You are an innovative executive or a founder of a company and have a great idea for a solution. You know that it needs to be a mobile application but don’t have any Mobile app developers hanging around to develop it.  In this content driven world on the internet the available options can seem overwhelming. Here are 3 ways you can go about finding one or more app developers.

1.  Referrals

This is the best way to find anything.  If you want a product and there are many available options then you are likely to ask a trusted friend who has similar interests (a main criteria for making friends) if they would recommend an option for you.  Finding a developer is not any different than this. Ask your friends if they can recommend a developer for you. If you don’t mix work and personal life together and don’t have friends who can help you with this then ask your trusted colleagues from work.  There may be another division in your company who develop mobile apps and can help recommend some from their network. If that is not an option then you have LinkedIn. If you are a user on LinkedIn search out contacts from your network who specialize in Mobile Applications.  Send them a private message asking for recommendations on mobile developers.  

2.  Meet-ups

This is a little more work than simply asking for recommendations.  This will require you to actively build your network of developers by attending technology events.  Most major cities nowadays have technology based events. Go to Meetup.com, get an account and search for an event that is related to Mobile apps.  There are always good people in these events looking for work. You are most likely not going to find a suitable developer on your first or even the first few meetings.  This is no different then selecting you developer through in-bound resumes from a job posting. You may get lucky and find the one at first try but chances it will take a few tries.  So be patient. Search and qualify your developer. You may also request the event organizer for recommendations. They love connecting people with one another.  

3. Post a job on LinkedIn or any other job site

The simplest approach to finding app developers.  Yet, this will require the most work. This also require some money investment as most job sites including LinkedIn will charge you to post your job.  If this is a contract position then be prepared to be bombarded with resumes and off-shore/outsourcing companies flocking to you to showcase their skills, abilities and availability to help you build our solution.  This may sound great but getting through all the noise will be difficult. Some job sites will offer a way for you to add questionnaires to your job posting. Each applicant will be required to complete your questionnaire before they can submit their resume.  The content of the questionnaire is totally up to you. Or some job sites will offer recommendations on what questions you can ask your respondents. All this can help filter the applications to a manageable count. If you are part of an organization who has an HR then you can give them the responsibility of filtering the applications.

I’ve listed the top 2 ways to find mobile app developers.  Having an idea is not enough. Putting together a team that will do the work is the most important factor in building a successful product.  Good luck in your search!

In my next blog I will review how you can go about selecting the right app developer for your project.

Please leave me comments about your experiences on searching for an app developer.  I’d love to hear from you.