When you’re hiring web developers, you might be focused mainly on their technical skills. There are good reasons for this—you need developers who can tackle your most challenging projects efficiently and who are up to date on the latest practices in web development. However, it’s also important to look at candidates’ “soft skills,” the less technical aspects of their suitability. This includes things like professionalism, work ethic, and how they handle workplace conflict and interact with clients.

With that in mind, here are 5 key questions that we highly recommend asking when you interview web developers. Our list doesn’t include the basics, like whether they’re familiar with the most common applications and protocols. We figure you’ve got those questions on your list already, and we recommend testing candidates’ abilities by asking them to find errors in a piece of code. These questions are designed to shed light on candidates’ soft skills and personality, and how they’ll fit into your workplace culture.

1. What Was the Toughest Project You Worked on in Your Previous Position, and How Did You Tackle It?

This is a great question because it gives you insight into the candidate’s work ethic and problem-solving skills but also tells you what parts of the job they struggle with. Their toughest project may have been challenging because of the technical aspects, but it could also have been because of a difficult client or tight deadline.

2. What’s the Difference Between X and Y? Which Do You Prefer as a Web Developer?

You can choose whatever you’d like them to compare, but the point of this question is to make sure that the candidate is familiar with more than one protocol, language, or CMS and also that they’ve taken the time to understand concepts even if they prefer other ones. You want someone who’s flexible and open to new ideas, rather than stubbornly committed to their way of doing things.

3. How Would You Improve (A Website or App)?

This question gives you a sense of the candidate’s creativity and attitude. You don’t want someone who’s only capable of criticizing work that they don’t like, you need a web developer who can build on the work of others and bring new ideas to the table in a positive way.

4. What Are Your Favorite QA Strategies?

This question gives you an insight into how thorough the web developer candidate is, and whether they respect testing and the QA process (they should!). It lets you know that they care about the quality of their work and are willing to put in the effort to ensure that they’re producing good code.

5. Describe a Project Where You Worked on a Team – What Was Your Role and What Were the Project’s Successes and Challenges?

This question is more productive than just asking, “Do you work well on a team?” to which any smart candidate will answer, “Of course!”. By asking them to describe specifically how their team functioned and what went well (and not so well), you’ll get a better sense of whether they really can work alongside other developers and team members when needed.

Conclusion

Asking questions like these, along with the necessary technical questions appropriate to the position, will help ensure that you hire the right web developers. The right hire isn’t just technically competent, they are able to work well with others, interface with clients and accept feedback. They won’t take shortcuts in their code that will cost your company and clients time and money down the line.

Looking for more advice on IT recruiting? Top tip from our recruiters: If you interview someone you really like and identify them as a talent, MOVE FORWARD! In this climate, it is imperative that you do your due diligence but don’t wait around. Watch the video

Contact us at Bishop & Company for help recruiting the IT and tech talent that your business needs.