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Image of a large globe centered, symbolizing global reach. Surrounding the globe are icons representing international hiring, such as briefcases, magnifying glasses, and documents, highlighting the concept of hiring international software developers.

Hiring International Software Developers: A Personal Story

When working for a global SaaS company I had the opportunity to hire international software developers and triple the team in just a few months. Although I had worked with international developers before, this was the first time where I owned the entire hiring process and was responsible for scaling an international team. This article is a personal account of my experience and some of the lessons I learned from this process. It is important to note that this was not an outsourcing of software development, but hiring of team members.

Job Sites

Post your roles on as many job sites as you can. Some are free and others are paid. While international candidates do use LinkedIn, they also use local sites. I recommend doing some research to find out what is being used in the international region where you are looking to hire.

Beware of Scammers

This has happened to me twice. A candidate with a Serbian name scheduled an interview with me. When we got on Zoom, he would not turn his camera on. I asked him to, and when he did I noticed that he was Asian. He made up a story about his parents immigrating to Serbia and growing up there. Having grown up in the Balkans myself, I know the distinct English accent that people from the region have. Needless to say, he did not have that accent. 

The second instance was a similar story. When I did more digging on LinkedIn, I found that this person supposedly worked for a company in Denver, which is where I live, but such a company did not exist. My advice: do some research on candidates before investing in an interview.

Interviews

My interview process always has two sides: technical and personal.

Technical

We gave them an assignment to complete at home. We did not use a specific platform, but I know that those exist. Lesson: either give them a timeline within which to complete the assignment, or leave it to them but have your own internal expectation clear—say, you expect the assignment returned within one week. Therefore, anyone who takes longer is probably not a good fit. But especially those who do take longer and do not communicate that they need extra time.

There is the debate of which is better: give them a tech assignment and only if they pass, invite them for an interview, or vice versa. There are pros and cons to both. 

Tech first, interview second: this is good for you (the employer) because you won’t waste your time interviewing unqualified candidates. The downside is this will definitely turn off some qualified candidates who will not apply because of it. 

Interview first, tech second: you won’t deter potentially good candidates from applying, but you will waste some interview time on candidates who will not pass your tech challenge.

Personal

We often think of engineers as just that and forget their human side. However, they have feelings and emotions too, even if they are introverted. I always try to understand more about their personal character and their heart. I also want to know that they are someone with character and self-discipline. Some questions I ask:

  • “Tell me about something that you are not proud of.”
  • “Give me an example of something that you do on a regular basis, not because you like it or because it is easy, but because it is necessary.”
  • “What do you expect from your team members and what should they expect from you?”

I wrote this article recently, which came directly from asking this question: “The One Thing Software Developers Want from Their Team“

Facing challenges in scaling your tech team and hiring international developers?

As a Fractional CTO, I specialize in helping tech startups and small software companies overcome hurdles in hiring, scaling, and product development. With my experience, I can streamline your processes and get design and build your software organization. Contact me to learn how I can provide the expertise you need to succeed.

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Interviewers

I find it helpful to involve a couple of senior team members in the last stages of the interview process. That way, you get more perspective on each candidate, and you give your team a way to influence who their future team members will be.

Don’t Compromise

If your gut tells you that something is not right during the interview process, don’t let the charm of the candidate sway your opinion. Look for motivation and responsiveness from the candidate during the interview process. How quickly do they respond to emails and inquiries? If you feel that they are not that invested, they probably are not. I learned this the hard way with a candidate who took us for a ride after hiring, and ultimately we had to part ways with them.

Onboarding

This company had the best onboarding process I have seen in over 20 years. The two tools were Trello and Loom. When a new engineer joined the team, they would be assigned a brand new Trello board with cards that they would have to go through—Kanban style. Each card had an assignment for them: to read some code, do an exercise, examine a part of the system, etc. Each card also had a Loom video explaining what the assignment was and what was being asked of them. Upon completion, a senior member would check each card and accept it or send it back for more work. By the time the new member finished all the cards, they would be onboarded and would have checked in at least one code change. I was the VP of Engineering but also completed this process when I first started, and it was a great experience.

Additionally, I always assign a “buddy engineer” for every new hire. This means that a veteran on the team becomes the go-to person and friend of the new team member. That way, they have support and someone to lean on until they are integrated.

Background Checks and References

There are different philosophies here. We chose to do background checks on every candidate. Various companies do this and they charge different amounts. Keep in mind two things if you decide to do this:

  • Other countries have far less background data on individuals in comparison to the US.
  • Be upfront with candidates and tell them early on that this is a normal part of the process that every new candidate goes through if they advance to the last stage of the interview process. I lost an amazing candidate after I extended an offer to him because he found it offensive that we wanted to do a background check and talk to his references. He withdrew at the last minute.