How to Hire JavaScript Programmers: Tips to Help You Find the Ideal Specialists for Your Project

Key takeaways

• Does the JavaScript developer recruiting process seem extremely daunting to you? Check out our step-by-step guide to learn all the necessary tips on how to make it hassle-free. 
• What are the ways to hire JS software developers, and how to choose one which will suit you most? Learn more about the nuances of hiring freelance, in-house, and outsourced specialists.
• There are numerous factors that influence the cost of a JS programmer. Find out how to hire such a developer, balancing between quality and price. 
• Is Aimprosoft the right place to hire JavaScript coders from? Consider the compelling arguments we provide to ensure that by partnering with us, you obtain not only access to a top-notch talent pool but also solid expertise in software development acquired in the course of 17 years. 

Due to the versatility of JavaScript programming language, the process of hiring a skilled developer can be a tiresome and challenging journey. Without a clear understanding of which type of JS specialist you require and which set of skills should such a person possess, their recruitment will be similar to finding the way through a dense forest without GPS. This article will let you figure out the necessary steps to recruit the right JS specialists, provide tips on what to pay attention to in the course of the interview, and help you find a short path to hire javascript developers that will fit your project perfectly.

Why is JavaScript so popular among businesses and the dev community?

JavaScript has been holding firm positions in the market, both among developers and businesses. Helping companies build robust and scalable solutions, JS quickly became one of the most favorable tools for the development of a wide range of solutions, including web applications, the server-side infrastructure of products, cross-platform apps, browser games, software for IoT devices, and many others. 

If we look at the benefits of this tool, no doubt, businesses opt for JS and related technologies to build their solutions. To name a few:

• Simple
• Versatile
• Enables rapid development
• Rich ecosystem
• Can be used for full-stack development
• Platform-independent
• Highly compatible
• Large talent pool
• Vast developer community

The beneficial aspects of JS that are mentioned above are just several bright examples among many others. The companies that have embraced the power of this technology are PayPal, Capital One, Citibank, Uber, Trello, NASA, and many others.

Favored not only by businesses but also by developers, JS has managed to win the status of the most-used programming language, according to the Github 2021 Octoverse report. Another compelling argument that JS and related technologies are highly praised by the dev community can be viewed in the image below. Thus, according to the Stack Overflow 2021 Developer Survey, JS frameworks have strengthened their leading positions among the most commonly used front-end technologies.

As you can see, thanks to its nature and indisputable capabilities, JS and its technologies are highly demanded among a wide range of companies, from startups to well-known tech giants, which makes JavaScript specialists so popular in terms of hiring. However, the variety of JS web developers’ roles, skill sets, ways of employment, range of salaries, and other nuances, makes it rather challenging for businesses to hire JS developers that will be a perfect fit for their projects. Continue reading, and you will learn tips on how to find a javascript programmer and not fail.

6 steps to hire a JavaScript programmer

The hiring process of any development team member requires technical background, an understanding of the specialist’s role and responsibilities, and strict following of certain procedures. The image below illustrates those steps that you will have to go through to find JavaScript developers capable of completing your project. Each section of the article will reveal the nuances of all six steps and answer the questions that may bother you. Examine each step in detail by continuing reading.

Undoubtedly, the list of steps above is not the only possible scenario that can occur when you need to hire a js engineer. Certain factors, such as the type of employment model, the choice of the engagement model with the vendor, the approach towards interviewing, etc., may affect the way the entire process goes. We offer to explore the most common way of its completion.

Types of JS developers and their responsibilities

Due to the versatile nature of JS technology, there are three types of JavaScript specialists that you can consider hiring for the development of your product, namely, front-end, back-end, and full-stack programmers. Let’s examine each type in detail and figure out in which case you need to look for javascript developers for hire. The section also includes an overview of the responsibilities peculiar to each type of such specialists.

• Responsibilities of a front-end JS developer

Junior: develop the client side of the product, be able to work under the supervision of an experienced specialist, write tested JS code, know how to work with any of JS frameworks (e.g., Angular, React, Vue);

Middle: develop the client side of the product, write high-quality, tested JS code, conduct UI tests, know how to work with several JS frameworks (e.g., Angular, React, Vue), conduct code review of less experienced specialists, work without the supervision of more experienced coders;

Senior: develop the client side of the product, write advanced programming code, conduct UI tests, know how to work with several JS frameworks  (e.g., Angular, React, Vue), conduct code review of less experienced specialists, design product architecture, consult regarding the choice of the technologies.

Responsibilities of a back-end JS developer

Junior: develop the server side of the product, be able to work under the supervision of an experienced specialist, write tested JS code, code and operate Node.js-based services;

Middle: develop the server side of the product, write high-quality, tested JS code, conduct code review of less experienced specialists, work without the supervision of more experienced coders, work with popular cloud providers, code and operate Node.js-based services, integrate APIs, conduct development and improvement of database schema, complete CI/CD configuration;

Senior: develop the server side of the product, write advanced programming code,  work with popular cloud providers, code and operate Node.js-based services, integrate APIs, conduct development and improvement of database schema, complete CI/CD configuration, conduct code review of less experienced specialists, design product architecture, consult regarding the choice of the technologies.

• Responsibilities of full-stack JS developer

Junior: a mixture of junior JS front-end and back-end developer responsibilities;

Middle: a mixture of middle JS front-end and back-end developer responsibilities;

Senior: a mixture of senior JS front-end and back-end developer responsibilities.

As you can see, the responsibilities of JS specialists depend on two factors: qualification level and the developer’s role. Hence, depending on the tasks of your project the developer has to fulfill, the corresponding type of JS specialist should be hired.

JavaScript developer skills

So, you have identified which type of JavaScript programmers for hire your project requires. Now it’s the time to examine the skill set that each of the categories described above should have.

Since we have explored JS developer roles, responsibilities, and skills, it’s time to figure out the way such specialists’ both hard and soft skills should be checked.

Interview questions for hiring JavaScript developers

There are multiple scenarios regarding those steps that an interview with a JS developer can contain. For instance, you can turn to an offshore software vendor like Aimprosoft with a request to find the right javascript developer for hire and choose outstaffing as the way of collaboration with your IT partner. In this case, the interview will be divided into several steps. The first step presupposes the examination of the software engineer’s CVs and portfolio with completed projects. The developers are selected by the software vendor’s team lead based on the client’s requirements and the type of the project. Then the client usually conducts both HR and technical interviews with the selected candidates.

In certain cases, the tech part of the interview can contain the request to complete the test task if necessary. In turn, the other scenario is when you decide to hire an in-house specialist, which means that the number of steps necessary to hire a javascript coder is bigger compared to outsourcing or outstaffing and the entire process is more expensive.

Finally, you may also opt for hiring freelance specialists, which means that the process of finding the right developer via the freelance platform is usually long and scrupulous since you will have to scan numerous profiles yourself to find the one who will meet your requirements most. We will explore each model of employment in more detail in the next sections.

However, each of these possible scenarios has the same goal — check the capabilities of the developer who will implement your product by verifying hard skills and identify whether the specialists will be able to work efficiently with other team members. So, let’s examine both parts.

Hard skills interview questions

There are numerous questions that you can ask JS specialists to verify their skills. Each senior specialist or tech lead who will conduct the tech part of the interview has their own approach to interviewing JS programmers and their own list of questions that they think are worth asking.

We have asked our senior JS developer, who has conducted multiple interviews and built his own JS team, to give us an example of those questions that he either asked in the course of the interview or suggested asking. 

• Question 1: 0.1 + 0.2 = ? Why?

Expected answer: 0.30000000000000004

Explanation: base-10 system can only express fractions that use a prime factor of the base. The prime factors of 10 are 2 and 5. So 1/2, 1/4, 1/5, 1/8, and 1/10 can all be expressed cleanly because the denominators all use prime factors of 10. In contrast, 1/3, 1/6, 1/7, and 1/9 are all repeating decimals because their denominators use a prime factor of 3 or 7.

In binary (or base-2), the only prime factor is 2, so you can only cleanly express fractions whose denominator has only 2 as a prime factor. In binary, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 would all be expressed cleanly as decimals, while 1/5 or 1/10 would be repeating decimals. So 0.1 and 0.2 (1/10 and 1/5), while clean decimals in a base-10 system, are repeating decimals in the base-2 system the computer uses. When you perform math on these repeating decimals, you end up with leftovers that carry over when you convert the computer’s base-2 (binary) number into a more human-readable base-10 representation.

• Question 2:  “b” + “a” + +”a” + “a” = ? Why?

Expected answer: “baNaNa”

Explanation: JS interpreter tries to coerce the second “a” to number (two “+” signs before it), which results in NaN.

• Question 3: type of NaN

Expected answer: number.

Explanation: although it says Not a number, NaN is treated as a numeric type.

•  Question 4: Name a JavaScript String function that modifies the original string.

Expected answer: there are no such functions.

Explanation: Strings are immutable in JavaScript, so there are no functions that modify the original string.

• Question 5: 1.toString()

Expected answer: It will throw a SyntaxError.

Explanation: JS interpreter expects decimal places after the dot but doesn’t find any.

*Note from our senior JS developer: when conducting a tech interview, pay attention to the way the person responds. It may seem that tech questions presuppose concise answers. On the contrary, our specialist says that it’s important that the interviewee can show his ability to reflect and give logical and extensive answers so that you can see whether your mindset, way of thinking, and dealing with the set tasks match yours.

However, hard skills are just one constituent that should be verified when you are hiring a JS specialist. Non-technical skills that will show you the ability of the coder to interact with others shouldn’t be neglected either.

Soft skills interview

When hiring JavaScript software engineers, it’s a must to pay attention to their communication skills and ability to work as a part of the team. It’s crucial since JS specialists communicate not only with tech professionals but also with a BA, PM, designers, the client, and other stakeholders. Hence, it’s highly important that the hired specialist can easily provide an explanation regarding anything, both in business and technical language, and cooperate with others in a problem-free way. We also recommend considering how well the following soft skills are developed: dedication, decision-making, curiosity, and great time management. This part of the interview is usually conducted by the HR manager.

Where to find a JavaScript developer?

As we have explored in the section above, there are several popular options to hire a JS programmer. Let’s check them out.

Freelance platforms

Pros: Flexibility of specialists, a large talent pool on freelance platforms, and a vast range of rates that can meet any budget.

Cons: Possible security risks, the mismatch between the claimed and real experience and skillset, high chances of poor code quality, absence of deep immersion into your project, and chances of miscommunication.

Popular platforms: Upwork, Arc.dev, Fiverr, Guru, Toptal

In-house specialists: the local market is at your disposal

Pros: On-site availability, deeper immersion into the business and project, immediate communication and problem fixing, and higher team engagement.

Cons: More expensive than freelancers and JS developers hired from software vendors, the necessity to monitor and maintain retention rate, multiple hidden costs, takes a long time to assemble the right team, high responsibility for the team and product outcome.

Cooperation with a software vendor

Pros: Whether you need to outsource front-end development or go with outstaffing, you will gain a plethora of benefits with either of these options. For instance, the better quality of the delivered product compared to freelancers, the ability to delegate the management of your project, the ability to scale up and down the team and extend it with other professionals, and higher chances of better domain knowledge.

Cons: rates per hour if you choose the outstaffing model, for instance, can be higher compared to freelancers, there may be less control over product development in case of outsourcing, the possibility of starting cooperation with an unreliable IT vendor.

So, which one to choose?

The key point to rely on when deciding which type of developer you need to employ is the scale of your project. Freelancers are normally perfect for short-time projects and the completion of one-time tasks. Outsourcing or outstaffing is great for startups when their projects are large-scale, long-term, and may possibly have vague requirements or established companies that need to extend their in-house teams easily. Finally, in-house JS developers are more suitable for product companies or those that require on-site employees for constant maintenance and monitoring of their products.

How much does it cost to hire a JavaScript developer?

The cost to hire a JS programmer depends on multiple factors, such as the level of communication, location, skill set, etc. However, one of the core factors that affect that JS developer’s cost is the hiring model you choose. Let’s consider the range of salaries and hourly rates depending on each of them.

Freelance JavaScript developers’ hourly rate

In-house JavaScript developers’ salaries worldwide

Outsourced or outstaffed JavaScript developers’ hourly rates

We have explored only a few examples of the salary range of JS developers to help you form a general image of how the cost differs depending on the location and type of employment. The employment of in-house specialists is the most expensive option compared to others since it always presupposes various hidden costs. As we already stated in the previous section, the choice when you are looking for js developers for hire should be made based on the scale of your product, your business requirements, your budget, and the way you need the project to be managed.

Why hire JavaScript coders at Aimprosoft?

Aimprosoft is a JavaScript software development company with more than 17 years of market presence. In the course of the company’s existence, we have gained the status of a trustworthy and experienced software vendor and managed to convert a large part of our clients into loyal ones who have chosen to go beyond one-time cooperation. You can explore our Clutch profile to find out what our clients say about collaborating with us.

• We’re flexible in terms of cooperation and pricing models. We have expertise in providing both JS outsourcing services as well as the composition of dedicated teams and outstaffing.
• Our JS team has expertise in full-cycle software development, which means the work on the projects from the initial stages up to further development and product deployment.
• Wide range of the provided Java services, including JS web development, JavaScript server-side development, migration to JavaScript, JS portal development, migration between frameworks, and JavaScript consulting.
• We cover more than 20 industries, including healthcare, e-commerce, e-learning, real estate, IoT, and many others. Take a look at the table below that shows several successfully developed JS projects that we can disclose.

Conclusion

As you can see, the recruitment process that you will have to go through to hire a javascript expert may not be a piece of cake, but with the profound knowledge of how to recruit javascript developers and by following the best practices described in this article, you can make it seamless. However, no need to go through uncharted paths if you can turn to Aimprosoft and find the best-fit JavaScript developers for your project. Thus, if you are looking for a trustworthy software partner with proven expertise in product development, contact us, and we’ll join our forces to build a competitive JS-based solution.

FAQ