Tarun Nagar Mindful of the fact that over 231 million iPhones were sold globally in 2015, the demand to hire iOS developers has increased. It is felt that the developers who can build apps for Apple’s iOS are in great demand.
The fact to understand here is that the two programming languages often used to create iOS apps- Objective C and Apple Swift– are near one of the topmost in-demand technologies in 2022 which is a great thing to reckon with.
With the popularity of iOS technologies and development, there is an increased need for talented developers felt to boost this development and can build the apps one’s company calls for.
However, there is no silver-bullet solution to help one immediately find the right person for the job. It requires a lot of hard work and patience to get the best of the best. It is a strenuous process that one has to go through to actually get hold of the best person suited for the job and acquire the accomplished goal.
Things Important to Know Before Hire iOS Developers
- Understand your market
- Understand your requirements
- Know your developer
- Mistakes that you should avoid
1. Understand Your Market
You need to grab an understanding of the platform where you are planning to launch your application in order to understand your target audience.
You should be clear about your product requirements because if you convey them to the developers clearly only then they will replicate the properties and features in your product. These are the basics that mark the foundation of any ios app development. These are the essentials that you need to keep track of when you search for mobile app development.
2. Understand Your Requirements
You should be thorough with the idea of your project in order to reach out to the investors in the most effective and wholesome way. There should be a complete understanding of all the aspects based on which your application is going to rule the market.
You should be able to make others familiar with your product’s competitive side in order to mark its relevance among other similar apps. But this understanding of your requirement also comes into play when you are competing for the ios app developers.
When you offer them to build your iOS application then you should be able to convey to them everything regarding it. Your project idea must be thought of well. Look through the market and working mechanism of your product and try to create an image of the app architecture that you want to have.
You should hire an iPhone app developer who carries the ability to transform your idea into reality. He should possess the business acumen along with his technical capabilities in order to evaluate various aspects of your project.
3. Know Your Developer
Instead of posting on the job posting boards, you should hire iOS developers from a trustable platform where you get the complete information of the company and its developers.
The company should provide you the data security assurance and the whole process should be completed in an organized manner.
It is very crucial and important for you to hire a developer who can fulfill all your project requirements. The developer must contain hands-on experience in the tech stack and programming languages that your project needs to be written in. You can check their customer’s testimonials and the best way is to talk to those who have had the experience of getting their app.
4. Mistakes That You Should Avoid
- You should avoid hiring professionals who do not provide complete information about their past experiences or those who have not yet achieved anything considerable or substantial
- You should sort your project list by penning down the specifications that are necessary to look for in your iOS app developer.
- In order, to determine the capabilities of a developer you should look for someone who communicates the details related to the user interface.
- Do not get deceived by a prankster and cross-check with the above points in order to ensure that you are hiring an experienced developer who can produce a valuable product.
Few Things to Keep in Mind When You Hire iOS Developers
- Know where they spend their free time
- Know the challenges they face every day and how they tackle them
- Know what gets them excited to come to work
- Know their Portfolio
1. Know Where They Spend Their Free Time
Although one may not find a glut of iOS developers who are actively looking for new jobs. But, the popularity that iOS is required through the years has led to the creation of some incredibly demanding programming forums.
One of the most vibrant and active firms amongst them may have a very straightforward name, but the iPhoneDevSDK welcomes a wide engaging community of iOS developers and marketers.
They also take the help of sites like the MacRumours iOS Programming Forum, cocos2d for iPhone, and iOS Developer Forums to learn new skills and get in touch with other like-minded developers. Moreover, iOS is one of the most actively used tags on Stack Overflow and one cannot deny that.
One might think that these solve the entire problem of searching and hiring the best iOS app developers and makes it easier now. The thought that ” this is great. I know exactly where to go to hire an iOS developer!” might arise in the minds of many.
However, the fact is that, while 65% of developers told us that they are open to hearing about new jobs around. There are some developers who are visiting these sites who are not doing this with the sole intention of finding a new position and engaging in proper full-time jobs.
So one should feel free to communicate and engage with them on various issues but foremost start by asking questions about what they are working on and remain open to learning more. Even, when one is already to a large extent, built the required rapport to discuss one’s open position.
2. Know The Challenges They Face Every Day And How They Tackle Them?
One should remember that the work of an iOS developer is not so easy and filled with various kinds of obstacles on a daily basis. Unless one has never used a smartphone in his life, one should probably be in a position to understand that an iOS developer builds mobile apps for iPhones.
Candidates won’t expect one to understand all the nitty-gritty details about iOS development, but here are some challenges they face whenever they built a new app:
- Delivering an Exceptional User Experience on a Small Screen: This is an important and difficult endeavor to accomplish. Every user wants to get the best of services and facilities and the companies strive to achieve through its group of an exceptionally hardworking and talented workforce. Tyler Lessard, vice president of Blackberry Global Alliances tells that writing software for smaller devices is a significant challenge for developers. He adds “, because of the screen size constraint, every pixel counts to some degree”.
- Ensuring a Secure Mobile Experience: Max Katz at Dzone recently wrote that authentication is the most vulnerable place in any mobile app because the user is required to provide a login ID and password. He adds, “in the shortened time available in rapid development, it’s really challenging to implement a secure authentication routine from scratch “.
- Understanding How to Get Apps Approved by Apple’s App Store: Getting an app approved is a very crucial step. It should be verified as to whether it’s appropriate for use and should be launched. This process might seem very easy and straightforward for some people who have never gone through this process. However, iOS developers often have to be on their toes for a lengthy review process that may include a continuous on and off, back and forth conversation with the Apple store over the rules and regulations.
3. Know What Gets Them Excited To Come To Work
This is an important question to reckon with. It is important to know what excites the individual to come to work. One’s basic understanding of iOS development will go a long way in helping one to engage and attract more candidates.
However, interacting, to get a personal and close understanding of their intentions, way of thinking and working will put one ahead in the game of hiring iOS developers.
It is important to know what the candidate is looking for in the new position. Ben Shive, an iOS developer with six years of experience, and Alex Stroulger, a junior iOS developer at TWG spoke about what they look for whenever they evaluate new opportunities.
- Established Mobile Development Teams: A lot of companies have only a couple of mobile developers. Strougler told, “One of the main things I was looking for was a company with an established iOS team that I could learn from”. This is very obvious as efficiency, learning, and productivity are facilitated when one works in a team and there is a healthy exchange of ideas and techniques. As many people are there it brings more energy to do the work collectively as collectivity has its own power.
- The Ability to Program in Swift: Shive tells that while he understands that cross-platform solutions have their place in some instances, he is particularly excited about building native apps. “The move to Swift development across everything Apple has been thrilling,” he adds. “I loved Objective C, but Swift rapidly became my favored language for new projects and new features within the existing projects since you can mix and match”.
- Flexibility in Strategy And Design Patterns: Because of the evolving landscape of iOS development, Strougler told that teams that are open to new strategies and approaches to design are attractive. She adds, “It’s important to meet regularly as a team to discuss new things we have learned and read about”. This is also important as one should keep pace with the changing trends and have the knowledge of new upcoming technologies to help them use that in the advancement of their apps and products and evolve with the changing times.
4. Know Their Portfolio
Another important factor to pay attention to is the developer’s portfolio. A candidate’s portfolio will be evidence of his experience and skill expertise. It will also reflect if the candidate has ever dealt with developing apps similar to the one which one wishes to create.
This will help the selector to make the right choices and evaluate the overall proficiency and reveal if any faultiness in the resume is made. A person may find a developer’s portfolio on stack overflow
This trusted and professional portal provides wonderful exposure to a global community where iOS developers can learn, share their experience and knowledge, and build their careers.
What to Look for in an iOS App Developer
As mentioned earlier finding a suitable, skilled, experienced, and well accommodating iOS app developer is not an easy task and is a very strenuous job that requires skill on the part of the interviewer/selector as well. In this post, we attempt to describe the main things to consider when hiring iOS developers and how to evaluate a developer’s qualifications, including their hard and soft skills. These things include:
Skillset: There is not any defined or universal description of the iOS developer’s ideal knowledge and skills. However, general knowledge of the following must be given first priority
Three-level Models: Some IT companies adhere to a three-level model i.e. junior, middle, and senior, to make it easier to evaluate a developer’s expertise. These three levels have a classification of well-defined specific requirements including experience, skillset, and knowledge. Hence a quick elaboration of these three levels is essential:
- Junior iOS developer
- Middle iOS developer
- Senior iOS developer
Junior iOS Developer
This is the first and elementary level for iOS developers. Junior iOs developers have received their knowledge at the universities or at programming classes. They have a basic understanding of programming languages and iOS frameworks and are fresh to be tested in the actual field of work.
At work, these developers generally assist and learn from their experienced colleagues at their initial level. It usually takes them a year or two to finally come in pace with their senior’s way of work and knowledge
Middle iOS Developers
After working on a variety of projects, developers get promoted to a more this level. As a rule, middle developers have from two to four years of development experience. They work on projects more independently and have more knowledge of the UI/UX design of apps. A middle iOS developer should have:
- Knowledge of concurrency and asynchronous programming in Ios
- The ability of SQLite, Core Data, and offline caching logic
- Experience with Core Location
- Experience with Store Kit and Map Kit
- An understanding of the app signing process and how to deploy apps to App Store Connect
- An understanding of how push notifications work
Senior iOS Developer
A senior iOS developer has over five years of experience. They have taken part in many projects and submitted tons of code, have experience with various types of automated deployment processes, and have massive organizational and leadership skills.
Hence they are associated with complicated tasks and architecture. Their responsibilities include coding and designing, testing, debugging, reviewing code, integrating APIs, and handling security matters. Apart from these, their part of work includes:
- Mentoring juniors and middle developers
- Preparing technical documentation for further application development
- Defining and managing development standards according to industry best practices and trends
- Taking part in job interviews to validate candidates according to project requirements
- Building the development team workflow
- Defining and implementing GitFlow
Read More: Mobile App Development: Choosing Between Native vs Web vs Cross-Platform App
Tips to Hire iOS Developer
Here are some tips to guide one in the process of hiring app developers that every iOS app development company should focus on:
1. Provide a Clear And Compact Candidate Profile: Before starting with the hiring process, one should have a clear idea of the prospective employee qualifications, be specific to the candidate requirements. This will save time and also bring about the desired results.
2. Look for an Interested Candidate Willing to Work For The Company: A least interested employee may never be able to bring efficiency to the company and rather will be an obstructing force in the working. Hence one should hire someone who is interested in giving time and his creative input in the working of the company.
3. Knowledge of iPhone language, iOS Frameworks, and Emerging technologies: One cannot bring about the development of something of which one is not aware. Hence determining the worth of all iPhone app developers immediately goes down to considering the level of expertise they possess in their respective areas. In developing such as knowledge on Swift language, spatial reasoning, core data, etc.
4. Think of The Entire App Development Process And Not Just Coding: App development is not just about coding but also includes creating a well-defined functional design and user experience. Hence one should select a candidate who is overall efficient and not only in coding.
5. Figure Out Knowledge About Application Adaptability: It is always good to pick up experts who have practical knowledge about application advancements from the perspective of different platforms.
Read More: Android Vs iOS: Which Is The Best Platform For Mobile App Development?
6. Why Working Experience is Important: Fixing bugs, need for creativity, better problem solving, team management, etc requires an experienced app developer to solve these problems.
7. Efficiency to Grasp And Implement New Ideas: An app developer must be responsive and quick to grasp new things, energetic and enthusiastic to know more, and keep himself updated. Fostering creativity and workability is also required.
8. Hire a Team Player And Someone Who Values Your Company Ethics Policy: The real success behind every great app comes from even greater teamwork. Hence working alongside other team members is important.
9. Hire Someone Safe for One’s Wallet: Over-expectations might leave one broke. Hence one shall try to hire those whom one can afford for the long run.
10. Welcome More Natives: Hire those candidates from the candidate list who has a nearby place of residence and would not hesitate to work for extra hours.
Read More: How To Hire Android App Developers?
11. Check Client References: Reviewing client feedback can give one an exact insight into the ability to create a great product, communicate with the team, and solve problems.
How to Hire iOS Developers?
There are many problems that are likely to arise during the development of an application and the developer should communicate everything from the status of your project till its completion.
These things will help you determine whether you would be able to talk to the developer during the development period freely or not. He should be interested in working with your desired technologies and tech stack.
If the developer looks reluctant at using your tech stack then it might be because of his skillset. Maintenance, integration is other important aspect of project development and your developer should provide you with complete support. Your application should be developed within the timelines so that you can launch it soon in the market and get feedback for improvements.
Read More: Mobile App Development Lifecycle
You Have Three Options While Choosing Your iOS App Developer:
- Freelancer
- In House Team
- Outsourcing Company
Freelancer
You can hire an iOS freelance developer for your app development using social handles. You can get various talented developers on Facebook, Twitter, etc. In case you are looking for someone who can do long-term cooperation then it might not be a really good option for you.
You simply have to pay the freelancer for the number of hours they are working on your project and that saves your budget. There are no paid leaves and it is better to choose them for smaller projects.
In House Team
Go for an in-house team of developers if you are a startup company. You can hire an outsourcing development company that can work in collaboration with your in-house team at the viability point. If your company is middle-sized then it is a smart option to choose an in-house team.
There are no distance-related boundaries and no communication gaps. The developers can focus entirely on your product with their extensive knowledge. They, however, stay on payroll and that adds to your expenses when you opt for an in-house developers team.
Outsourcing Company
Hiring a software outsourcing team of developers is pretty common in today’s world. It is a cost-effective way of developing software products. The outsourcing firms provide web or app developers with extensive experience and they provide great standards that suit the present demands of the industry.
They prove a great choice during a time of urgency. The outsourcing companies provide consistent training. They can communicate irrespective of the time and that makes them a better choice than freelancers.
They are a cheaper option than an in-house team of dedicated developers. If you are looking to assign your IoS app development project to an offshore form then you can fix schedules to communicate with them without facing any regional challenges.
Conclusion:
Hence if one keeps these things in mind while hiring an iOS developer will sufficiently be able to achieve what one aims to via selection and get a bunch of well-skilled, professional mobile app developers who will bring efficiency in work.
