Comprehensive Guide to Hiring a Top Developer

Hard skills (the must-haves)

The technical foundation matters. The best developers have:

• Proficiency in relevant languages and frameworks: The most widely used primary programming languages today are Java, JavaScript, and Python, according to the most recent JetBrains data ecosystem report. SQL and HTML/CSS were the most commonly used within the past year. A solid candidate should be comfortable in at least one of these, depending on your tech stack.
• Experience with Git, APIs, testing, and deployment: These are core parts of modern development workflows. Strong candidates understand how to manage code versions, integrate external services, and ship stable features with automated tests in place.
• Data modeling and database fluency: Whether using SQL or NoSQL, developers need to know how to structure, store, and retrieve data efficiently. This impacts everything from app speed to reporting accuracy. Look for candidates who can describe the data models they’ve used and explain why they were a good fit for the project.
• CI/CD pipeline familiarity: Continuous integration and delivery pipelines automate the process of testing and deploying code. Developers with this experience can ship updates faster and with fewer bugs. Ask how they’ve used CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab in past roles.
• Back-end experience (if relevant): For back-end developer roles focused on infrastructure or server-side systems, look for experience with Docker (for containerization), microservices (for breaking apps into manageable parts), and architectural design (for performance and scalability). Candidates should be able to explain how they build and scale systems behind the scenes and not just how they write code.
• Front-end expertise (if relevant): A strong front-end developer should know how to turn design files (like Figma) into fully functional interfaces that look good and perform well on any device. That includes understanding CSS frameworks, JavaScript libraries, accessibility standards (like WCAG), and optimizing for speed and responsiveness.

Soft skills (equally important)

Technical skills get projects built. Soft skills keep them moving.

• Clear communication: Developers often need to explain complex ideas to designers, product managers, and stakeholders who don’t have a technical background. Candidates should be able to describe their thinking and decisions in plain terms.
• Ownership and initiative: The best hires don’t wait for tickets—they ask questions, spot problems, and propose solutions.
• Ability to explain past decisions: Our recruiters suggest asking candidates to walk through decisions they made on previous projects. If they can’t explain the “why,” it could mean they were just following instructions rather than thinking critically.
• Adaptability: Tech stacks shift. Priorities change. Look for developers who can work through ambiguity and adjust to new tools and challenges without losing momentum.
• Receptiveness to feedback: Strong developers treat feedback as a tool for better code, better collaboration, and better outcomes. A good question to ask: “Can you share a time when feedback led to a meaningful change in your work?”

Nice-to-have skills (the differentiators)

These aren’t essential, but they can push a strong candidate to the top of your list. This is especially true in competitive markets.

• DevOps or infrastructure experience: Developers who understand deployment environments can often work more independently and solve problems faster.
• Security-first mindset: This is especially important for companies handling user data or payment systems.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Developers who’ve worked closely with designers, product leads, or QA teams tend to ship smoother, more cohesive products.
• Startup or international team experience: Experience in lean or distributed teams usually means they know how to manage themselves and prioritize well.

As with any hire, testing for these skills is particularly important. Skills matter. However, how they apply them to day-to-day operations matters even more.

Choosing the right location: Local, national, or global

Your first step is deciding whether to hire someone in-office, remotely within the US, or internationally. Each path has trade-offs:

• In-office (local) developers: Great for face-to-face collaboration and direct involvement in meetings and company culture. Onboarding and payroll are often simpler. The trade-offs are cost—local hires tend to command the highest salaries—and a candidate pool limited by geography.
• Remote US-based developers: This opens your search to a national talent pool. You’ll still be working with professionals familiar with US business practices and time zones. But expect to pay about the same as local rates, especially for in-demand roles.
• International developers: Hiring globally gives you access to the broadest pool of talent and often cost savings (as we explained earlier). Depending on where you choose to hire, it is essential to consider navigating time zone differences.

Thanks to time zone alignment with the US, offshoring to Latin America has been the choice for hundreds of US businesses. Plus, the LatAm region has talent with strong English proficiency and deep experience working with US teams. 

That being said, South and Southeast Asia (like India and the Philippines) and Eastern Europe (like Poland and Serbia) also offer excellent developers, especially for teams comfortable with asynchronous communication.

If you’re building your team from the ground up, hiring offshore developers can be a practical starting point for startups with lean budgets and fast timelines.

Choosing the right sourcing channel

Once you know where you’re looking, the next step is deciding how to find candidates. Here’s how common sourcing channels stack up:

Each approach has its own strengths depending on your goals. Many companies start with referrals or job boards, then turn to a trusted recruiter if they’re not getting quality matches, or when international hiring starts adding complexity. 

Stage 1: Define the role before you start sourcing

Stage 2: Screening and evaluation

Stage 3: Making the offer and closing the deal

“Tell me about a time when a feature you built had unintended consequences. What did you learn from it?”

This question goes beyond success stories and highlights real-world problem-solving. Look for developers who can acknowledge a misstep, explain the root cause, and talk about how they adjusted their process going forward. 

Red flag: If a candidate struggles to come up with an example or shifts blame.

“How do you usually approach breaking down a complex task into smaller steps?”

You want someone who’s methodical and organized, not just reactive. Strong candidates will describe a structured process, like reviewing documentation, identifying dependencies, scoping out phases, and checking in at milestones. 

It’s a good window into how they plan and collaborate and eliminates developers relying on so-called vibe coding—that is, making things work without understanding why they work (usually with the help of AI).

Red flag: Watch for candidates who either skip this step entirely or give vague, overly general responses. If they can’t explain their approach clearly, it may indicate they rely too much on direction from others and struggle with independent planning.

“What do you do when you’re stuck on a technical problem for more than an hour?”

This tests persistence, resourcefulness, and how well they balance autonomy with collaboration. Look for developers who start by debugging systematically, search for relevant documentation, and only escalate after exhausting reasonable paths. 

Red flag: Avoid candidates who immediately escalate or give up. Another red flag is those who try to power through without asking for input when needed.

“What’s something new you’ve taught yourself recently, and how did you go about it?”

This reveals curiosity and self-direction, which are essential in a field where tech evolves constantly. Great answers show not just what they learned but how. This can be through documentation, tutorials, side projects, or contributing to open source. You want someone who takes initiative, not someone who waits for formal training.

Red flag: If a candidate struggles to name anything they’ve learned recently or defaults to vague, surface-level answers, it may signal a lack of motivation or initiative

“If a product manager asked for a feature you didn’t agree with technically, how would you handle it?”

This question shows how well they handle trade-offs, communication, and alignment with business goals. The strongest candidates will explain how they’d raise concerns constructively, suggest alternatives, and work toward a shared solution without blocking progress. 

Red flag: Be cautious with answers that focus too heavily on defending their technical opinion at the expense of collaboration.

1. Requiring a college degree as a baseline

Plenty of excellent developers never finished (or even started) a formal computer science program. In regions like Latin America, it’s common for developers to enter the workforce before completing a degree.

Instead, many build up years of hands-on experience while studying part-time or through bootcamps.

By requiring a degree, you might filter out some of the most capable candidates. Focus on real skills, past projects, and the ability to learn, qualities that matter most in day-to-day work.

2. Focusing too narrowly on specific tools or frameworks

Tech stacks change fast. A developer who hasn’t used your exact toolset but has worked on similar systems can often get up to speed quickly. This is because they already understand core concepts and architectural patterns.

If your hiring process filters for an exact match on tools, you’ll shrink your pool unnecessarily.

Ask yourself: Are you hiring someone to follow instructions or solve problems? Focus on the latter.

3. Skipping practical assessments

Portfolios and resumes tell part of the story. Without a real-world task, you won’t see how a developer actually works. Practical assessments don’t need to be complex. A short coding challenge or small system design prompt is often enough to assess technical ability and decision-making.

Skipping this step means you’re taking their word for it. In a high-stakes technical hire, that’s risky.

4. Overloading your process and losing good candidates to delays

Top developers often have multiple offers. A slow, unclear, or overly complicated hiring process can cost you great talent, especially if you require multiple rounds of interviews, long take-home projects, or vague timelines.

Be clear upfront about your process, and move fast when you find someone strong. If you wait too long, someone else won’t.

5. Cutting costs at the expense of quality

Hiring internationally can lower hiring costs. However, trying to get the lowest possible rate often means sacrificing experience, reliability, and long-term performance. 

There’s a lot that goes into what you pay a developer for, including clear communication, deep problem-solving, and the ability to work autonomously. When you prioritize cost over quality, you risk losing those essential skills along with the savings.

As we explain in our breakdown of offshore developer rates, the lowest price doesn’t always translate to the best value.