Over the last few years, it has become incredibly difficult to hire developers, more so React.js developers and even more so if you are in the US, UK, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark.
The way in which we hire is changing and there is now a huge focus on candidates who fit in with the company culture, and not just their skills and experience. Before delving into how to hire a React.js developer, we are going to take a look at why it is getting more difficult to hire JavaScript developers.
Why is it so difficult to hire JavaScript developers at the moment?
- It’s popularity
To name a few, React, React Native, Node.js, and Electron are being used by companies all over the world, whether they are startups or well-established companies. The BBC, PayPal, eBay, Yahoo, and Uber are some examples.
Desktop apps are typically built with Electron, mobile apps with React Native and backend with Node.js. and here is why:
- Usability of the apps
- One codebase for all, React native can be used for iOS and Android with very little difference
- Full-stack developers are able to work with a number of JavaScript programming languages, which means you can hire one person that can work with all systems.
- The speed of JavaScript’s growth
The statistics on Stackoverflow and Github show that on a whole, JavaScript repositories have had the fastest growth over the last two years. Reddit also shows a lot of buzz around JS, React, React Native, and Node.js.
JS related frameworks are still relatively young, so there hasn’t been sufficient time to developer enough specialists or people who can handle production-ready apps on a large scale.
- It is complicated hiring great developers
While we are continuously increasing the requirements for candidates, candidates are also increasing theirs. Having experience now is not enough. As many companies have learned, hiring the most skilled person doesn’t equate to a successful hire when they don’t fit in with the company’s culture.
It’s now a popular belief that is your hiring rate is over 50%, you are successful in your recruitment.
Which React Developers should you consider?
When looking for a developer you can follow Jonathan Siegal’s format. He has bought 29 companies and sold many of them on. He mostly focuses on tech companies.
He believes that hiring the best talent and skill is usually good for a short period of time. They come in, fix a problem, and move on. They lack the ability to work well within your team and therefore, not suitable for long-term work.
The best hires are those who have skill and potential. They are fast learners and high performers. They don’t have as much experience as others but that’s fine because they will learn quickly.
How to find skilled React Developers
You can use a “Hiring Funnel” which starts with the recruiter and as the candidates are filtered out, the HR or managers take over the final steps.
- Candidates are screened- ads, marketing, social media, checking experience and the person’s passion for IT
- Test task- small task or app to do, a 1-2 hour test shows if they are dedicated to getting the job and if they can find solutions
- Technical test- multiple choice general JavaScript quiz
- Interview- assessing team and culture fit, soft skills and technical skills
- Decision-hired or not with feedback
Some necessary tools to help you find the right React Developer
Tools are here to help us but they can’t complete the whole process.
In Conclusion
The recruitment process can be difficult but also very rewarding and with a little assistance for your recruiters, you can build your in-house React development team. Nevertheless, many are choosing to outsource their project especially if:
- They have a tight deadline, or they are don’t have enough developers right now
- They want the developers for a short period of time
- You aren’t confident hiring developers.
There are options for all, so even though this is a difficult task, don’t let that put you off.
