To dig deeper into this issue, stay connected and read ahead. 

In this blog, we will provide you with an in-depth idea about how to find the right and talented Full-Stack Developer for your project. Apart from that, we will also highlight the qualities of the Full-Stack Developer that you should look out in one. All these points will help you in making decisions about whom to hire as a Full-Stack Developer for your project.

But first, let us learn who is a Full-Stack Developer and what responsibilities they can fulfil.

Source: Unsplash Website

Who is a Full-Stack Developer?

A Full-Stack Developer is a proficient who can develop the front-end and back-end of the projects simultaneously. Hence, they have the skills of working over multiple technologies and tools. 

Full-Stack Developers are experts in more than two programming languages, and can effortlessly work over databases and user interfaces. 

Becoming a Full-Stack Developer is a tough challenge to beat in meeting the client’s requirements and the company. As a result, the demand for such highly-skilled professionals is rising rapidly. 

Apart from that, a highly-skilled Full-Stack Developer can efficiently perform the following responsibilities along with managing multiple projects and coordinating with the clients at frequent intervals.

• Can write Back-end codes in Python, Php, or Ruby.
• Can write Front-end codes as well in HTML or JavaScript.
• Can instantly Analyze and Debug database queries.
• Can create Test Codes for application validation.
• Can handle Web Apps and UI performances.
• Can perform Testing and Resolving Web Application Bugs. 

All these skills don’t mean that a Full-Stack Developer is an expert in everything. They only possess a general working knowledge over a variety of technologies.

Interestingly, no two Full-Stack Developers are the same. Their knowledge always varies from each other in two ways. First is their knowledge related to any specific technology stack, and second, is if do they master any particular technology considering that some renowned web stacks are LAMP, MEAN, ROR, MEARN, and ASP.NET technologies.

Some Full-Stack Developers might be more experienced in Front-end development work, whereas others might be more proficient in working with Back-end development tasks. As a recruiter, you need to be aware of this fact and be clear about your requirements. This will help you in recruiting the right candidate. So, don’t get disheartened by differences in proficiency. Most talented Full-Stack Developers used to improve their skills and learn new technologies continuously with time.

Source: RawPixel Website

10 Things To Consider While Hiring Full-Stack Developers

When hiring Full-Stack Developers, make sure to analyze and verify their skills and experiences. It is a very responsible task for a company to carry-out and find a valuable developer who can work effectively on the different phases of project development. 

Therefore, it seems essential to look over 10 major things while performing the procedure of hiring Full-Stack Developers. These points are as follows.

1. When Requiring a Technical Head

A Full-Stack Developer can very well fill the shoes of the technical head in the projects. It is achievable for them because they have a comprehensive knowledge of the project requirements and can play a vital role in efficiently fulfilling all the needs. 

An experienced Full-Stack Developer is very much capable of making the appropriate decisions in time. These decisions prove to be effective in the success of the project and achieving the targets in-time. A Full-Stack Developer, while playing the role of a technical head, can also handle software related issues through different paths.

Therefore, while hiring Full-Stack Developers, make sure they can work effortlessly on different platforms, and have the ability to handle a team as well. The technical head needs to be a great team player and can assist with other programming tasks. Also, make sure that they are able to work on demand for the diverse projects while handling the client’s queries along with the project development.

2. When the Budget is Low

Consider hiring Full-Stack Developers when the budget of the project is low. On a low budget project, you can not afford the specialized developers. So, to save money and carry-out work effectively, hiring Full-Stack Developers will be an intelligent and budget-friendly call. 

A Full-Stack Developer can manage multiple tasks at a time while keeping an eye on the project’s progress to meet the deadline. A good Full-Stack Developer can understand the value of user attention as well as user retention. Therefore, they always maintain the pace of project development and avoid the miscommunication between the client and the company.

Hiring Full-Stack Developers in low budget projects is always preferred. But make sure to hire an experienced candidate and learn about their expertise as well. The technical expertise will help you to decide that the candidate would be apt for your project or not. Also, the developer had to meet the technical specification of the client’s project. So, it is very important to learn about the skills to work-out in the minimum budget too. 

3. Can Deal with End-to-End Application Development

While hiring Full-Stack Developers, make sure they can efficiently work on everything at some point or the other. In a team, the Specialized Developers usually perform work over specific parts of the application like database handling or working on UI/UX of the application or website. On the other hand, the Full-Stack Developers work over everything when the requirement arises. 

The Full-Stack Developer handles everything in a way or other, ranging from application designing at a high level to understand the data flow from the UI to the back-end. They can work smoothly on things like Data Flow (i.e., Database Design Flow) or System Design. All these works are considered as the most important aspect of any application.

A Full-Stack Developer might not be dedicatedly working on any of the tasks involved in the website or application development. So when hiring Full-Stack Developers, make sure they are aware of all such things to work upon. These are the people who come in handy to help each and every team member involved in the project development at some point.   

4. Can work with APIs

APIs are protocols and tools used for building software. It defines how the software components should interact. Overall, it is used to develop the GUI (Graphical User Interface) component in the project. The APIs send a request and get some data in return, or any action is performed as a result.

There are many reputed companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others that have created a massive number of APIs. These APIs make jobs more comfortable and can handle numerous operations at a time. The increasing demand and changing trend have created the demand of developers to create a variety of APIs. To fulfil such requirements, the companies are hiring Full-Stack Developers, who are mostly experts in API development. 

The Full-Stack Developers are not only assigned the responsibility of developing an API but also have to integrate it with the project. In contrast to this, many times, they don’t have to create complete APIs. They have to debug the errors and make the error-free quality API while making sure that things are working properly and are meeting the demands of the client. 

5. Can perform Debugging and Testing Accurately

In project development, the developers usually spend a tremendous amount of time in debugging and testing the codes. It is a very tiring and time taking process to achieve accuracy and perfection in the project. Developers spend about 70% of their time in performing the Debugging and Testing phase. 

The extensive debugging and testing of codes are required to check how the code is handling different conditions. While performing both the activities, make sure to check all the possible conditions and return the required result. In developing any project, Testing is basically a second step to perform. Along with that, Debugging is required, i.e., need to remove the error or bug which arises while performing the testing phase. The better the testing and debugging of the project, the more robust your project will be. Therefore, while hiring Full-Stack Developers, make sure to perform a deep analysis over their previous work. Always look for how efficient they are in performing different activities at a project. Overall, a Full-Stack Developer must be a complete package who can guide at every step and usually an expert in only a few tasks.

6. Aware of the Version Control System (VCS)

Version Control Systems is a software tool that helps the software developers to perform changes in the source code over a period of time. Basically, this keeps track of every small or big modification to the code under a special kind of database. It will help with undoing the actions if anything goes wrong or if a mistake has been done. 

The Version Control System tool allows developers to move their codes from one environment to another at any time they like. Some of the renowned VCS tools used in different projects by the developers are SVN, TFS, and GIT. These tools give you a free-hand to move your code if you are having a centralized system. The Version Control System makes it easier for developers to collaborate with the centralized system. 

The Full-Stack Developers need to make themselves updated with the basic commands and terminologies to understand the working over this tool. If you are a company working over a centralized system, then while hiring Full-Stack Developers, make sure they are aware of working over VCS. When the client’s demand may arise at any time, then they had to use this tool to make changes in the codes of existing projects. 

7. Ability to Write Quality Code Considering all the Possible Cases

Yes, it is very crucial not only for the coder but also for the company and the product. Suppose you received a demand from the client to implement a feature in the on-going project. Being a developer, you implemented it right away without considering the external dependencies or its consequences. 

As a result, after some time, you will again get a call from the client and saying your implemented feature coding that couldn’t handle 1 Million records. It might be possible that you have to work over instantly and leave the present task on-hold. Therefore, it is very important to give a little time to analyze it and figure out the end-to-end requirement before starting the coding part straight away. 

An intelligent Full-Stack Developer needs to consider first all the features which could get affected with the addition of new implementation. Make sure to produce the scalable and robust code at the end. This could only be done by optimizing the codes and taking efforts to make the code as clean as possible. 

So, being a company when you are looking for hiring Full-Stack Developers, then do test their coding skills. Analyze their coding style like it is easy to understand for others; the appropriate comments are added wherever it is necessary.  

8. Can fulfill Clients Requirements Appropriately

In a Specialized Developers team, the Business Analyst or the product owner explains the requirement to the developers. Then, the specialized developer designs the solution for the defined problem while considering all the feasible conditions. So, it becomes easy for a specialized team to get accurate results.

Whereas, all these procedures are not possible for Full-Stack Developers. They had to analyze and research the clients’ demands on their own. Then, they had to design the solution for the definite problem. In this single-handed procedure, there are chances of failure too, and not getting the required results. But, an experienced Full-Stack Developer is an expert in handling all these things on their own and fulfilling the client’s demand.

The Full-Stack Developers are also experts in handling the changing requirements. While hiring Full-Stack Developers, all these issues can be resolved and can effortlessly handle with a team of developers. But make sure to hire an intelligent and experienced developer who can shuffle between tasks quickly.

9. Can Keep Calm and Manage Multiple Tasks

Full-Stack Developers, one of their major skills, is problem-solving. But, many times, it happens that the developer gets stuck while working over a task. So, while looking for different approaches to solve the issue, the strict time limitation makes it difficult for the developer to complete the task with ease.

Along with that, the demand also arises to look over different tasks too, and each has their time constraints. This makes the situation intense and difficult for the developer to perform the assigned task and finish it in time. Therefore, in such a condition, the Full-Stack Developer needs to keep calm and maintain composure along with managing multiple tasks simultaneously.

An intelligent Full-Stack Developer also seeks some help, so never be hesitant when asking for help or have a discussion over the problems when you are stuck. Because whenever you might be stuck over the problem, someone can solve the same problem in 5 minutes only. So, look out for help and it is not a thing you feel about it. Being stuck over a problem is common because you might be overdoing things or tired of days working. So, without taking any burden, look for help to get rid of the issue and take the project ahead.

For the companies, while hiring Full-Stack Developers, do ask them about how they maintain their composure while performing multiple tasks at a time and at a tight schedule.  

10. A Quick Learner

Last and definitely not the least. A Full-Stack Developer who possesses multiple technological skills should be a quick learner too. As a matter of fact, a company doesn’t always work over a few specific technologies. With the changing time and evolving technologies, the client’s requirements also evolve, so companies have to shift their work as well.

Hence, it also becomes important for a Full-Stack Developer to shift their working skills and learnings as per the market demands. So, companies should also look over how effective the candidate is in technologies while hiring Full-Stack Developers. This includes how quickly they can shift their technology or can learn new technology in a period of time to fulfill the client’s demands. 

Other Important Points to be Considered While Hiring Full-Stack Developers

1. Good Communication Skills.

2. Flexible enough to work in different cultures (like language, country, industry, etc.).

3. A good team player and not a cause for any unnecessary cultural tensions.

4. Ability to deal with uncertainty.

5. Ask about their past experiences and project handling approach in different scenarios.

6. Ask them to submit some previous source code as a sample. It can be a side project or an open-source project contribution.

Contact Us

If you are looking for experienced and highly-skilled Full-Stack Developers to develop or transform your business, then EngineerBabu is an excellent destination for you. You can get your queries sorted and fasten your process of hiring Full-Stack Developers at a very affordable price. Experience the high-quality services you need with us. Feel free to contact us and take your business idea into reality.

The post 10 Things To Consider While Hiring Full Stack Developer appeared first on EngineerBabu Blog.

Hiring a full-stack engineer is a game of skills. In today’s IT era, the more skills you have in your stack, the more you are likely to be chosen for big projects. Hiring a full-stack engineer for even smaller projects seems logical in a way to cover all the targets with 1 or 2 full-stack developers. A full-stack developer is a programmer who has the expertise of both ends to offer smooth user experience and this is the reason they are in great demand today and hiring a full-stack engineer is the big trend in the It industry right now.

A full-stack engineer understands the business requirements behind a feature and then takes “full responsibility” on the application. Though hiring a full-stack engineer is not that easy and there are a number of things to be considered before getting a one onboard. Today, hiring a full-stack engineer is of paramount importance because business owners want to get off their technical burden so that they can focus on thriving the business. This is when the true value of the full stack arises.

Before looking at the expert recommendations of hiring a full-stack engineer, let’s take a brief account of What is a full stack developer. In layman’s terms, a full stack web developer is a coder who can work with both front-end and back-end technologies. A full-stack software engineer builds a site or any web application completely by applying techniques and business logic. A full-stack developer gives an overall infrastructure to the software. If you are hiring a full-stack engineer, this is a basic construct that you have to know. A full-stack developer is the one who apprehends the whole full-stack web development process and can weigh in on any stage or tier. As a side note, this kind of full-stack web developer could be very useful to startups.

“You are a computer. If you become front-end you’ll count the likes on social media. If you become back-end you’ll be breathing deep on a mountain. Listen! one life man. Become a Full-stack.”

― Chetan M. Kumbhar

Let us get you through what a full-stack engineer entails and what are the recommendations when you are hiring a full-stack engineer for your next emerging project/application.

1. Good with Git

Git is considered as one of the supreme version control systems which a full-stack engineer has to be good with. While hiring full-stack engineers, it is important to check whether they know how to work with Git and have their profile on Github or not. It is a must-have for all full-stack developers working independently or even in a team to have their profile on Github and the complete knowledge of Git which is an open-source web-based repository hosting service that aids effective management of the changes made to applications, websites, codes, documents, and other information relating to application development.

Recommended Reading: When and Why does your Business needs to Hire Full Stack Developers

Proficiency with GIT allows programmers to keep track of every minor change made to the application codebase. A full-stack developer who uses a version control software discovers a new universe of security, productivity, and organization. Experts recommend checking whether one is good with Git or not before hiring a full-stack engineer. If not, then he is not the one. If he knows how it works, then he would be able to cooperate with other software developers, web developers, and programmers working on the same project successfully.

2. Technical Head

Full-stack developers work in both backend and frontend so being a technical ‘head’ is a must to head the technical part of the project. They should have a comprehensive understanding of the project requirements and cater to the needs more efficiently. For building web applications, one needs to store the data somewhere that can be accessed later. Otherwise, none of it makes sense. For this, you must hire a full stack developer who understands the benefits of memory storage, relational databases.

Full-stack developers need to be capable of making the right decisions, which proves to be effective for the project’s success. Full-stack developers should be proficient to beat the database management with the capability to create, understand, and manipulate the database query.

Recommended Reading: Top 10 Freelance Full Stack Engineers around the World

One more thing that differentiates a good full-stack engineer from others is the skill to differentiate between non-relational and relational database along with the syntax knowledge of XML/ JSON. They often play the role of a captain of the ship who is anchoring the software ship through different paths.

3. Computer Polyglot

A full-stack developer is the one who performs brilliantly, both on the back end and the front-end. And therefore, it is mandatory for a full stack developer to be well-versed in all the computer languages. The developer must know JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, and should be expert in any of the back-end development languages. It is important today to have a command over JavaScript because it is one of the most popular object-oriented scripting languages on the Internet today which is widely used for a scripting language to add behaviors using HTML.

Language is something that grows with time. The same is with computer languages too. In JavaScript too, there are new and better libraries, frameworks, and tools that you have to know. It is the only language that runs natively in the browser, and can also be used on the server-side (i.e., along with Node.js). The Full Stack developer needs to have very in-depth knowledge about the JavaScript framework and its features, such as Angular or React. Since it offers exquisite features such as functions, prototype, higher-order event delegation, and closure to make web pages responsive. Hence, full-stack software engineers should be comfortable with the required technologies which lay the foundation of the web development project.

4. Lender of last resort

Like a central bank that lends money to banks or countries in difficult financial periods when they cannot borrow from anywhere else, Full stack developers provide full-stack web development to clients or companies when they are in technical needs. They are like a solution-finder to any possible situation, the one who can manage and direct smaller teams.

Experts recommend that while Developing an MVP or Commencing a Project, It is good to start with an individual full-stack developer who can begin from scratch and work with all the application components to create excellent web apps. To develop a Minimum Viable Product(MVP), you can easily bet on good full-stack engineers to turn your idea into a fully functional prototype.

One of the many advantages of hiring a full-stack engineer is that they can literally save a lot of your money when the budget is going right. Yes, when you have a tight budget in hand and cannot afford the services of a specialized developer for different roles like frontend and backend, full-stack developers come to your rescue. A full-stack engineer is Worth the cost of at least two developers (1 front-end, 1 back-end dev). You don’t have to pay separately to each front-end and back-end developer, instead of hiring a full-stack developer will suffice your requirements.

5. Web Architect

One important skill to be considered while hiring a full-stack engineer is his ability to see the ‘Big Picture’ because it is not just about seeing how each brick fits into a wall but how that wall supports other parts of the building. A full-stack engineer builds software with the strong walls of code. Like it is a bonus when a civil engineer is also an architect, similarly, a full-stack engineer who also is a web architect is a man to count upon endless IT solutions.

As said before the full-stack developer handles both the sides; the client and the server along with UI design etc. Therefore, he must possess knowledge of HTML, CMS, and JavaScript. For the Front-end, he must be well acquainted with JavaScript frameworks like Angular, React, or Vue.js. or tools such as Grunt, Gulp, and Bower. He needs to get updated on JavaScript libraries like jQuery or Backbone.js. The knowledge of AJAX and front-end CSS frameworks like Foundation or Bootstrap would certainly be an added advantage.

Therefore, the full-stack developer that you look to lead your project technically, must have adequate knowledge and understanding of the business needs besides the technical terms.

6. Jack of all trades, master of one

A full-stack developer is someone who can specialize in developing and maintaining the various aspects of web development that include the client-side, the server-side, and the Dev-Ops as well. As a client, you also need to take care of hiring a full-stack engineer who is competent enough to handle the big picture of the scenario and well-versed in all the three activities.

Recommended Reading: Top 10 Websites to Hire Freelance Full Stack Developers

A full-stack developer needs to have a grasp on a few major technologies. He or she should be well versed in a single language but should know other languages too. However, at the same time, it is important to note that all full-stack developers are not sailing on the same boat. They possess basic knowledge of the stack and specialize in a particular domain of the stack. We can cite the examples of MEAN, LAMP, ROR, and ASP.NET technologies.

Hence, a full stack web developer is a jack of all trades and master of one. A good full stack developer knows everything about full-stack web development to the database to the user interface to user experience. He or she possesses expert command over both back end and front-end languages and technologies.

7. Experienced Player

If you think that the one who is proficient with the above mentioned 6 skills is the Full Stack developer you should hire then you are mistaken. As a client, you must go through the portfolio of a full-stack developer and access his previous works and projects to see his potential. You also need to keep in mind that the full-stack developer you hire is not only talented in creating visually appealing app designs but they should be functional too and run optimally fast. So while hiring a full-stack engineer, go for a serious candidate who has diverse experience on the resume and a portfolio site of his own.

In the end, experience matters, it is all about creating a good product and hiring someone who has worked on relevant projects. Look for someone who has worked on large scale projects with good experience in the industry. An experienced developer must have a good portfolio of previous projects, before hiring, ask him to show the work samples or the website links so that you will have an idea about his skills. It does not mean eliminating inexperienced developers, they are starting in the industry and willing to learn more on the job so you should give them a chance on smaller projects if they have all the other skills. Hiring a productive full stack developer might be a tiring job and it would certainly take some time but remember, in the end, it would be worth it.

“It’s better to wait for a productive programmer to become available than it is to wait for the first available programmer to become productive.”

– Steve McConnell

The more complicated projects, the more skilled full-stack developers you need. Often, new tech projects require more of an investigator and solution-finder kind of developers, rather than of direct action. Recruitment managers know that hiring a good full stack developer could be a challenge. To overcome this challenge, you can hire full-stack developers from EngineerBabu directly. Hiring a Full-Stack Engineer from EngineerBabu ensures that the developer is an expert as well as experienced in delivering world-class products.

The post 7 Expert Recommendations when Hiring a Full Stack Engineer appeared first on EngineerBabu Blog.