How to Hire Android App Developers

How to Evaluate and Hire Android App Developer? 

Have you ever tried counting the number of applications on your android phone?

Before you do, let me tell you a fun fact.

A survey shows typical smartphone users had 40 apps installed on their mobile phones in 2020. And between 60 and 90 apps are installed on an average smartphone.

The mobile app market is undoubtedly growing at a fast pace. Many businesses in the world have started relying on them. As these apps offer:

• Quick access to their services and products.
• Track customer behavior and preferences.
• Tailor their offering and create a more personalized user experience.

Moreover, with 87 percent of software developers working with mobile development work on Android applications, competition for the top developers to build apps for devices running this operating system is as fierce as ever.

(source)

Android continues to be one of the fastest-growing skill requirements and doesn't show signs of slowing down.

But the question arises, how to hire an android developer?

Finding an android developer isn't that tough these days, yet finding the right one for your business that can be tricky.

So, in this article, we've outlined some strategies to shortlist, source, and assess which hiring managers can utilize to make their hiring process more seamless and hire the most qualified android developer.

How to develop a hiring strategy?

Step 1: Determine the need for the role in the company

To ensure that the company is staffed with the right people in the right positions, you need to identify areas where the company may require resources and additional help. In order to determine that recruiters can speak to the hiring managers to learn more about the role before hiring the respective person.

After assessing the need of the role, determine the required android developer qualifications, educational background, day-to-day responsibilities, and more.

Step 2: Create a job description

After determining the required qualifications, you can create a complete job description that clearly outlines the roles, responsibilities, and critical skills needed.

While creating an android developer's job description, try to cover the following points: 

Step 3: Define required Android developer key skills and qualifications 

A successful determination of technical proficiency goes far ahead of basic programming languages and knowledge of technology. In addition to technical acumen, evaluating the candidate's technical strength, understanding, problem-solving, and creativity is crucial.

Below is a list of generalized technical and non-technical skills you should look for before you hire an android developer.

1. Android Developer Technical Skills

Java: Although Java knowledge alone is not enough to make a great Android developer, mastering Java fundamentals skills is necessary.

Thus, while assessing how to hire android app developers, ask the following questions:

• Does your developer know what data types to use in the right situations?
• How about JNI? Do they have experience with the Java Native Interface?

All these things show an advanced understanding of the underlying Java platform, which is the foundation for any good android application.

Android SDK: It is expected that the android developer you would be hiring should have a basic understanding of -

• Layouts and views.
• Activities and their lifecycle.
• User input.
• Collection views.
• Adapters.
• Debugger in IDE to help troubleshoot bugs in the code.

APIs: The android developer should be able to work with your API or some other 3rd party API.

Look for his knowledge and understanding of:

• JSON/REST APIs.
• XML/SOAP.

Back-end skills: You don't need to dive deep into the back-end skills of an android developer, necessarily. Just look for the developer's understanding of back-end skills.

2. Android Developer Soft Skills

Communication: Your developer should have good communication skills to collaborate successfully. He should be able to communicate with both technical and non-technical people.

Passion: It should come as no surprise that Android developers get excited about positions when it's clear they'll have opportunities to get their hands dirty with new technologies.

No, don't write this in your job descriptions but make sure you look for his interest in his work and technologies. Look for the candidate's passion for getting his hands dirtier with the technologies.

Team-Player: Know how well the developer performs in a team environment. Probe him further for the specific role, interaction within the team, and contributions to the results.

3. Cultural Fit

Suppose you assess culture fit throughout the recruiting process. In that case, you will hire developers who will flourish in their roles, drive growth and success for your organization and ultimately save your time and money. A good cultural fit is associated with many more positive outcomes.

Step 4: Determine the salary range

To determine an appropriate salary range for android developers, the most effective approach is to evaluate the current job market to see what packages are being offered for similar positions.

Once this information is gathered, it is vital to discuss internally with relevant stakeholders to decide what package would be suitable to offer potential employees.

Step 5: Choose Between Local and Remote Talent

When hiring android developers for your company's needs, consider the advantages of hiring remotely or locally:

• If you require specific expertise or skills, it is necessary to hire remotely since local talent may not be available. However, it's important to note that many local applicants are increasingly opting for remote positions due to the growing acceptance of flexible and remote work cultures.
• Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each choice to make the best decision for your company.

How to source android app developers?

In order to source talented android developers, you follow the following steps:

• Use job listing portals like LinkedIn, Monster, Glassdoor, and Indeed.
• Leverage sourcing tools to hire android app developers.
• Maintain a network of IT professionals to connect with passive job seekers.

Reading about the best candidate sourcing tools provides valuable insights into optimizing talent acquisition strategies and streamlining the recruitment process for better quality hires. Stay informed and make informed decisions for your recruitment efforts.

How to assess android app developers?

A traditional resume may be necessary but never rely on one to hire. Resumes never speak the real stories. One issue is the rising use of AI content creation tools; many people have started using these tools to write exaggerated content, even about simple roles.

That's why simple coding tests are better than any time-wasting interview process. These tests should be online, saving your and the candidate's time. The goal is not to prove that the candidate is some kind of genius but to evaluate him for his skills and expertise.

Make sure you choose valid & reliable online testing software with ready skill assessment tests to evaluate your android developers.  

It can help you weed out the irrelevant candidates with bluffed-up resumes and low technical skills with the help of android skills assessment. Get simulation-based coding tests that will enable you to measure the programming skills of candidates at all levels.

You can try iMocha's android online test to assess your entry-level and junior android developers. If you are looking to hire experienced android developers, try the android skill test that contains meaningful application-oriented questions, cheating-prevent solutions, and comprehensive test reports to help you hire the best android developers.

Suppose at all you want to assess candidates specifically for Java. In that case, you can choose from well-designed online java programming tests to evaluate candidates' practical knowledge of Java concepts or ask iMocha for customized android tests.

What are the things you should avoid while hiring android developers?

While hiring android developers, avoid hiring developers who:

• Lack of experience or limited knowledge of the android platform.
• Not familiar with the best practices and principles of Android development.
• Unable to be up-to-date with the latest android trends and technologies.
• Fail to explain their code in an understandable manner.
• Unable to provide examples of their work.
• Do not have a good understanding of the different versions of android.
• Not willing to work in a team or are not open to collaboration.
• Not willing to provide feedback and constructive criticism.
• Not able to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Fail to meet deadlines and are not comfortable with tight schedules.

Interview questions for android app developers

Hire an android developer who has worth his experience and has a portfolio of the things they've worked on. When looking at their portfolio, keep an eye out for apps with excellent user interfaces. A good android developer must also have excellent UI/UX skills.

Do more than just ask the questions at the Interview

So, the candidate sailed through the programming tests, has an amazing portfolio, has all the required skills, and is an excellent culturally fit individual; now what?

You now definitely want to sit down with them and ask the standard questions with specific examples from their previous work experience. Now you should be 90% sure the candidate would be a great hire.

Ask practical android developer interview questions to interview candidates for some particular design questions, coding styles, and patterns.

Ask situation-based questions like the ones below to know more about his previous work experience.

• Normally, while carrying out a screen reorientation, the android platform tears down the foreground activity and recreates it, restoring each view value in the activity's layout. In an app you're working on, you notice that a view's value is not being restored after screen reorientation. What could be a likely cause of the problem that you should verify, at a minimum, about that particular view?
• What is Context in Android? Mobile developers building apps for android products have long been unsure of what the Context class is used for.
• Do you know how to run Python on Android? How do you write code for multi-touch applications?

This type of discussion will be more beneficial than merely questioning the developer about the technical languages.

Apart from the above situation-based questions, ask general questions to learn more about candidates' skills, experience, and knowledge.

• What were the most interesting android app development projects you have participated in? Can you describe it and tell me why you consider it so interesting?
• Do you remember any android app development project decision you made that was a failure? Why do you think it was a mistake? Why did it happen? What did you learn from this experience?
• Do you like to participate in an app development project's analysis, design, and deployment phases, or do you prefer to concentrate on the pure development of a well-described task? Why?

You also want someone with the problem-solving skills necessary to grow your business, so ask open-ended questions too. Read on to this blog to know more about Android developer interview questions for junior developer and senior developer.

Give them Real Projects

For recruiters, it’s time-consuming to carry out manual evaluations, curate problem statements, and standardize test environments.

iMocha's projects based assessments is a hands-on coding activity designed for framework-based technologies to assess candidates based on real-world scenarios.

If you still doubt that the candidate who nailed the above whether he/she is going to be a great hire, give them a project. I am not talking about some random project you found on the internet, but about a real issue you had previously encountered on your product. Ask him to tackle the issue, present the solution and address the main errors.

Remember that your aim is to evaluate the developer's ability to solve the problem, knowledge of languages, and coding style.

Conclusion

Skilled developers are hard to hire, especially ones that share the vision for your project. Just as a product has the market fit, developers have the project fit. While these are some tips to help you how to hire android app developers, try what you think works best for your company.

Further Reading: Wondering how to hire tech talent? This guide is for you. 

FAQs

1. How much does it cost to hire an Android Developer?

In the United States, the average Android Developer's salary is $124,206 per year. While in the United Kingdom, Android Developers earn £72416 per year, and in India, it is nearly 9 lakhs per year.

2. How can I Recruit the Top Android Developers?

In order to recruit top android developers, try to utilize the strategies outlined in this article, such as:

• Leverage job boards such as Monster and Indeed to post job openings for android developers.
• Create an attractive and informative job description.
• Offer competitive salary and benefits packages to attract the best talent.
• Utilize skill assessment platforms to evaluate the expertise of potential candidates.
• Connect with the community to establish a presence and source referrals.

3. What are the key skills Android app developers should have?

Following are critical Android developer technical skills and soft skills:

Technical Skills

• Java and Kotlin.
• Android SDK.
• XML and JSON.
• Android Studio.
• Development tools.
• Database design and integration.
• Web services integration.
• Mobile UI/UX design.
• Debugging and testing.
• Version control systems.
• Agile and Scrum methodology.

Soft Skills

• Problem-solving.
• Adaptability.
• Communication.
• Collaboration.
• Customer service.
• Time management.
• Research.
• Creativity.
• Attention to detail.
• Teamwork.