Sounds very blatant, doesn't it? But it is not. We will get to it by the end of the blog. Upwork, just like others, is a hiring platform where employers meet employees. The nature of the platform is such that jobs on it are contract based, full-time, and project-based. And the criteria to shortlist a candidate include feedback and online tests/interviews.

Since the COVID outbreak, companies have temporarily hired remote employees and freelancers and given Upwork more importance than ever. "Now, when things are back to normal, companies want their employees back in their offices. It is hard to find developers on Upwork because they prefer to work from home," says Nadia Saleem, HR Director at Computan.

The platform was overwhelming for some employers because it was their first time. And one of the mistakes they made was to believe what was written in the candidate's profile or in the chat by the developer, and they ended up hiring the wrong one.

Employers Didn't Ask the Right Questions

Upwork always encourages employers to interview candidates before making the final call of hiring. Every developer listed on Upwork will put the best information in their profiles because they want the employers to hire them. Sajeel Qureshi, VP of operations at Computan believes that "Everybody on Upwork thinks they are skilled in every discipline possible, frontend, backend, and everything else." So, they will write those things that the employers want to read. When you ask them about their expertise, you are likely to hear that they can do anything.

"Have a strong technical round in place," says Sajeel. If you know the requirements you need in your developer, then prepare a list of questions to ask the candidates, and you better do it in an audio/video call. "While on the call, you can know if they are Googling the answer, typing the question, stalling before they get an answer, those sort of things," says Sajeel. During a chat, you can never know who is on the other side chatting with you.

If you are a marketer and don't know what to ask from the developers, then find someone who can take the technical interview on your behalf. Better pick a project they did in the past and ask questions related to it. The project you will pick must relate to the work that you want them to do for you.

Selling/Lending of Upwork Profiles

Selling or lending of Upwork profiles is a common scenario these days. Agencies based on Upwork even have a rule that when an employee gets hired in their firm, they have the right to use the candidate's Upwork profile until the time the employee is with them.

When an Upwork profile is associated with the company, then anyone in the team can work on the project. The team might be more skillful, and it is better to have a skilled team working on your project rather than one person. But the reverse could also be possible. The team is not that skilled, and the company is using the profile of one skilled developer to rake in projects. 

"Employers should keep an open mind about it. Upwork profiles are bought and sold these days. Anybody could be working on their project. So, employers should ask this directly to cut out confusion." Says Sajeel.

Are Developers on Upwork more expensive?

The developers with similar skill sets listed on Upwork might charge you more than a permanent employee. This is because they don't get the perks that your in-house or remote employees are entitled to.

The developers on Upwork focus on earning big quickly because they know their services are required only until the project is on. So, they do keep their profile rates accordingly. In the project-based ecosystem, you don't need to pay them once the project is successfully delivered (other than the support services).

If a freelancer web developer from Upwork or any other platform fits better within your budget, then no harm in hiring from there. But, if you constantly need web developers, you can't afford to go through the complete hiring process time and again. Hiring a developer agency with a good team of web developers or hiring individual developers in-house is the preferred choice.

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Questions to Ask Developers while Hiring Them

Regardless of the platform, you need to ask the right questions, which will ultimately be based on the core job role requirements. That's your guiding light throughout the process. Still, you can explore some common areas through a series of questions, some of which are listed below.

  • How do you structure the code for other team members to understand?

This explores whether the developer is stubborn to use his/her standards or ready to tweak to adjust with a team. If they are team players, then they would know how to structure the code for other team members.

  • Describe the pros and cons of the Frameworks you've worked on.

Put the frameworks in question that your company usually works around. This way, you will know how quickly the developer will adapt to your working standards.

  • What were your primary responsibilities in your previous job?

Key responsibilities might include integrating two platforms, building webpages, building applications, working at the backend only, and working at the frontend only. 

  • How are [Programming Language 1] and [Programming Language 2] different from each other?

Typical tech questions where you can easily replace the two languages in question.

  • Describe [Programming Language] in one line.

Or, you can ask about the language that your company works around.

  • What are the most common uses for APIs? Share examples of uses of APIs from your experience.

If most of your web development work revolves around connecting two systems or applications through API, then the developer must know his/her way around APIs.

  • Your ideal work culture

Typically highlights if the developer can easily adjust with your work culture/standards.

  • What did you love about the previous company that made you show up at work daily?

Replace organization with the client if they are regular freelancers.

  • One thing that you would want to change in the last organization's work environment?

See the changes they want, and if you already have them in place, your organization can make those changes for the new developer.

  • What do you expect from your managers and your subordinates?

Knowing your developer's expectations prepares you to successfully bring them on board if you can meet those expectations.