Top 4 Skills of a Great Remote Developer

If you’re looking to hire a remote developer, it’s important to get the person best suited for the job. There are a number of skills that will make a good developer into a great one, so be on the lookout for competence in the particular areas of their work.

1. Past Experience

Great remote developers have practice working with standard programs and coding languages from working with other companies. Knowing the ins and outs of how the position works is fantastic for other businesses that are interested in hiring them. Understanding the latest programming languages is essential for remote developers since not every company is using the same infrastructure. Not being able to come into the office on a regular basis demands that they have a certain level of expertise with the programs necessary to complete the task at hand. It doesn’t mean that the developer doesn’t require any training at all, though; they’re still going to need to know how the company wants them to do the job, but they’ll at least already have the technical know-how to get it done.

2. Outstanding Communication Prowess

Working remotely means keeping in constant contact with superiors throughout an entire project. This means letting the boss know about bugs and the overall status of the project at hand. Having at least 3 different ways of regular communication (i.e. Skype, phone number, IM,etc) is key to keeping everyone involved on the same page as quickly and efficiently as possible. It’s not exactly easy, but it’s necessary for keeping the ship sailing smoothly (even if the people keeping it afloat aren’t even in the same state).
A noteworthy developer will keep careful notes of how the project is coming along and report to their boss regularly with the stats. Staying organized and on top of everything they need to have done will help prioritize what needs to get done first and will help the employer to see how they’re working at a glance. Notifying them when a milestone or goal will not be reached in time is also a must-have attribute. The team that is hiring the developer is trusting them to get their contracted work completed, so the developer needs to be trustworthy and open about the work they’re doing and the speed bumps they’ve run into.

3. A Great Work Attitude

Being able to work remotely is a relatively new concept, but comes with so many benefits that conventional employees don’t get. Exceptional developers ought to be thankful for the level of freedom their position allows them to have like working wherever they find is best for them and choosing their hours. An outstanding attitude towards their work and the people they get to work for should stem from an appreciation for this radical new way of working.
Their clients should benefit from this approach. The developer should take the time to learn about the company and its brand to familiarize what makes them unique and a worthwhile client to work for. This research will help the developer to understand why what they will be doing is going to help the brand succeed in the best way possible. Getting excited about what kind of impact they’re going to have will provide them with the drive to do the best job they can.

4. Creative Solutions to Unique Problems

When a problem arises as a remote worker, they won’t have anyone to immediately consult how to fix it. Yes, they could email the client about how they ought to go about fixing the issue, but it could take a long time for them to respond. This isn’t a great solution since the developer could be working outside the normal business hours and the problem may need their immediate attention. Experienced remote workers will take this in stride and come up with a unique solution without ever having to contact their employer. They still need to let them know what had to happen to fix the issue, but that’s a minor concern compared to what could have happened.

Even if the employer is not satisfied with the solution they come up with, it could be considered a temporary fix before a better one can be implemented later. At the very least, a possible catastrophe was avoided thanks to their intuition and expertise. What could have been a monumental breakdown due to buggy code was averted thanks to your developer’s quick thinking.
These are just a few of the qualities of an outstanding remote developer. Whether you want someone like this on your team or are a developer yourself, these traits will make working as and hiring a remote employee a bit more stress-free for everyone.