Hiring programmers is a difficult task. Not only must you ensure that your selected candidates know the job; you must also make sure they fit in with your company’s objectives. Not every good programmer is good for your company.
This article highlights steps that must not be missed when hiring programmers in Nigeria.


Never Ever Hire a Programmer if you are Not One- or have not been one:
Of course you can interview a candidate for issues other than the technical aspect of the job; like work ethics, discipline, company culture, educational qualifications e.t.c. But if you are not a programmer, you have no business hiring a programmer. When I was a newbie, I got hired by a lot of people who saw my petty jobs, with fancy UI, and were impressed. I got paid writing a lot of crappy, unscalable, undocumented software. This would never have happened if I was interviewed first by a senior developer.
A qualified company CTO should interview the candidates. If you have no CTO, please delegate to a hiring firm/consultant. The danger in hiring bad programmers is that they will litter your company with other bad programmers, and if you ever manage to get a good one, they will frustrate him/her out of the company. God help you and your customers when that happens.
Even if you are not employing a developer on a full time basis, but for just a one-time project, get someone you know is deep in the game to interview him first. There are many good developers here on Nairaland that can help you.

Invite applications from 'passionate programmers'; NOT CERTIFICATE HOLDERS: sorry, but programmers are scarce and really good ones that will deliver reliable, scalable software are almost impossible to find. If you put in the barrier of certificates, you make a hard nut harder. Programming is a task that people master by putting in dedication and practice- Not by going to school and getting fancy certificates.

Also, if a CV has too many certificates listed, it should raise eyebrows. The fact that there are so many certificates is a strong indication that the person has not really sat down to code for long lengths of time.

Of course there are positions for which certificate barriers are welcome. These include project manager, software architect, e.t.c.. But for ‘programmer’-the guy who writes or maintains code pursuant to given specifications; a certificate shouldn’t matter during first screening.

Its also okay to add technology restrictions but rather than languages; emphasize platforms. If you already have PHP programmers, adding a Node.js programmer to the mix wont hurt.

Thus: I want a PHP/AJAX/JAVASCRIPT programmer is wrong.
I want a web programmer is right.

I want a C# WPF programmer is wrong
I want a Windows Desktop Programmer is right.



Ask to solve reasonable programming problems:
When I say programming questions, I don’t mean sort algorithms and asymptotic notations. You are hiring programmers; not computer scientists. What matters is that they know relevant data structures, design patterns, and how to use them to solve common business problems efficiently.

Off the top of my head examples will be:

1. Give problems that require the programmer to use polymorphism in solving. Don’t mention this. Programmers who have never come in contact with this will use other clearly non-efficient, code-obfuscating, tightly coupled strategies.
2. Give problems that involve hashmaps, hashsets, linkedlists, stacks, queues.et.c. These are data structures you don’t learn by reading ‘for dummies books’ or ‘learn java in 21 days books’.
3. Write code with subtle bugs and ask them to correct it. Candidates new to debugging will fail at this juncture.
4. You can add algorithms but this should be used to determine the best candidate-not the worst candidate.
5. Let candidates solve these in languages of their choice.

What to take out of this stage is: my candidates are actual programmers…not 3 month old newbies.

Ask to see written projects:
At this juncture, you have eliminated so many potential disasters. You should probably stop in your tracks and send me a ‘thank you’ mail before you continue.

Its unfortunate that this is the stage where many Nigerian employers actually start the hiring process. Its plain wrong. Many of the projects your candidates claim to own could have been written by other people. Also, how do you know they didn’t copy huge amounts of it from somewhere? And how much time do you actually spend on each software to determine and appreciate its strong points and weak points? Believe me, many software projects look beautiful and properly structured; until you put them to personal use. That’s why companies hire professional testers to detect bugs.

What you should take out of this stage: the technologies your candidates are familiar with!

You cant integrate another person’s code in yours, except you are familiar with the technology that person used. You should also take note of how these projects relate to what your company does, which brings us to the next stage.


Have them work on projects similar to what your company does:
If you have to pay them for the project, by all means do! But you need to be sure that a programmer can handle a typical project in your company before hiring them. Many java spring programmers will have difficulty writing java android and your company is a business environment, not a programming school!

Also, when they work on company project, you see subtle things like how they relate with your team, and how much they understand company objectives. By the end of this exercise, you already know who you want to hire and who you don’t. The next stage is usually unnecessary except in certain circumstances.




If you are deeply interested in certificates. now is the time to ask for those.:
There are positions and circumstances for which certificates are necessary. A university degree for instance shows that a candidate respects and obeys authority. A school dropout on the other hand is a sign of strong self-will and possible disregard for authority, while a candidate who has no tertiary education whatsoever, should ordinary be expected to be wanting in certain social/ethical skills.

Notice that I deliberately omitted mentioning discipline here. The truth is; no one learns programming, or any other valuable skill for that matter, without discipline. If your candidate made it this far; they are disciplined and just need motivation.

This step can be handled by a non-technical person.

I will really appreciate the input of senior developers on this forumn on their hiring experiences in Nigeria, as well as steps in this article they do not agree with.

Congratulations! You have just helped some persons stay unemployed for longer.
Well, I'm not a programmer, so to speak, but I have an interest in learning and these guidelines will help direct my learning. Thanks for sharing them.

Excellent post at OP. I think the first point is arguably the most important. In cases where the employer is not a programmer, he really should seek the help of trusted developers to help him interview candidates....just my two kobo.

I share your sentiments.
But i think a programmer should know some computer science, at least data structures and their runtime performance. Knowing how to create some custom data structures : linked list, trees, maybe graphs-
is a big plus , because all programming problems are simply algorithms manipulating data structures.
The rest are just icings.

One more point to add, in Nigeria, Good programmers will not stay to pass through all these rigorous recruitment exercise unless you are paying really well.
They are usually already employed and usually have a number of offers waiting on the table.

asalimpo:
I share your sentiments.
But i think a programmer should know some computer science, at least data structures and their runtime performance. Knowing how to create some custom data structures : linked list, trees, maybe graphs-
is a big plus , because all programming problems are simply algorithms manipulating data structures.
The rest are just icings.

Asalimpo, you have a strong point. A candidate that knows these definitely has an edge.

moderatorr:
One more point to add, in Nigeria, Good programmers will not stay to pass through all these rigorous recruitment exercise unless you are paying really well.
They are usually already employed and usually have a number of offers waiting on the table.

Well, I usually keep the payment secret till the end of the interview (When companies ask me to help them recruit). Most times, the sheer joy of having succeeded where so many failed can be a motivation-alongside payment that is up to market standard of course.

First of all a Professional programmer doesn't need a job to survive , The web is free.
Wordpress themes & plugins are there.
Upwork is there to freelance.
Blogging is there.
Create an analysis tool and other for the web put advert on the page you will earn forever.

Not everyone is a programmer.
"Any fool can write a code that a computer can understand. Good Programmers write codes that human can understand" - Martin Fowler



Never Ever Hire a Programmer if you are Not One- or have not been one:
Disagreed: Everone does not have to learn carpentry just because we need a chair, All Client want is you to see their specification and prove that you can even make it better or exact.

Ask to solve reasonable programming problems:

Do people give tailors demo clothes to sew before giving them real one? Yes, but you will pay for it. Payment is per Hour in programming.

Ask to see written projects:
The best point, as a programmer you need to have a portfolio, if you have never done something for a client before try to creat thing just for fun put it on the web and you are fine.


Have them work on projects similar to what your company does:
Great.

If you are deeply interested in certificates. now is the time to ask for those.:
Most Expert programmers drop out of school, self though programming work the best all this W3school certificate mean nothing.
In my school Engineering student code way better than Computer scientist, I don't know why because I have never been to their class.

I personally started coding without certificates not even diploma in computer training I have none and nobody every ask me because nobody care as a matter of fact my first ever project was from the State Government and they did not even bother to ask about it.

timotew:
First of all a Professional programmer doesn't need a job to survive , The web is free.
Wordpress themes & plugins are there.
Upwork is there to freelance.
Blogging is there.
Create an analysis tool and other for the web put advert on the page you will earn forever.

Not everyone is a programmer.
"Any fool can write a code that a computer can understand. Good Programmers write codes that human can understand" - Martin Fowler



Never Ever Hire a Programmer if you are Not One- or have not been one:
Disagreed: Everone does not have to learn carpentry just because we need a chair, All Client want is you to see their specification and prove that you can even make it better or exact.

Ask to solve reasonable programming problems:

Do people give tailors demo clothes to sew before giving them real one? Yes, but you will pay for it. Payment is per Hour in programming.

Ask to see written projects:
The best point, as a programmer you need to have a portfolio, if you have never done something for a client before try to creat thing just for fun put it on the web and you are fine.


Have them work on projects similar to what your company does:
Great.

If you are deeply interested in certificates. now is the time to ask for those.:
Most Expert programmers drop out of school, self though programming work the best all this W3school certificate mean nothing.
In my school Engineering student code way better than Computer scientist, I don't know why because I have never been to their class.

I personally started coding without certificates not even diploma in computer training I have none and nobody every ask me because nobody care as a matter of fact my first ever project was from the State Government and they did not even bother to ask about it.

Wow. really insightful, sir! I was looking forward to experience-filled responses like this!

larisoft in addition to all you have listed here, I will ask you to solve some complex Matrix Problems, Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equation. if you pass, I will now set some easy Data Structure and And Algorithm questions. Before you will be asked to showcase your portfolio or maybe create a CRUD app in a particular language.

FrankLampard:
larisoft in addition to all you have listed here, I will ask you to solve some complex Matrix Problems, Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equation. if you pass, I will now set some easy Data Structure and And Algorithm questions. Before you will be asked to showcase your portfolio or maybe create a CRUD app in a particular language.

Lol! Do they pass?

wow

FrankLampard:
larisoft in addition to all you have listed here, I will ask you to solve some complex Matrix Problems, Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equation. if you pass, I will now set some easy Data Structure and And Algorithm questions. Before you will be asked to showcase your portfolio or maybe create a CRUD app in a particular language.

Tough. . .

@op, excellent post jare.

dhtml18:

Tough. . .

@op, excellent post jare.

thanks, dhtml. means a lot coming from you.

You are welcome. this is the kind of post that should hit frontpage, but no way. . . .

Everything worth doing is worth doing well. In the case of a progranmer, he/she just have to be good in any area of specialization. Be excellent in any thing you do. Put in your all, be passionate about them all these things mentioned above you will be in control of them all.

FrankLampard:
larisoft in addition to all you have listed here, I will ask you to solve some complex Matrix Problems, Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equation. if you pass, I will now set some easy Data Structure and And Algorithm questions. Before you will be asked to showcase your portfolio or maybe create a CRUD app in a particular language.

Beelzebub is that you

Nmeri17:
Beelzebub is that you

Me sef tire o, i dont even know the best way to deal with that dude. I have this long e-whip that i keep under my bed. . . .

Nmeri17:
Beelzebub is that you

funny dude...

larisoft:

funny dude...

He prolly thinks we're referring to the HR process for recruiting daredevil rock star IT team leaders at NASA.

Posts like that should hastily be hidden by active mods to checkmate rookie employers being misled by such malicious claims.

^^I need to whip that dude like seriously. . .

Yea, I'm only making jest of OP's write up.

FrankLampard:
Yea, I'm only making jest of OP's write up.

That makes you a jester/troll like me, all sins pardoned, carry on bro. . .

dhtml18:

That makes you a jester/troll like me, all sins pardoned, carry on bro. . .

The larisoft guy too dey form badoo, I don't know why tho.

BTW: Some software firm I know of uses that method for developer recruitment and I'm very sure. I'm sure of ByteWorks Abuja.

^^^I know that of course, just saying that it is not necessary to hire a basic programmer and does not work all the time. Take me for example, my programming skills were picked from here and there, no formal knowledge, but that does not mean that i dont write good codes in many languages.

FrankLampard:
larisoft in addition to all you have listed here, I will ask you to solve some complex Matrix Problems, Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equation. if you pass, I will now set some easy Data Structure and And Algorithm questions. Before you will be asked to showcase your portfolio or maybe create a CRUD app in a particular language.

Are we talking about Basic, Fortran and MatLab here?

Nice article

FrankLampard:


The larisoft guy too dey form badoo, I don't know why tho.

BTW: Some software firm I know of uses that method for developer recruitment and I'm very sure. I'm sure of ByteWorks Abuja.

I can attest that larisoft is not an average programmer. From what he has posted on github that i have come across, the guy is an advanced programmer. By their fruits you shall no them. He is also very creative in that he uses available stuff to get his desired results. So point of correction, the guy is not forming badoo, the guy is badooing.......

FrankLampard:


The larisoft guy too dey form badoo, I don't know why tho.

BTW: Some software firm I know of uses that method for developer recruitment and I'm very sure. I'm sure of ByteWorks Abuja.

I can attest that larisoft is not an average programmer. From what he has posted on github that i have come across, the guy is an advanced programmer. By their fruits you shall no them. He is also very creative in that he uses available stuff to get his desired results.

seunthomas:

I can attest that larisoft is not an average programmer. From what he has posted on github that i have come across, the guy is an advanced programmer. By their fruits you shall no them. He is also very creative in that he uses available stuff to get his desired results.

Lol! Dancing Azonto...thank you sir!

seunthomas:

I can attest that larisoft is not an average programmer. From what he has posted on github that i have come across, the guy is an advanced programmer. By their fruits you shall no them. He is also very creative in that he uses available stuff to get his desired results. So point of correction, the guy is not forming badoo, the guy is badooing.......

At long last. . . . . .you forgot to add that he is a better programmer than dhtml18!