How to acquire top React developers in 2021

While many software developments may have been put on hold due to the pandemic, React software developers are still among the most sought after. So if your business needs one or more, we have some tips on how to go about finding and hiring React developers.

In the recent “State of Frontend” (SoF) report by The Software House, frontend development is dominated by React – an open-source front end JavaScript library. The SoF report says as many as 74.2 percent of participants use React in their everyday work.

With so many developers using React, you’d be forgiven for thinking it would be easy to hire them.

While it’s true that many developers have picked up a little bit of React, the number of skilled and experienced React developers ready to take on ambitious commercial projects is not that great. Especially relative to the demand.

Additionally, many tend to prefer gigs, i.e. freelancing contract work, rather than full-time jobs.

One reason for working on projects rather than committing to one company is the money. Freelancers are taking more risk, and they have higher costs, so they are more expensive to hire. However, most companies may not need full-time React developers to prepare for the higher fee.

To attract a React developer full-time, they need to go the extra mile to position the business as a React development powerhouse.

Much of the effort of improving the visibility and reputation of a brand has to do with marketing.

Marketing

The company needs to be able to position itself in the market to attract the right hires, and here are some actions that will steadily improve the brand’s presentation.

Content

Write quality articles, participate in various online publications as experts, organise and take part in online and onsite React events, write newsletters, and much more.

HR

Improving your job listings, offers and all pages related to information on your React development. Expect to use web analytics and A/B testing to gauge the success of content and job listings campaigns.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Hire an SEO expert who can make sure that your website and its content rank high in search engines for phrases broadly related to React development.

All of these are very much viable and efficient in the long-term when it comes to making sure that talented React developers actively try to find your company and apply for your offers. But these methods alone may not be enough to meet your demand – a more direct approach may be required.

Active Search

In different words, active search, outbound marketing includes various efforts directed at finding and contacting the most interesting React candidates yourself. These are methods most often employed by HR specialists. It might seem quite straightforward at first glance, but in order to do it properly (and legally!), one needs quite a lot of experience and ingenuity.

• Using advanced (and premium) LinkedIn tools for recruiters makes it possible to use complex criteria to find exactly the kind of React developers you’re looking for and ensure that they actually want to be contacted
• Taking advantage of modern screening platforms such as Codility to test your React prospects’ hard skills
• Using various recruitment management tools, which act much like CRM software but specialize in managing your relationships with React developer candidates, right from the moment you find them until they are hired, lost or turned down

Hiring or Outsourcing?

All of that above and more is, of course, well within the capabilities of many companies, but it does require a lot of effort.

To properly position your company as a React development powerhouse in a meaningful way, a great effort is needed. One that will only bear fruit in the long-term, and a lot of time may pass before any number of React developers come knocking on your company’s door.

If you don’t have the resources to spare for such efforts or simply want to focus on your business speciality instead, you may consider React software outsourcing to power your application development.

With outsourcing, you may be able to:

• get skilled and experienced React developers on-demand
• easily change the composition of your team based on your current demand, downsizing or upsizing in a flash when the situation calls for it
• verify the quality of your developers during online research, workshops or interviews with the developers themselves

One thing that often scares potential clients of outsourcing vendors is that the cooperation may quickly end and that they will be forced to do the search all over again, going through the painful process of adjusting your current software to a whole new team.

The good news is that today more and more outsourcing companies try to establish long-term relationships with their clients and often partner with them for years to come, together creating fantastic software products that meet both market and technical demands.

Summary

When your business needs React developers, take the necessary action to attract them, including networking, sharing content and positioning your business as a leading React development company in your industry.