Today, the demand for .NET developers is higher than it’s ever been. If a talented, experienced .NET professional who’s capable of creating a variety of web, mobile, and IoT applications is on your hiring list, here are six simple steps for how to attract and hire them successfully.
Step 1: Get very clear on what skills you’re seeking
.NET developers are in charge of designing, implementing, and maintaining software applications to meet the needs of various industries. They also monitor and assist system activities and build the necessary system requirements.
To do this, .NET developers must be proficient in programming languages, such as C#, F#, and VB.NET.
Another essential yet highly sought-after skill that a talented .NET developer must possess is an in-depth knowledge of database applications, such as SQL, Server, NoSQL, and Oracle.
Sourcing a .NET developer who is familiar with ASP.NET MVC would also be beneficial. ASP.NET is a component of the larger .NET platform that is used to create visually compelling and high-performing online applications.
Because of the flexible and inclusive nature of .NET, Dot Net developers must have a basic understanding of various technologies referred to as “full-stack”, including CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Bootstrap, and JQuery.
In addition to all these technical skills, the .NET developer must be equipped with excellent time-management problem-solving, analytical, communication and collaboration skills, so that they can work effectively in teams and meet deadlines.
Depending on the level of experience, here are some skills you should be aware of when hiring a:
- 🚲 Junior .NET developer:.NET and its internals (JIT, CLR, GAC), Web services, C#, VN.NET, Asp.NET, OOP principles, HTML, CSS, Visual Studio.NET, JQuery, JavaScript, Angular JS, SQL.
- 🛵 Mid-level .NET developer: All the above and Bootstrap experience, ASP.NET, XML, HTML, CSS, experience working with AngularJS.
- 🏍 Senior .NET developer: All the above and ASP.MVC, .NET MVC, .NET Web API frameworks, strong debugging skills, web app development proficiency, deep knowledge of C#, Agile environment familiarity, knowledge of MySQL, and experience in developing high-load systems.
Step 2: Define your hiring model & write a job post
Will it be a project-based or a full-time job? What features does your Dot Net-based application have? Do you have any specific UI/UX requirements that should be implemented? Analyze your project size and requirements and decide on your hiring model and specify them in the job description.
You can choose a part-time or milestone model for a simple project with fewer features. However, opting for the full-time model can effectively scale a long-term project.
Writing a job description is a five-finger exercise for many hiring managers. They think that a 1,500-word job post and some fancy words like “code guru” or “tech master” will set a trap for the best programmers. Little do they know that a weird lexicon tends to scare candidates away.
Think about why you need a .NET developer and explain it in the description. Create a detailed proposal with clear requirements, responsibilities, and a brief description of corporate culture and workflow. This will help you avoid one-size-fits-all kinds of developers from applying.
To draw in the best candidates, the job post must be attractive and resemble advertising. The next move is to post your job offer on popular .NET developer platforms and communities, such as Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, or Reddit.
Step 3: Look in the right direction
Recruiters in tech are desperate for .NET developers. But .NET developers are the ones who hold the power. There are three broad paths you can follow to effectively source and select top candidates who would be the best fit for your .NET project.
Community & freelancing platforms
There are a plethora of digital platforms where bussing coders come and showcase their skills and you can tap them in for a .NET role in your company.
Stack Overflow is a question-and-answer platform with an active community of software engineers of different levels. The platform allows software developers to post their resumes and highlight their strongest skills, while recruiters can post job openings and reach out to potential candidates.
GitHub - With 73 million users sharing their programming skills, Github is perhaps the best place to find a Dot Net professional. With a minimal fee, you can create job postings, discover .NET developers by seniority levels and view their popularity among colleagues.
Apart from community platforms, there are many freelancing websites and hiring networks like Freelancer, Upwork, Gigster, Dice, and Hired where skilled .NET developers can be found and outsourced for short-term projects or tasks, at competitive prices.
Job boards
The second recruitment path you can follow is via employment websites - Indeed, Glassdoor, Careerbuilder, Mashable, The Muse, and SimplyHired to name a few. It’s a simple yet effective way to find the resumes of Dot Net programmers and filter out the candidates based on your specific requirements, out of the hundreds and thousands of prospective hires.
Referral program
A different approach is to encourage your workforce to refer and recommend suitable .NET candidates. To motivate them, give rewards for extremely valuable referrals.
Meetups and events
Use your networking superpower during the meetups and .NET events. It will help you get more contacts from specialists. Try Meetup to select the most relevant events for sourcing .NET developers.
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Step 4: Filter candidates & conduct interviews
Tech interviews require in-depth preparation. You need to figure out whether whiteboard tests, behavioral questions, or psychometric tests will be the right way to evaluate your candidate.
If you have no clue about .NET or have zero tech background, ask for help or get a sheet with .NET programming interview questions and answers as a guide. Only tech-aware hiring managers can separate the great .NET candidates from the excellent ones.
Filter applicants based on your criteria and do background checks.
- Accomplishments. Get to know the candidates’ past projects and the tools, processes, and approaches used.
- Technical know-how. A skilled .NET developer always stays updated with the latest trends and technologies.
- The basics. Ask simple questions related to the .NET framework to double-check developers’ technical expertise and job experience level.
Then, conduct multi-tiered job interviews to ensure that your .NET developer candidate is a good fit for the team, has a broad skill set, and is legally eligible to work for your project.
Here are 10 Dot Net developer interview questions to help you identify the right person for your team:
What is the .NET framework?
What is CLR?
What do you know about JIT?
What is BCL?
What are the different types of constructors in C#?
What is caching?
What is the application domain?
What is a cross-page posting?
What are ASP.NET security controls?
What are EXE and DLL?
Step 5: Confirm .NET developers’ skillset
You cannot solely rely on resumes to know one’s actual abilities. To get rid of unsuitable .NET candidates, you’ll need to conduct tech interviews to put their skills to the test.
Use project-specific coding tests to make sure the candidate has the proper knowledge and experience of the .NET technologies required for your business. It’s crucial to get a clear understanding of the candidates’ experience, previous projects, programming languages, and industries they worked in.
In addition to solving specific tech issues, there are a few other factors to consider during the technical interview:
- .NET portfolio. Don’t take each .NET applicant’s resume at face value. Request a portfolio or list of completed .NET projects and verify that the candidate worked on them.
- Software development methodologies. Discuss whether candidates find Agile environments supportive or distracting or have extensive experience in working with new development models, such as DevOps.
- Soft skills. Hard skills are not the only thing that matters. Don’t forget to research the applicant’s time management, communication, collaboration, ethical, and reliability skills.
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Step 6: Close the deal
By the end of the shortlisting process, you would probably find .NET candidates that cut for you. It’s the perfect time to fix the deadlines. Sign an NDA agreement and get started.
Hiring a .NET developer is not just scrolling through the resume. It is a complex, elaborated, and gradual process. You won't let yourself miss out on a potentially highly-qualified candidate. And, most importantly, you won’t let weak candidates be enrolled in your team and waste your time.
Here are five mistakes to avoid when hiring Dot Net developers for your team:
- Not prioritizing soft skills over technical expertise
- Making job requirements too broad and ambiguous
- Limiting yourself to a few popular sources for job applications
- Relying only on community forums and freelancing platforms
- Hiring at face value and overlooking a robust background check
Top hacks when hiring a .NET developer
Follow this list of guidelines to hire a qualified Dot Net professional. We developed it based on our recruitment process.
- Know the basics. Becoming more tech-savvy with .NET terminology will show developers that you’re ready to do more than closing a job.
- Check the hard skills. Make sure that the list of technical expertise matches the specific requirements of the job - C#, .NET Core platform 2.0 and higher, and ASP.NET Core Web API technology are a must.
- Validate the soft skills. Being a team player, adaptability, commitment, flexibility, and communication skills are all valuable for .NET roles.
- Test code. Make sure to have one of the programmers review the code of the .NET candidate you intend to recruit.
Advantages of outsourcing .NET developers
Now that the work has gone remote, a lot of companies consider outsourcing .NET developers to be much simpler and cheaper than hiring them in-house. Let’s look at the main pros of outsourced .NET developers.
Hiring remotely enables you to access a wider pool of .NET talents and even reduce your hiring costs, as long as you can employ candidates from places where the cost of living is significantly lower.
At the same time, the ability to work remotely is one of the most effective ways to attract and retain talented .NET developers.
However, for a faster and smoother process, you need to employ cutting-edge technology that can help you get matched with the right prospects. At Index, as Europe's leading talent network, we can help you find skilled .NET, Python, Java, React, NodeJs, Angular, and Data Engineering experts without the pain of searching, screening, and interviewing best-fit candidates.
Tell us your requirements, and in less than two weeks, you’ll onboard a qualified full-time remote Dot Net developer at half of the cost.
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Also read our in-depth guides for recruiting top Java, Mobile, Data Engineering, and Full-Stack talents.