How to Find and Hire Skilled Developers & Programmers

The tech industry is expanding rapidly, with the SaaS market projected to grow from USD 296.93 billion in 2023 to a staggering USD 829.34 billion by 2031—nearly a 300% increase. This explosive growth, fueled by the AI revolution, means starting a tech company or launching a SaaS product is a more promising idea than ever.

You might already have a groundbreaking idea and are eager to build an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) to test it out. Or perhaps your MVP has gained significant traction, and you’re ready to roll out the full product. Whatever stage you’re at, the right developer or programmer is essential to bring your vision to life.

The challenge of finding top developers:

However, finding a skilled software engineer or developer can be tough. Let’s face it: talented coders are rarely sitting idle. If someone is great at coding, they either have a solid job or enough freelance projects to keep them busy. This can make the search for the right developer frustrating and time-consuming.

But don’t worry—we’ve got solutions.

There are platforms and services that connect you with top-notch developers, even though they may take a small cut. You can hire remotely, and there’s even a possibility of building a full-fledged in-house tech team over time. If you’re looking for a co-founder or technical partner to share equity, there are also options for that.

No matter your situation, this guide will walk you through how to find and hire developers for your business—whether it’s your first hire or you’re scaling your team.

Let’s get started finding and hiring the most suitable coders for your project.

Define your project first:

Before you embark on the journey to find developers, it’s crucial to define your project in detail. A well-articulated project plan will help you communicate your needs effectively and attract the best candidates.

Clarify your project scope:

Start by answering key questions about your project:

• What exactly is my project?
  
  Clearly outline what you want to build. This clarity will guide you in finding the right developers with the relevant skills and experience.
  
• Are you targeting mobile users, web users, or both?
  
  If your solution needs to cater to both mobile and web platforms, seek developers with expertise in hybrid technologies like React Native, Xamarin, Flutter, or Ionic. For dedicated mobile apps, decide whether you need Android or iOS developers, as each platform requires different software development kits (SDKs).

Remember, Android developers cannot build native iOS apps, and vice versa. Defining your platform needs upfront will simplify the hiring process.

Write clear job descriptions:

Once you’ve identified the types of developers you need, draft detailed job descriptions. Include:

• Type of employment: Specify whether you need in-house, hybrid, or remote staff. Also, mention if the role is for a permanent position, contract, or freelance.
• Role requirements: Clearly outline the duties, required skills, and experience. Include an overview of your company culture to show how the role fits into your team.
• Application details: Provide links to your contact information or application form. A straightforward application process will attract more interested and qualified candidates.

Cost and hiring considerations:

Understanding the cost implications of hiring developers is crucial:

• Freelance developers: Rates can range from $20 to $75 per hour. Platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Upwork are good places to find cost-effective freelancers. While freelancers offer flexibility and avoid additional costs like benefits, managing freelance projects requires time and effort.
• In-house developers: Salaries vary based on experience, location, and skills. In the US, the median yearly salary for software developers is around $109,020, though it can range from $70,000 to $170,000 or more for senior positions. Consider additional expenses such as taxes, health insurance, and relocation costs.
• High-Cost Freelancers: Developers from major tech hubs in the US, Australia, and Western Europe often charge $70 to $250 per hour. Their higher rates reflect access to top educational resources and cutting-edge technologies.

By carefully planning your project and understanding the costs associated with different hiring options, you can streamline the process and find the right developers to support your tech ventures.

Where to look for developers:

1. GitHub

Github is a platform where programmers collaborate on projects, share code and build software.

With more than 50 million developers, it’s an excellent resource for finding talent for your startup. A lot of developers showcase their work on Github. You can search by Java, Vue.js or iOS development, as well as other programming languages you may need and then approach the developers directly.

You can locate developers based on their contributions to projects, programming languages used, and skills mentioned in their profiles.

• Pros: Wide community of developers with visible work through repositories.
• Cons: Open only to developers who actively participate in open-source projects.

2. Job Boards

Companies and recruiters use job boards to find candidates. When you post a job, you’ll need to manage all the applications yourself. You can search for specific skills like NFT development, iPhone app development, or game development and connect with potential candidates.

• Main cons of job boards: You might get too many applications, which means more administrative work to create a shortlist.
• Also, there’s no vetting, so you’ll need to verify each candidate yourself.

Here is Google Job Board to start recruiting your developers.

3. Toptal (hire from top 3% talent)

Toptal is a platform with top talent in software development, design, finance, project management, and more. You can quickly put together a team of experts for your project with flexible options from hourly to full-time work. Every freelancer in Toptal goes through strict testing to ensure high quality.

They offer specialized services in consulting, technology, web development, UX/UI design, programming languages, blockchain development, and data science. Toptal only includes the best developers on their platform.

To hire developers on Toptal, you need to create an account and search for talent for free.

For full-time developers, Toptal charges around $2K–$3.2k per week. You’ll also need to place a $500 deposit to start hiring.

4. Working Nomads

Working Nomads is a job board that lists remote jobs from various industries, including software development.

As the name suggests, it’s ideal for finding digital nomads. Just browse the remote job listings until you find a suitable candidate.

• Pros: Focuses on remote work opportunities and gives access to a global talent pool.
• Cons: Job postings start at $150, but there are discounts if you buy three or five postings at once.

5. Upwork (Affordable labor available)

Upwork is the largest online community of freelancers, making it a great platform to hire developers.

Once you sign up, you can post your job, and freelance developers will bid on it. You can then screen candidates and decide who to invite for an interview.

I’ve used this platform many times. It makes finding developer talent easy, simplifies the payment process, and has safeguards to ensure you only pay for completed work.

6. Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow is a popular forum where developers and industry leaders share knowledge and learn from each other.

Similar to LinkedIn, Stack Overflow has a job board where you can post ads and hire developers.

It’s great for finding candidates who join forums. 

People from all over the world participate, so you’re likely to find the developer you need

7. Gun.io

Gun.io helps entrepreneurs hire developers, either full-time or freelance.

The good thing about Gun.io is that they go through the developers first before posting them on the platform; they carry out code exercises to prove their skill level and get previous employer endorsements.

This gives you access to 20,000 vetted developers.

Posting job listings on Gun.io is free. If you hire a freelance developer, you pay hourly rates for a minimum of 10 hours a week. For full-time developers, Gun.io charges a one-time fee of 15% of the developer’s annual salary.

8. Lemon.io (hire developers for startups)

Lemon.io is a platform focused on connecting developers with startups. They promise to match you with a developer in 24 hours or less.

To scrutinize developers, they use a four-step process, which includes resume reviews, soft skills and language proficiency evaluation by a screening call, technical ability checks, and lastly, interviews conducted by senior team members to test the candidate’s passion for startups.

9. Turing (you hire top talent here)

Turing is another one-stop solution for hiring hire developers remotely.

Turing claims that they hire 1% of the best software engineers. That means it’s harder for coders to join and easier for companies to find professionals.

But the same issue persists here. It can be a little expensive for you because of the vendor fee and high rates.

If budget is not your issue, it will save much of your time. Secondly, hiring through Toptal and Turing is much more secure than many other platforms.

There are two benefits: you will always meet expert developers and programmers. Your money is in safe hands.

Otherwise, below are some easier ways to find affordable programmers. In some of the opportunities, you won’t even require to pay the vendor fee.

10. Dev.to

Dev.to is another place to manually find and hire developers without paying anything to the platform.

On Dev.to people often share their ideas, work and problems, in this way, they also build their profiles, and you can find suitable developers according to your project demands.

11. Ask a friend

It might surprise you that 30% of jobs are filled through referrals. This is because you gain trust from someone else’s experience, especially from a friend you know won’t mislead you.

The same strategy can help you hire capable developers and programmers.

You can ask on social media, your phone contacts, or even their friends to help you find people who are very good at completing your coding tasks.

They will definitely share their experiences and might refer you to some good freelancers or agencies.

12. Fiverr (the best place to find cheap developers)

Like Upwork, Fiverr is another best place to hire cheap developers.

Here people have already shared their Gigs; what will they do for you, and at how much price?

The second option is to post a job, but in that case, you will get tons of irrelevant messages, and that’s why I don’t recommend that.

The best way to find developers on Fiverr is that search the relevant Gigs, reach out to people, and tell them what you want them to do. In this way, you will find someone ready to do your job at very cheap rates.

In short, if you are looking for developers at cheap rates, Fiverr is the best platform.

13. Freelancer (low-rate coders available here)

Freelancer is also one of the most popular freelancing platforms in the world. Its popularity makes it a diversified place to find developers from all over the world.

Hence it increases the chances of finding low-rate coders.

Here is why this happens and why you should explore these platforms when you are under budget.

You might know the difference between currency rates all around the world. When you pay in dollars, people convert them to see how much they are getting in their currency.

They are more likely to accept if that amount becomes a reasonable amount (according to their inflation rate). Let me make it a bit simpler for your understanding.

The hourly rates for people all around the world are different. If you are bound to pay $75 an hour in your country, for some countries, it can be $10.

So, this diversified audience makes your hiring very affordable.

14. LinkedIn (the best place to build an in-house team)

LinkedIn is a social platform for professionals, making it a great place to find developers, programmers, and engineers for free. If you don’t know how to find developers on LinkedIn, here’s how to do it easily:

The simplest way to find employees is to post a job, even with a free or premium account. The free version will still get your ad a lot of impressions, and you will start receiving emails and messages from candidates.

The rest is up to you to judge and finalize developers based on your project details. Whenever I post on LinkedIn, I receive more emails from female professionals. So if you need a female developer, LinkedIn might be particularly helpful.

By setting a location, you can also find developers near you who can work for your startup as full-time employees.

15. Geebo (find developers locally)

Geebo is well-known for job postings. It offers a unique way to promote ads on many platforms, including search engines like Google. If your startup requires dozens of employees and you want to recruit from thousands of professionals, then Geebo is the best alternative to Dice.

Post an ad and let Geebo promote it to find the best employees for your company.

16. Be active on social media and in communities:

Actively share your work culture, open positions, and benefits you offer through social media. LinkedIn, Reddit, and Discord could be a good choice, as most applicants are found there.

On Discord, for example, you can find developers by joining groups that focus on specific programming languages like Java or Python or specialized developers like NFT, iPhone apps, or WordPress. There are also general developer groups that you can look at.

Don’t just lurk in these groups; get into the conversation! Talk to people, ask questions, and contribute your own thoughts. This way of being socially active links you up with developers and you may even find someone to hire or work together with.

Remember that the choice of platform depends on who you want to reach out to. TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram can be great options if you are looking for junior developers.