8 Red Flags When Hiring Mobile App Developers

It’s not uncommon to hear stories about useless, buggy chunks of code ‘inherited’ from unskilled developers, leaving businesses to face a dispiriting choice between discarding a failed app or spending countless hours on a complete rebuild. To avoid trouble like this, it’s important to keep the following red flags in mind when you hire mobile app developers.

Lack of Relevant Experience

Both the iOS and Android ecosystems have specific requirements for mobile app development, including guidelines for publishing apps in their respective app stores. When you hire mobile app developers, make sure they are familiar with these platform-specific guidelines and requirements. Otherwise, the app might have to be rebuilt later.

Lack of Industry Knowledge

It’s best to hire mobile developers who have experience in building mobile apps for your industry or business niche. For example, mobile app development for the edtech sector may have nuances compared to, say, health and fitness apps. 

While your mobile app developers do not necessarily need to be experts in your industry, being aware of best practices and current trends can be an asset.

Lack of Expertise in Native vs. Hybrid App Development

With distinct pros and cons for both native and cross-platform mobile app development, there’s often a dilemma of which option to choose. Native mobile apps for iOS and Android offer richer functionality and better usability compared to hybrid apps. However, cross-platform app development is more cost-effective and time-saving. 

Mobile app developers with extensive experience in both approaches can inform your decision with sound reasoning. If they struggle to advise you on this matter, the level of their expertise might be suboptimal.

Limited Knowledge of Relevant Tools

Here are several specific concepts and practices that a proficient mobile app developer should be familiar with, whether they specialize in native iOS and Android development or cross-platform development with Flutter or React Native. 

For example, for native iOS apps, mobile developers should be experts in Swift or Objective-C, understand Model-View-Controller (MVC) and Model-View-View-Model (MVVM) design patterns, and know concepts like Auto Layout, Core Data, URLSession, or Grand Central Dispatch.

For Android, it’s the knowledge of Kotlin or Java, View Binding and Data Binding, Room for SQLite, and more. 

When you hire dedicated mobile developers who claim to be experts in cross-platform development, check if they are familiar with specific concepts. For Flutter, these can include widget tree and state management techniques with packages like Provider or Riverpod. For React Native, these are knowledge of component-based architecture and state management with Redux or Context API.

No Desire to Learn

Mobile app development isn’t static. While some tools and frameworks become outdated, new ones emerge. Libraries, APIs, best practices, and features are always changing. To keep up with the times, mobile app developers need to be agile and eager to learn. 

Look for signs like reluctance to adapt to novelties or an irrational commitment to deprecated platforms or obsolete practices. Identifying this red flag before you actually hire mobile application developers can save you time, money, and frustration.

Thin Portfolio

A strong mobile app development portfolio should showcase successful projects. Honestly, there is no need to overthink this red flag: if a mobile developer’s portfolio lacks examples of apps they’ve developed, it’s a clear sign to look elsewhere and hire dedicated mobile app developers who do have relevant cases to share. 

Poor Communication

Let’s face it: When you hire a mobile app development team, you add another item to your already packed communication agenda. Moreover, mobile apps are not something you make once and for all. They are evolving entities that will need ongoing maintenance and support. It’s likely that the team you hire now will be taking care of the app throughout its lifespan. 

Therefore, ensure these developers possess good communication skills. This also involves the mobile developers’ ability to clearly communicate ideas and explain technical concepts to non-technical people. 

Culture Fit and Teamwork Issues

It may sound a bit esoteric at first, but finding candidates who share your vision and values is important. Personal qualities matter for efficient teamwork and project success just as much as technical skills and expertise. 

Sometimes, a disconnect between team members is not about miscommunication — it can have much deeper roots. If there’s an ‘abyss’ between individuals, it can lead to disappointment. Even if one of these individuals is a mobile app developer and you only interact at work.

How to Avoid Mistakes When Hiring Mobile Developers?

Wrapping it up, to hire mobile app developers like a pro, doing your homework is essential. The very least you can do is to ask specific questions, test their knowledge of the relevant tech stack, evaluate their communication skills, and review their past projects. Reading customer reviews is also helpful. 

Another option is to partner with a professional mobile app development company. These companies usually have a rigorous screening process and carefully vet their mobile developers. This way, you’ll access a pool of experts with proven experience and track records.