5 top tips when hiring freelance programmer in 2020

In the recent few years, freelance culture has gained popularity. There are several reasons for this from both employer and employee side. For example, freelancers get the flexibility to work on their own terms and do not need to worry about their qualifications as freelancing works on a talent basis.

On the other hand, employers can avoid high and fixed costs of permanent employees, as freelancers work at moderate rates. The most benefitted domain from freelancing is startups because they can quickly get their work done without employee commitment. However, hiring freelancers can be a task in itself. If you are looking to hire freelance programmers, we have brought here a simple guide to help you out. 

Tip 1: Know What You Need to Look For

Programming is a diverse field, and you can find talent for every skill. The first thing to take care of, while hiring freelance programmers, is what skills you want in your freelancers. For example, if you want a website for your company, then you will have to look for talents that are good in web development and related skills. The same goes for all other domains. 

If you do not know much about programming and are clueless about what skills to look for, then there are two options.

• Ask the Experts: There must be people who have already acquired what you are looking for. By taking their recommendations, you can find the most suitable talent for your work. 
• Do Not Exaggerate: Leave the work to people who know about the domain. Do not put in information or requirements that you do not know about. 

Tip 2: Look for Recommendations

Once you know what you want, the next step is to look for it. Your best freelance destination is recommendations from your group of friends, family, or professionals. Ask them if they know any excellent freelancer that would fit in your requirements. The benefit of this method is that it reduces the risk of hiring an unknown programmer. As your trusted source would be recommending the talent, your efforts will be diminished, and you can trust the person more with their work. 

Tip 3: Test Before Hiring

If you cannot find any recommendations, the next step is to start looking for freelancers online. But as said in the previous step, hiring a random freelance programmer can be risky as you are not sure about their work. Platforms like DevsData can be used to find the required freelancers. However, to be certain about their skills and capabilities, you can create an assignment that they need to complete to get hired. The test assignment should be short but should cover all crucial aspects that you need to look for in a programmer. A few things you can incorporate into it are:

• Simple questions related to the kind of work you need them to do. 
• Time limit to check whether they can work on time or not. 
• Hours of the day for which you need them to be available for you. 
• Proper tools for any sort of task you need them to do in the future. 

By keeping all these points in mind, you can find the most suitable freelance programmer. 

Tip 4: Shortlisting for Assignment

Your work would become more convenient after creating a test assignment. However, if you provide every other freelancer with the task, it will make things complicated for you. Plus, it will take you more time to check the completes tests and then consider a talent. To avoid all this hassle, you should first shortlist people and then send them the assignments to complete. 

This shortlisting can be based on factors like their reviews, a short conversation, skill set, etc. Through these, you can pick the most suitable freelancers and then ask them to complete the assignment. 

Tip 5: Evaluate and Negotiate

Freelancers provide you with an amount that they will charge for an hour/day working with you. Usually, freelancers charge high for short-term work and keep their rates moderate for employers who have steady tasks. You can offer them regular work if you want lower rates. Or you can check their working capabilities with a short-term job and then provide them more steady and long-term tasks. If you feel like the price they are charging is high, you can negotiate with them to reach a moderate amount. 

With these five tips, you can get the best talent for your freelance work, at the best possible rates. However, you should remember to respect the freelancers, just like your permanent employees, and take care of them whenever necessary. Only then can you grow with their valuable work. 

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