Five key characteristics of successful developers

Simplestream’s wealth of features and products requires an impressive development team to support and expand our customer offering. In order to keep on the cutting edge of technology, we are always looking for talented developers to grow our teams. This naturally puts us in the unique position of having a great deal of experience to share on what to look for when hiring new talent. 

In this blog post, we tried to identify the five key characteristics we are looking for in developers, and how best to ascertain a prospective talent’s strengths and weaknesses. Read on.‍

#1. Expertise‍

Judging expertise is a hotly debated problem in the hiring world. However, when it comes to developers, there are some key methods for assessing skills. There are the coding challenges, to start with, wherein a candidate is asked to either directly provide some code, or just talk through how they would go about solving a given problem. This is a somewhat maligned method, though, so it is important for the hiring manager to be aware that a potential candidate deserves to be  treated with respect for their time and skills in such a test environment.

On the other hand, a more obvious method consists in assessing a developer's past projects, similarly to what you would do with an artist's portfolio. The idea is to ‘review’ the portfolio of the developer, and get a good idea of their expertise even before the introductory meeting.

#2. Experience‍

It is essential that you consider your own position as a company before making a determination on the role itself. For instance, does the company have the ability to train developers in areas they may not have experience in? If you do, then it may be worthwhile to hire a more junior professional, someone you can invest in, and mold into the role. However, if you’re looking to expand your team with an individual who’s able to begin contributing from day one, then you need to be looking for a more senior profile.

How can you assess experience, then? In an ideal world, you can hire a developer who’s done the exact same job as you’re looking for in your company. This is obviously an uncommon scenario, especially when working on the bleeding edge of tech. You should instead look for related skills which can transfer into the new role.

#3. Self-sufficiency‍

It is essential for any prospective developer to be self-driven, able to forge their own way through obstacles and to foresee said potential obstacles. The sprint processes require individuals to be responsive to feedback and changes. Having developers who are able to react without waiting for instruction is integral to a highly productive development team.

#4. Collaboration‍

No development occurs in isolation. A good developer is one who works well with others. This doesn’t just mean a good personality but also well-commented code that conforms with the standards of the rest of the code-base. This means that other developers will be able to read their code easily, an important thing to consider for expanding teams or in the event of someone  leaving the company.

Bear in mind, this is not to undersell the importance of a good personality. Development is a team effort, with a number of different skills in different aspects of tech all coming together to make a cohesive product. This requires a great deal of interpersonal skills in order to create relationships which ensure smooth communication, both when providing explanations and when receiving feedback.

#5. Blend‍

Ultimately, all you need is an expert, experienced, self-sufficient, team player. Easy! The reality might be something else. A developer will only ever have a certain blend of these characteristics. You must instead consider these skills as a whole. During the hiring process you may have a number of prospective developers who may excel in one field only, to disappoint in another. Instead, you may look to hire a developer capable but not excelling in each of these characteristics rather than a developer who has a lot of experience but is not self-driven.‍