Things to consider when interviewing an engineer of your Nearshore/Outsourcing partner

Creating and most importantly, maintaining a healthy work relationship with your nearshore development team or outsourcing partner will directly depend on how you, as a company, take on the interviewing process. Outsourcing in general is a great idea for any small, big and medium company who need a bit of help developing a software, however, if you do not take the time to correctly interview your future nearshore development partner, you can’t expect great results to come out of it.

Since there are so many options to choose from when picking a new outsourcing partner to help you develop such a heavy project like software development, there are a few things you might want to consider when doing the interview, just to make sure you will end up with the very best option available. 

Be aware of the expertise level of the engineer

As a company who is looking to outsource such an important task and rely on an third party, it is extremely important for you to understand and be clear on the role the engineer is about to take on. This means understanding every characteristic involving their future role on the project ahead of you, what’s their part, what they will do, and most importantly, what technologies will they use to work on the software development project. Make sure to thoroughly define the role of the engineer, leaving no gaps or room to misinterpretation.

Same goes for the technologies that will be involved in the process. Ask the engineer what role they work better on, and what technologies have they worked with before, even better ask them about their expertise in said technologies. Remember, the more information you have about their intellectual capacity, the better. 

Deeply detail the project you want to carry on

Not any software development project is the same, as a matter of fact, every development project carries on a different set of characteristics and challenges completely different from one another, and this will depend on what you, the client, wants to create. This is why it is paramount for you, as a company and head of the project, to deeply detail the type of project the nearshore or outsourcing provider will be taking on.

The main goal of discussing and detailing the project isn’t only about both parties agreeing on the terms and conditions the project itsell will be carrying on, but to make sure it matches the working culture of your outsourcing provider. The idea is to make sure the nearshore development partner you’re about to work with can and is able to adapt to the necessities of the project, based on the working culture you’re proposing. Meaning if you’re looking for an engineer team that’s efficient, can work on tight schedules and be available during working hours, the outsourcing partner can successfully meet these expectations. 

Know the qualities of the team you’re about to work with

There’s one very important thing companies don’t seem to take into consideration when interviews their nearshore engineers, and that’s keeping their personal qualities in mind. This particular question is more focused on knowing the way they work, and how they do it. It means keeping into consideration whether they’re a fast developer, slow ones, more of a methodic engineer, or completely independent one. Again, the goal of this question is to make sure the nearshore engineer will actually be helpful, and furthermore, that you, as a company, will feel comfortable working with them. ##

Test their knowledge on different situations

When developing a software, it is very likely some problems or incidents will occur down the road. This, of course, it is normal, and you as a company are probably aware of it by know. So, to make sure the engineer or outsourcing partner will do well under these circumstances, ask them questions related to difficult/stressful situations you’ve been in and how they would handle them. This is a smart way of testing their knowledge, and even more important, making sure they are solution oriented and are able to deal with common development problems in a efficient and quick way. ##

Get curious about their approach

Last, but definitely not least, discuss the general and more specific approach the outsourcing partner will have over the project. Don’t be vague or leave room to expectations during this part of the interview, since it could have repercussions down the road. Make sure they give short yet specific answers, answers that will let you know they, as engineers and nearshore developers know what they are doing. Words such as “Scrum”, “Communication channels”, “Agile“ and “Technologies” should be present in the answer at least a couple of times.

A nearshore/outsourcing interview is quite different than a regular one, which is why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask every single thing and dig deep into important matters. Remember, it is best to get these factors out of the way as soon as possible and start a working relationship with the right foot.