How Not to Hire an Android App Developer

You may have heard about mobile apps that failed to scale and meet expectations. This often happens when inexperienced Android app developers are hired, leading to problems during development. For instance, Tripple, an app designed to help travelers find airport restaurants, struggles with outdated menus, lack of itinerary uploads, limited airport coverage, and developmental issues. Similarly, Vine, despite having over 200 million users, failed due to its inability to adapt to market changes and leadership issues.

Many app failures result from hiring mistakes. Business owners often overlook the expertise, experience, and availability of Android app developers. Although Android apps can be complex, you can succeed by hiring the right talent.

In this article, we will cover:

• Essential skills for Android app developers
• Safe recruitment practices
• Common hiring mistakes to avoid

We've tested and vetted several app development companies with the necessary skills for your project's success. Share your Android app development needs, and we'll connect you with the right candidate within 72 hours. Let's dive into the details.

Top Skills Your Hire for Android App Development Must Have

There are 7.1 billion mobile users, and you need a fraction of this figure to use your app. You’ll connect with customers faster, offer more value, introduce new services and features, and collate feedback efficiently if they use your mobile app. Building an efficient app requires app developers to have the following skills.

Programming Language

Programming languages are used to control a machine. A developer must be able to write clean code to create suitable mobile applications. The official Android development language is Java because it’s scalable, adaptable, and has several development tools to build secure apps. Other common languages are Kotlin, Dart, C#, and JavaScript. Your developer must be skilled in using these variations.

Knowledge of User Interface Design

Your app must appeal to users through design. The user interface focuses on looks, making it easy for users to interact, access, and take action where necessary. UI/UX design helps with the general use of the application as it’ll make it easy to acquire new customers, increase engagement and productivity, and reduce customer support costs. It’s one of the reasons why you should hire app developers, especially Android-based experienced ones.

Understanding of Agile Development

The app development life cycle includes planning, analysis, design, coding, and testing. Agile development involves breaking tasks into smaller parts to save time and improve collaboration. Android developers must have expertise with cross-platform applications. The ability to manage this skill is desirable and should be considered when hiring app developers for Android.

Problem-solving Skills

The task of programming an android app includes developing software, fixing bugs, and resolving problems. Developers must be able to think on their feet, articulate design problems, and solve them.

Understanding of Database Management

An android app dev must be familiar with relational and non-relational database management systems. A database is a computerized data-keeping system categorized according to data structures or types. You may require users to input their email, addresses, and other data, which requires a consistently managed database for app efficiency. You must consider expertise in SQL programming language (for the UI design of relational databases), NoSQL (for non-relational class), and others before you hire app developers for Android phones.

Hiring Android App Developers: Mistakes to Avoid

Employers make mistakes that ultimately affect their final product with their hire. Although chief executives feel that the unavailability of talent threatens their business, their hiring mistakes cost them more. Hiring app developers, android-based ones, are valuable to the app dev industry, so you must scout for the right fit by avoiding these mistakes.

Failure to Prioritize Technical Interviews

Words on paper don't do justice to the abilities of any developer. Engaging them in a technical interview beyond their resume is a way to understand what they know, their level of expertise and experience, and how they can help your app development efforts. However, many companies don't do this.

A senior engineer like Erick from Google only reads the resume and sets up an interview to get the applicant to code and fix some problems (to assess the candidate's efficiency). You can do better than this without stressing yourself over their GitHub projects or reading their works on Indie Hackers.

Pro tip: After reading their resume, set up an interview with shortlisted candidates to understand their skill set. The first interview should be about their technical abilities, and it could be with your project manager.

For example, you can test their theoretical knowledge by asking about their understanding of OOP design principles, JSON, CI/CD, APIs, third-party libraries, Swift, Java, or Kotlin. You need to test their knowledge of android software systems since you can only understand the work dynamics of a developer when you speak to one personally.

Failure to Communicate Precise Job Details

It's impossible to create precise job details for an Android app developer role if you haven't discovered the value your app can provide and why your customers need it. The Forbes Tech Council believes that some tech companies don't need mobile apps, so they compiled 12 questions you can ask yourself before hiring Android app developers for your app project.

A developer needs to understand the job details to create an error-free mobile app, but many don't find these details in your job post. A survey reveals that about a fifth of applicants don't apply to jobs because of the vague descriptions. Even Glass Door mentions that vague job descriptions are red flags every professional (applicant) must avoid. It means the employer isn't focused, and the role has unstructured goals. Having an unstructured goal for your app means there's no particular metric to track the success or failure of the app.

Pro-tip: Always articulate the responsibilities of an app developer in the recruitment process. A clear job description makes it easier to attract top talent.

Hiring a Developer Without Knowledge of App Maintenance

Updating your apps has several benefits for you and your customers. These include improving the UI and UX design/performance, expanding your database to increase your capacity to take on new customers, fixing bugs, stabilizing performance, and supporting the latest Android upgrades. Your new hire must understand the value of app maintenance, but some employers don't care about a disadvantage like this. You'd be making a massive blunder if you hire app developers for Android that don't understand how these work.

Pro-tip: Consider developers using available technologies to maintain and update apps to meet business requirements. Feel free to ask them for details during the technical interview.

Choosing Price Over Skills

You should be a bit worried when someone claims to be a professional yet bills you a low price. It’s best to avoid such offers because they’re mostly unable to execute your species of project. For example, an Android app developer with at least 3 years of professional experience should not charge anything less than $50-$85 per hour.

The cost is essential when hiring app developers, but it shouldn’t be considered over skills. There are thousands of apps in the marketplace, and a poorly developed one won’t do any good for your business. Small businesses and startups make this mistake — they end up hiring app developers, Android-based ones, who are not competent enough for the task, although billed less.

Pro-tip: Hire the developer according to project needs, and don't get enticed by low rates.

Neglecting Industry Experience

Many companies ignore the developer’s industry experience when hiring. Every industry has its dynamic drivers for apps, and a developer without industry knowledge may not know what makes your customers tick. Hiring Android app developers with industry experience in your niche, who have developed apps for similar businesses, make their abilities more outstanding. After all, your app's unique offerings will distinguish you in the industry. Developers with this experience can also make better recommendations to improve your market success.

Pro-tip: Feel free to reach out to the previous clients on an applicant’s portfolio, especially if they already exist on your LinkedIn network. Their honest feedback about the Android app developer’s process is a great way to reveal things hidden behind the scenes.

Lack of Familiarity with App Release Procedure

This may seem odd, but some business owners are not, at first, concerned about the developer’s ability to finalize the app release process. If after you test the app and it passes without any flaws, you shouldn’t ignore the process of publishing on the Google Play store. It would be best if you considered a developer who will manage necessary post-release work and plan to handle it internally.

Pro-tip: Hire Android app developers familiar with how the Playstore works.

Next Steps?

Your process of hiring Android app developers must be efficient because you can’t afford to make the mistakes other businesses make. When your candidate ticks all these boxes, draw up a contract explaining their job roles, duration, payment structure, non-compete or nondisclosure, and any other details they must consent to. Your developer can commence work on your project as soon as you finalize all contractual agreements.

FAQs

Q1. Where to hire an Android developer?

We have found, tested, and tried some app development companies for several years. These companies have software, coding, and engineering skills for your project's excellence. You'll find the right candidate in 72 hours if you tell us your Android app development needs.

You can also consider platforms like LinkedIn, Upwork, GitHub Jobs, Glassdoor, and Toptal. However, you may need to spend a few bucks to place your job ads, take weeks to review submissions, and more weeks to interview shortlisted applicants.

Q2. How much should I pay someone to create an app?

Typical average rates for mobile developers are $25 to $85 per hour. You can make an app with a budget of $12k. You'd need to discuss with an expert before reaching a price.

Q3. Can I hire someone to create an app for me?

Yes, every business owner who needs an app hires app developers. You can hire freelance, full-time, or in-house app developers for this role. Android apps require expertise to build and effectively maintain, so you should focus on experienced developers.