We keep hiring freelancer programmers for working on our network and over time I’ve learnt a few things which MUST ALWAYS be kept in mind when working with freelance programmers.
That’s not to say that every programmer is going to let you down but I’ve found it to be very useful to be very skeptic of every new person I hire. And there is nothing wrong with that — it is better to play it safe rather than get burnt.
Tip #1 — Always Talk on Phone
Sure this isn’t going to save you from bad programmers but it will put a more personal touch in the whole transaction. Not only will it make the other person trust you more and take you more seriously but you can also get to know a LOT about them from their talk.
If you don’t know what I am talking about, I’d strongly recommend that you read BLINK by Malcolm Gladwell.
Tip #2 — Never Talk Business on Phone
And neither should be talking about their girlfriends or how that girl at bar punched the geeky guy you are talking to last night. What I mean here is that you should NOT close the project and discuss specifications over phone. You should do that by email as you will have a written record in case of dispute.
Tip #3 — Pay by a Way you can Chargeback.
PayPal and Credit Cards are good idea. Wire Transfers and Cheques are NOT. If you hire via some freelancer sites like rentacoder.com, they have an internal escrow system — use that. The whole idea is to have a third party which you can involve if thing go downhill.
Tip #4 — Pay as You Go
Try to work out milestone based payments. And NEVER EVER pay 100% upfront — I mean NEVER. If you can’t have milestones based payment, pay something like 30-50% advance and 50% on project completion. If someone is not willing to have this arrangement — with only exception of escrow — move on!
Tip #5 — Look Out for Promises
Here are two things that separate Serious Coders from Noobies — 1. Serious Coders will always ask about the deadline. 2. They will never over-promise. I will sometimes throw in some flukes just to see how the coder responds to it.
If a person seems to be to eager to do “anything” to get your money, it’s better you find some other coder.
Bonus Tip — DO a Background Search. Search for their name in Google. Here are some more tips on Employee Background Check.
