With global competition increasing between all businesses today, human resources have become one of the most important assets that a company can have. Recruitment of a quality workforce in the digital era is not only an option, but a necessity.
In this post, we’ll go through some of the main aspects of .Net developer recruitment — how to hire qualified programmers, what HR representatives have to know when looking for potential candidates, and how to differentiate a professional CV from a beginner’s resume.
Why Choose .Net Technology for Project Development?
.Net framework is a software development platform that was first released by Microsoft in 2002, and is used for creating desktop and web applications. It is commonly used by SMEs and large enterprises to develop, modify, and scale their software solutions. The main areas of application for the .Net framework are:
- Custom CRMs
- Mobile applications
- Dynamic websites
- Business Intelligence products
- Inventory management systems
- Warehouse systems, etc.
.Net technology has gained wide recognition thanks to its reliability, security, cross-language compatibility, ease of product maintenance, and fast development process. Now that we’ve gone through this short introduction, let’s take a look at how the recruitment of a skilled .Net developer should look.
.Net Developer Hiring Guide
1. Know what you are looking for
When going through CVs of potential candidates it’s important to know what to pay attention to. You should know what frameworks, languages, and programming tools a .Net developer has experience with. “But what if I’m not a technician?” you may ask. Don’t worry. Here’s a short glossary to help you get a basic understanding of the candidate’s competencies.
| .Net versions | Frameworks | Languages | Object Relational Mapping (ORM) | IoC Containers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .NET 1.0 – .NET 4.7. | Web | Desktop | Communication | C#, F#, C++ .NET , Visual Basic .NET | Linq2SQL,Entity Framework, nHibernate, ADO.NET | Unity,Castle Windsor Container, Structure Map, Ninject, AutoFac |
| ASP.NET Web Api, ASP.NET Web Forms, ASP.NET MVC 1-6 | Windows Forms, WPF | WCF, Web Services |
Here’s a breakdown of .Net developer skills based on the level of expertise for each candidate:
| .Net Developer | Junior | Middle | Senior |
| Years of experience | 0.3 — 2.5 | 2 — 5 | 5+ |
| Technologies | Understanding of .Net, C#, ASP.NET, HTML, CSS, Visual Studio.Net, JavaScript, Angular Js, LINQ | Junior expertise + SQL, databases, front-end technologies, .Net Web API frameworks | Junior + Middle expertise + in-depth knowledge of C#, MSSQL, web app development, debugging skills, experience in mentoring different aspects of project development |
NB! By no means do these tables represent a complete list of technologies for .Net developers. These are only short summaries to give you an initial idea of the candidate’s level of expertise. We strongly recommend involving a .Net professional in the recruitment process to assess candidates correctly.
2. Create a job description
Your job description should cover all the duties and responsibilities that will be assigned to a future employee. All the requirements need to be clearly set upfront. To help you list all the technical details correctly, get help from a developer with relevant expertise, as suggested above.
3. Decide on the collaboration model
One of the most important questions for every entrepreneur or startup owner is how to use their business resources effectively, and the IT industry is no exception. When hiring .Net developers, the business owner will most likely face a dilemma — to hire a full-time professional or look for an independent contractor (i.e. outsourcing).
If your budget isn’t tight and your project requires continuous ongoing support, then sourcing full-time talent is the best option. On the other hand, however, if a project doesn’t have a considerable amount of initial investments — which is the case for most startups — then outsourcing software development will be your money-saving ticket.
Normally, outsourcing comes into two forms — onshore and offshore. With the onshore model, you will be looking for a software development contractor in your local market, while offshore outsourcing will take your search abroad.
Both models come with their pros and cons, but the price of the services remains one of the main deciding factors for most business owners. If we take the US market, for example, .Net developers’ salaries fall around $95,000 (per year, on average). Meanwhile, .Net programmers from Western and Eastern European countries charge $55,000 and $25,000 respectively (per year, on average).
4. Select a qualified candidate
The process itself is pretty straightforward; however, there are a few key steps we recommend you follow to ensure that you recruit the best talent.
- A phone/video call. Also known as a pre-screening interview, this is the very first step carried out by a recruiter or HR representative in order to give the green or red light to a candidate for further interviews.
- A non-technical interview to check soft skills. A face-to-face meeting between the employer and a potential employee which is done to check the competencies of a candidate and confirm a developer’s past experience. Several team members can be involved in the interviewing process — CEO, CTO, Team Lead, recruiter, etc.
- A technical interview to check hard skills. The most important step of the recruitment process where you assess actual skills required for the .Net developer position. This step normally includes a set of questions regarding a candidate’s tech knowledge:
- What is Asp.Net?
- What is managed code?
- What is unmanaged code?
- Explain the difference between managed and unmanaged codes.
- Does .Net support Microsoft languages only?
- What is the garbage collection process?, etc.
In this step, candidates may also be asked to solve a real-life problem. Another part of the technical interview is an online coding test, which is done to verify a candidate’s programming skills.
5. Make a decision
Now that you have interviewed your potential candidates, it’s time to select one. Choose a candidate who fits best into your project. It’s also important to not only look at the overall technical expertise of the developer, but also at any experience of working with projects in your niche.
Check whether the potential employee has participated in open-source projects, has experience working with big volumes of data, or if they have passed the MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) or MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer) certification.
Final Thoughts
Recruiting qualified .Net developers takes time and requires a team effort but, if done well and with this strategic approach in mind, can help you source the best talent on the market. If you want to get more information on this practice, or are wondering how your project can benefit from .Net technology, contact Honeycomb Software.
We have been providing custom development, UX/UI design, testing, and outstaffing services since 2015, and have vast expertise in such industries as Healthcare, Logistics, Business Intelligence, Fundraising, Manufacturing, and many more! Call us or simply fill out our online form and one of our managers will get in touch with you ASAP!
