What Skills Should You Look For When Hiring a Talented Full Stack Developer?
Demand for full-stack developers has skyrocketed in recent years. Competition for top talent is fierce, salaries are climbing, and it’s getting more and more challenging to locate and hire the right developers at the right time. However, part of the challenge of hiring full-stack developers lies in knowing what to look for. Some skills are absolute must-haves while others are not. If you’re hiring full-stack developers in the near future, here are four important skills to look for.
Front-End Language Skills
Languages like HTML, CSS and JavaScript are an integral part of full-stack development and according to a 2018 Stack Overflow survey, developers consider those three languages to be the most commonly used on the job. These languages are critical for the appearance of your organization’s website, applications or products, and a well-rounded full-stack developer should be experienced in all three.
Back-End Language Skills
The front-end appearance of websites and apps are important, to be sure. Equally important, however, are the back-end components that make those websites and applications work. The strength of back-end architecture informs user experience and functionality, and full-stack developers need to have skills in languages like Java, Python, Scala, Ruby and more.
Database Skills
It’s important to remember that full-stack development includes data storage. Full-stack developers must be able to work directly with databases when issues arise with websites and apps pulling information from those database sources. Look for talent that has SQL and NoSQL skills as well as experience in database design or stored procedure writing.
Soft Skills
Full-stack developers are the bridge between several disciplines within an organization, and that means that they must possess strong soft skills in order to be successful. This includes verbal communication, written communication, empathy, diplomacy, problem-solving skills and leadership skills.
A candidate’s soft skills are often informed by their personality, which is another important factor to weigh when looking for talent. Developers who have hard skills but who are not able to function well on your team will not be successful. The hiring process must take personality and cultural alignment into consideration.
Are You Looking for Talented Full-Stack Developers?
If you are looking for full-stack development talent for your Chicago-area company and want to improve the quality of your hires, even in a tight market, it’s time to talk to the expert tech recruiters at CultureFit. Contact us today to learn how we partner with our clients to deliver productive, skilled talent that is exceptionally matched for their organization.
