Looking to hire a Drupal developer for your business or next website design project? This guide will offer some insights on how to recruit the best Drupal partner.
Let’s face it, hiring top talent is no easy task. Recruitment takes time, and a great resume sometimes only tells half of the story. There are thousands of Drupal development professionals, and selection of just one might seem like an overwhelmingly daunting task. In this article we will cover:
What is Drupal?
How to hire a Drupal Developer?
Where to hire a Drupal Developer?
The main challenge comes down to your business needs and goals and finding the right person that will fit well into your company culture and values. With a plethora of competition, selection of the right expert can be difficult, but not impossible. We’ve narrowed down some criteria to get you started on hiring or selecting a Drupal developer for your next project.
What is Drupal?
For those looking to learn more about the platform, Drupal is an open-source content management system for websites with code written in PHP. Drupal is known for its power and ability to be highly scalable, making it the preferred choice for large and complex organizations. But Drupal is not just limited to larger organizations, many other businesses choose to use the platform because of its ability to allow users to easily manage content and flexibility in how content is presented (it now has over 42,000 free modules).
Why choose Drupal as your CMS platform?
- Drupal is a very powerful CMS that allows for many different customization features and content presentation
- Drupal allows for advanced levels of functionality and custom development options
- Drupal allows for different software integration
- Drupal is good for large organizations with a complex structure and high level of content
- Drupal offers an advanced level of user permissions for a large team working on the website
Drupal also offers the ability to increase the functionality of any website. Through Drupal modules, new integrations can be made to increase the functionality of a website to augment and streamline different processes for a business. This can range from anything from a membership section to a checkout feature for a retail website. The options are endless since there are tens of thousands of free modules currently available. Since Drupal is a highly complex and scalable platform, finding the right Drupal development expert is extremely important to ensure the website is built correctly or any issues can be resolved. You might consider the suggested steps below to help identify the right Drupal expert for your organization.
How to Hire the Right Drupal Developer
1. Create a Project Outline
One of the first things to consider before hiring a Drupal developer is the specific needs of the project. As mentioned above, Drupal is an extremely complex platform so each developer will have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to things like building custom modules and themes, SEO optimization, and Drupal website maintenance. So before beginning your recruitment process, make a detailed list of the needs of the project in advance so that you can reference it during any interviews.
Some notes to include in your project outline include:
- Timeline of the project
- Business goals, company culture, mission, vision, and values
- Hourly rate the developer charges to see if it aligns with budgetary requirements for the business or project
- Communication requirements
- Time commitment required and availability
2. Look at Credibility and Certifications on both their resume and LinkedIn page
The next aspect to look at when hiring a Drupal developer is their credibility and whether or not they have any specific certifications required for your project. The Acquia certification shows a developer’s proficiency in a particular area of the Drupal platform. You will also want to ensure that the developer is comfortable working on the latest version of Drupal and has the skill set to provide regular maintenance and updates for support post projects, or to address any issues that were to occur during the project.
Also be sure to take a look at their LinkedIn page to get a feel for their level of experience. Oftentimes, they will use their LinkedIn profile to post previous projects, outline their experience and time in between jobs and note any major achievements or skills they have. You can also see how active they are within the development community on LinkedIn by looking at their connections and companies they follow.
3. Determine Criteria Necessary for Determining Qualified Individuals
Since you probably will expect a high number of applicants, you will then want to determine what criteria is essential for proceeding to the interview stage. Some of these requirements might include:
- Experience working with different versions of Drupal
- Experience listed in their resume and whether it matches the technical experience necessary for your position
- Types of projects completed
- Involvement in the Drupal community
- Ability to build on current skill set
4. Understand their Familiarity with Third Party Integrations
While an advanced skill set on the Drupal platform is important for selecting the right development expert, it is also important that the developer have a good understanding of external integrations. Since Drupal is a highly scalable platform, it allows for complex integrations to be implemented depending on the needs of the business and its website. These external integrations might be used for tasks such as website administration, marketing automation, sales tools, and analytic data. Therefore, when selecting a Drupal development expert, ask them about their familiarity with different tools as a way to understand their level of expertise and training ability.
5. Evaluate their Technical Skillset
Since Drupal development is complex and ever changing, it is important to make sure to include an evaluation within the interview process. This will help you better understand their current level of technical expertise. Maybe have them do a short coding sample to get a feel for their speed, quality and accuracy when working on a project.
6. Understand their Ability to Adapt to Company Needs and Values
Another important trait of a great Drupal developer is their ability to be adaptable to business needs or requirements of a project. You want to ensure that the developer is able to communicate well and finish the project with a specified timeline. When interviewing for a development expert you can ask them questions to better understand their adaptability such as:
- The types of projects they have completed
- The number of individuals they communicate with to complete a project
- The industries they have worked with
- Years of experience working as a developer
- Ability to fix immediate concerns
- Ability to work with a team to project completion
- Communication style
Where to Hire the Right Drupal Developer
1. Attend Development Events
There are a number of Drupal development events and expos held each year that can be a great way to find advanced levels of talent in the space. Below are two easy ways to check out Drupal-related events:
https://www.drupal.org/community/events
https://events.drupal.org/
2. Tap into the Drupal Community
One of the great advantages of Drupal is that it offers a full online community for support on Drupal projects. Drupal developers are often connected to this community to ask questions and improve the platform. You can use the Drupal community as a resource to find developers for your next project based on how actively they are involved with this online community. The community can also provide insight as to which agency offers well-known Drupal development experts with the capabilities your business requires.
Using Social Media to Hire the Right Developer
Now that you have a few ideas for beginning your hiring process, below are a few ideas using social media to hire the right Drupal developer:
3. Create a Company LinkedIn Post
LinkedIn is a great resource for hiring as it allows for companies to easily connect with skilled candidates looking for jobs as it is a large platform with over 400,000 members. When creating a hiring or project post for a Drupal developer on your company page, your LinkedIn post should be similar to your project outline as mentioned above and include the following elements:
- Timeline of the project or expected hire date
- A short company summary mentioning business goals, company culture, mission, vision
- Hourly rate the developer charges to see if it aligns with budgetary requirements for the business or project
- Communication requirements
- Time commitment required and availability
In addition to a LinkedIn job post, you also can create a dedicated careers page on LinkedIn if you have a larger company or hire on a more frequent basis. Within this page, you can include images or videos from company events, posts from completed projects by your team, or other pieces of content that help others learn more about your company mission, vision and values for the future. Having this careers page is also great for data tracking purposes, as it allows you to gauge interest in working for your company based on page follows, views, comments, and likes.
To build your following on your LinkedIn careers page, post content regularly that will attract the right types of individuals to your page. This can include blog posts with informative content they might enjoy, posts from company outings and projects that might catch their eye, job and hiring posts. For specific targeting on your LinkedIn careers page, you can leverage LinkedIn sponsored posts which include the following:
Targeted functionality to attract the right audience at specific times with content that will resonate best with them
LinkedIn Elevate is another tool that allows for smarter content sharing to targeted audiences to help build your network and attract the right professionals.
4. Find Development Experts Through Existing Social Media Channels
Social Media is a great way to connect with specific communities of people based on mutual interests. In addition to using social media as a way to promote job openings and opportunities, you also can build your network with individuals that have common interests, making your recruiting process easier later on. Below are a few platforms we would recommend:
- Reddit- A discussion platform with over 542 million monthly visitors, Reddit is great for connecting with a community of development professionals. Reddit offers various groups with discussion posts based on industry topics and trends. Within these communities, members can comment and have private discussions on the board, making this a great way to connect with different development professionals.
- Twitter- Allows visitors to connect over topic sharing and industry news. For hiring purposes, your company twitter posts should include appropriate hashtags that relate to the position to help individuals find your posts.
- Facebook- One of the largest social networks, Facebook offers a great way to attract individuals on both a local or national level, and it’s relatively low in cost to start up. When using Facebook, you should connect with talented developers and create company buzz through effective content sharing. Then when it comes to creating your job post, you will have built an effective following that will attract the right types of applicants.
How to Create The Right Job Post for Your Drupal Developer
5. Include a Full Careers Section on Your Existing Website
A website serves as a first impression for many visitors, including job applicants. A well-designed website with a dedicated careers section is more likely to attract serious Drupal development professionals (with the right qualifications) because they can easily navigate through the website to match their experience with your company’s services and values. A well-designed website also offers a higher level of professionalism, helping to create a better first impression for potential employees. Be sure that your careers section should include a company bio outlining your business mission, vision, and values for the future.
6. Make Your Job Post Descriptive and Clear
You want to make sure that your job title and description of the position are as clear and accurate as possible. Be sure not to leave out any details such as expectations and requirements for the position, experience necessary, company values and opportunity for growth within the company.
7. Post the Position on Drupal.org
Since your job position is specific to Drupal, use the Drupal.org to post your developer position. Drupal.org has a large community of different Drupal experts, which can be helpful in finding the right person with the expertise your company needs. The only downside to posting a position on Drupal.org is that the postings do have a fee associated with them.
8. Use Project Sharing Websites
Project sharing websites are another great way to find the best matches for development experts. GitHub offers a website that allows developers to share open projects within a large community of talented individuals, helping connect them with the right people in a short period of time. GitHub allows companies to create profiles and build a following based on previous projects, talents and skill sets.
9. Post on GlassDoor and other job portal websites
Glassdoor is no longer just a website for company reviews, it offers a great platform for employers as well. To take advantage of this tool follow the steps below:1. Sign up for the Enhanced Employer Profile
2. Identify competitors and their current network
3. Identify target audience
4. Create a bio explaining your company mission, vision, values, and competitive advantage that will resonate well with your intended audienceBe sure to include your job on other job portals such as Indeed, Monster and Simply Hired. These portals can be great if you are in a hurry to fill a position, but they do tend to receive quite a bit of applicants, which can be time consuming to filter through qualified candidates.
As you can see, there are a number of ways to find the best Drupal developer for your company. Start with the basics with a clear intent on the project needs and requirements, then use some of the tools mentioned above to build your network of hiring professionals through quality content and engaging job posts.
Looking for a Drupal Development Expert?
Alliance is a Drupal development company focused on your success. We create websites that are easily managed, responsive across all devices, and designed to attract and engage new visitors online. Whether you’re looking to build a brand new website or improve your marketing, get in touch and we’ll be happy to show you.