A good software developer? A nerd or a beer lover?

There is no escaping the fact that a good code is written by a good programmer. Obviously, we need good programmers if we want to satisfy clients’ needs. However, while recruiting a developer you cannot forget that a  good developer is more than a language syntax source. He should bring more than technical competencies alone. Our research & experience revealed that, yet again, it’s more about social and emotional intelligence as well as thinking patterns and overall attitude. Before we add any new member to the team we should always specify what kind of person we would like to work with? Who is the best fit to the team?

A good developer according to a software developer

I asked our software developers at GOYELLO what qualities should their perfect colleague have. What type of person they would like to work with? According to my IT colleagues, a perfect developer is creative and if necessary can provide innovative solutions  to unexpected obstacles that the project is faced with. A good programmer has the ability to work independently on the project as well as cooperate in a team. Is able to support and motivate the colleagues and willing to share knowledge with them. A good developer is solution oriented and takes personal responsibility without pushing the blame onto other team members when they get stuck or fail. Has the ability to solve team conflict for the sake of the common goal. Moreover, is reliable and trustworthy by delivering whatever agreed with other team members and clients in time, without blocking other colleagues.  Also, responsible and far-sighted enough to directly communicate about issues that block him well in advance. A good programmer is open to suggestions and new ideas for improvement. But also confident and brave enough to stand up for his good ideas when necessary.

A good developer according to managers

When I asked GOYELLO  managers who they would like to have in their teams, they put emphasis on a few more things since they consider the candidate from the client-oriented perspective. According to them, what additionally matters is the ability to organize and prioritize your own tasks/duties and work under deadline/time pressure. Moreover, being immune to clients’ fussiness, their lack of decisiveness and sudden mind changing as to the application functionality is also a required quality. In other words, a good developer must be resilient enough, flexible and adaptable in order to be able to work in chaos and under often changing circumstances.

Not to mention that a lot depends on proper communication between developers, management and the client. Our managers also remember the situations when the developer went beyond their duties and sometimes sacrificed their private time to complete the goal. For them, such attitude signifies great commitment to the company and concern about the final success of the project. And employees who always have the final goal in mind are most valued.

Moreover, a good developer cannot be narrow-minded and look only from his own technological perspective. It’s essential to adopt the clients’ point of view if they want deliver a product which really lives up to clients’ expectations. My colleagues also mentioned a very important thing: willingness to develop new programming skills and keeping up to date with new technologies. Good developers have a clear idea of what career path they plan to follow and what other competencies they would like to acquire. Sitting comfortably in front of the screen and feeling happy to have a stable job without making any extra effort is not the attitude companies expect. It’s easy to lose track of what is going on in such a dynamic industry. What is more, all managers admitted unanimously that the best developers to work with are the ones who are crazy about programming and treat this as a real hobby. Definitely, only the people with passion are powerful enough to lead and stimulate others. Drinking a beer together just increases the team spirit

Make sure you employ the right people

All in all, one third of our lives we spend at work. Let’s spend this precious time with the right people who fit the team and feel its spirit. Such people are capable of creating great, healthy teams and a friendly work environment. These are the factors which always influence the overall work performance and the project results. The above personal profile was not artificially created by the HR department but by the developers themselves. Let them choose the colleagues they will feel comfortable working with. In my next post I will describe a few fundamental interview strategies that can help recruiters select the right developers.

Share with us what in your opinion the most important qualities for developers are. Feel free to share the ideas  below, or meet and discuss through Twitter via @GOYELLO

Tags: Career, Software