Remote hiring is the main trend in software development today. Because of the COVID pandemic, its popularity really skyrocketed, and now the majority of skilled IT professionals prefer to work remotely. For employers there are also numerous advantages, so you will need to learn how to find remote software engineers the sooner the better.

Start of the hiring process

Before you start searching for tech talent, you will need to think about hiring destinations. With remote working, you can be free from the limitations of your local talent pool and look at some popular regions with a great number of skilled software developers. In Eastern Europe, South Asia and Latin America you can find real experts in their field for two-three times less money than in North America and Western Europe. It is possible due to differences in currency exchange rates and lower costs of living in those countries. Also, compose a list of soft skills to look for, for remote workers they are even more important.

Job boards

A good place to start is online job boards, both global and local in the country you chose to hire from. There you can scroll through the CVs of hundreds of IT professionals and post your own job description. It is one of the most conventional methods, but it still proves to be pretty useful.

Online communities

Most of the programming languages, tools, and frameworks have active online communities around them. On sites like GitHub, StackOverflow, or Reddit, you can find threads with software engineers looking for employment, or find top talent on your own and reach out. There you can also look at examples of code and even previous projects of potential candidates.

Social media, like Twitter or Facebook, are also useful tools for recruiting. With this hiring option, you can also be sure that a potential development team member is an active member of the community and up to date with the newest updates and trends.

Freelance

Freelance is a good way to save some money on a salary budget, but we recommend giving to developers you found this way only small portions of code, at least at first. Freelancers may end up being inexperienced, unqualified, or simply disappear, risking your whole development process. But don’t neglect this method, broadening your search is never a bad thing. Who knows, despite many concerns regarding this hiring option, you can get lucky and find some reliable IT professionals for long and fruitful cooperation.

Referral network

One of the best ways to hire remote developers is by asking tech talent already on your payroll to recommend someone they know for an open position. Using this approach you will end up with top-notch IT specialists because your employees will only recommend someone they are 100 percent sure about. Of course, they may be reluctant to risk and refer you to their acquaintances, but this can be solved with a little cash bonus for a successful hire.

Conferences and meetups

There are numerous offline and online professional conferences and meetups all over the world, where business owners and potential employees can meet and exchange contacts. Even if people you meet are not looking for work right now. Building a network and sourcing possible candidates is always a good thing. This method may seem old-fashioned, but it is still going strong for a good reason.

Outsourcing vendors

Now let’s talk about situations when you are unable to find and hire remote software developers on your own. If you are looking for IT professionals from abroad, you can search online for numerous outsourcing vendors. Their employees will provide you with dozens of viable candidates, already pre-screened and ready to work. Also, with this option you can delegate most of the development process to the outsourcing company’s specialists, they will communicate with software engineers, control the whole process, help you navigate the details of foreign tax and labor laws, and many more services for an additional fee.

Professional recruiters

You can hire IT recruiters to help you, who have already probably sourced and even pre-screened some candidates suitable for your project needs. If you don’t have an HR department, and you can’t manage on your own, hiring a recruiter is a really good choice, but be ready to pay some extra for their services.

Staffing agencies

IT staffing agencies are almost identical to recruiters. Such companies help to match software developers with potential employees. You can hire a staffing service from your country, or search for one in the hiring destination of your choosing. The big advantage of this method is the extensive database of IT talent for projects of any size and budget.

Dedicated teams

If you don’t have any IT professionals on your payroll, assembling a remote development team from scratch can be a real headache. Of course, to fill some positions or temporarily augment the team, your own resources and recruiters’ services will manage. But in other cases, it is easier to hire an already existing team. You can do so through different channels: outsourcing companies, sites for freelancers, IT vendors, or agencies that are specializing in this hiring option only. If you are not looking for hiring developers full-time for many years, it may make more sense to hire a dedicated team as a contractor.