growing, this would mean that Pinocchio is lying — so his nose should continue growing. But if his nose continues growing, that means that originally Pinocchio was telling the truth.”
(man, developers absolutely love those kinds of loops)
- good developers express a great level of versatility — you may be frequently stumbling upon articles and listicles that point out which programming language should you focus on in the current year, but the truth is those good developers don’t focus simply on learning the languages. Their goal is to educate themselves on the language’s whole concept. This ability, later on, allows them to quickly switch between different languages.
- they have this other hobby that’s significantly different from coding and has nothing to with it — we all know that programming and coding could be quite stressful, overwhelming, and exhausting at times. That’s why it’s essential for any good programmer to have this other hobby that will keep them sane. This way they can easily restart their brains after finishing up a task, submerging in an entirely different setting for a while.
- good developers tend to be really lazy (it’s not what you think) — imagine having an operation or a task that could be executed in manually in less than 30 minutes. Well, a good developer would happily spend 5+ hours writing code in an attempt to automate the process. It’s just the way things are in the web dev world!
To wrap things up
Of course, a great developer must certainly cover a long list of hard skills, but sometimes being a great fit for a team extends outside of professional abilities. Sometimes success comes from within — who you are, how you think, what you enjoy doing, what sparks your inner engine. Once you observe all these characteristics in a developer, you can be certain that they will go to great lengths to execute their tasks.
Hi, guys, I’m Ivan and I’m here to share with all of you my passion for words, great content, entrepreneurship, personal development, management, hobbies, and everything in between.
I serve as the CEO of my WordPress Development Agency @ Vipe Studio where I have the pleasure to lead a diverse, wonderful and energetic team of experts. Feel free to contact me anytime — I would love to exchange new ideas and inspire each other!
