The need for different mobile applications is also rising with increasing mobile usage. Therefore, businesses are starting to leverage mobile phones platform as an additional source to connect with the target market.
Android apps are integral to this industry, as many users primarily utilize Android phones. A statistics report by Statcounter shows that as of April 2023, 68.79% of global mobile phone users were running an Android operating system.
As a result, Android developers have become imperative to reach a wider audience and disrupt the target market. They can create successful apps to increase business exposure and credibility.
An Android developer helps create applications for devices running on the Android operating system. These applications must be compatible with multiple Android versions to support users accessing various mobile devices. It is important that the app delivers the same experience to every user irrespective of their mobile device capabilities.
Freelance Android developers work remotely on multiple projects. It is cost-effective for companies; however, these professionals don’t work on any project exclusively. Therefore, sharing details about business apps with a freelancer has some drawbacks.
Setting up an in-house team of Android app developers offers optimum control to businesses. It ensures application and information confidentiality, seamless process structure, and agile working.
Outsourcing Android development to another service provider offers the cost-benefit of freelancers and the dependability of in-house developers. Companies can hire dedicated development teams to work on their project exclusively. These outsourced teams act as remote extensions of in-house teams and collaborate better.
An essential skill of an Android app developer is Java programming. This object-oriented programming language compiles the code using Java Virtual Machine, and it is mainly used for building Android apps. Other than this, Kotlin is a new language currently increasing in popularity for Android app development.
Even though Extensive Markup Language (XML) is widely used in HTML-based web development, it is also essential for data transfer to any internet service via mobile devices. When testing Android developer skills, recruiters must ensure potential candidates are skilled in XML.
Android SDK is crucial for mobile app development due to its integrated functions to test and debug source code. Simple mobile applications can be built entirely with Android SDK without external tools. Android developers must deeply understand the Android SDK framework to develop functional mobile apps quickly.
High-quality apps can be built only using Android Studio, an integrated Android development environment. Equipped with different emulators for various mobile devices, the Android Studio offers everything an Android developer needs to create mobile apps compatible with multiple Android versions and devices.
Apart from Android SDK, the Android developer must also have knowledge of APIs to integrate third-party services, such as live chats, payment gateways, etc. Versatile APIs help create efficient multi-functional mobile apps.
Mobile devices fetch data from multiple databases, and knowledge of accessing these databases to deliver app features is imperative.
Google launched a new standard for Android apps called Material Design that dictates location, colours, and shades of screen elements. Android apps may or may not follow this standard, but hiring an Android developer who understands this design will help companies design future apps.
Android app developers must understand version control to keep track of code changes and their impact on mobile apps. Git offers many Android app features for version control, such as reverting to code changes, branching, merging, etc. With the version control system, android app developers can add or remove app features without compromising the current version.
An Android developer proficient in programming languages, APIs, Android SDKs, Android Studio, and other associated tools should be able to design robust and scalable applications. They should additionally understand multiple design patterns, such as Model View Controller (MVC), Model–View–ViewModel (MVVM), and Model View Presenter (MVP).
The app should seamlessly support a growing user base. Therefore, it is imperative for the developer to avoid performance bottlenecks with optimized code.
Finding an Android developer with excellent UI and UX design knowledge is crucial to delivering a great user experience.
Tech teams must collaborate with multiple teams to deliver app design and features. Thus, hiring an Android developer with excellent communication skills for app refinement is necessary.
Hiring an experienced Android app developer ensures seamless process execution during app deployment and maintenance phases. Thus, check the developer's portfolio to gain insights into their versatility in developing different mobile apps.
Experienced Android developers have profiles on platforms like Stack Overflow, Github, and Google Play store. Their developer ratings, feedback, and real user reviews offer insights into their work quality.
A mobile app must be updated frequently to fix bugs, improve security, and implement new features. Therefore, an Android app developer should be able to provide continuous support and maintenance to ensure frequent app updates.
App security is critical for businesses to ensure privacy, confidentiality, and transactional security. The tech team working on the project must understand security best practices to handle sensitive data, create proper user access control, and avoid security vulnerabilities.
Meeting project deadlines is critical to ensure that the product is launched to the market in time. Hence, an Android app developer must have time management skills to assess deadlines and work at a suitable pace.
Mobile apps connect businesses with the target market, and app developers determine the efficiency and performance of this execution. Therefore, companies need professional Android developers to create user-friendly, scalable, and flexible apps. Recruiters must follow a step-by-step approach to find the right person for the job.
Recruiters must prepare a detailed job description with the roles, responsibilities, and skills required for an Android app developer. Having all this information helps identify potential candidates with suitable technical acumen without challenges.
Hiring managers should map business requirements with the type of Android developers needed. Based on these requirements, they can use varied hiring models to recruit freelancers, outsourced developers, or in-house teams.
Recruiters must have an assessment chart to shortlist candidates from potential applications. Matching candidate skills profiles with job requirements helps streamline the shortlisting process. In this step, recruiters should also verify candidates’ ratings, reviews, and social presence to ensure technical and cultural fitment.
Android app developers should be assessed for technical skills. Therefore, hiring managers must conduct a thorough technical assessment to filter candidates based on their Android skills. For example, Mercer | Mettl’s Coding Skills Test evaluates candidates on their technical acumen and coding skills. A range of coding simulators helps hiring managers evaluate the coding skills of front-end, back-end, full-stack, and database developers.
During the interview, recruiters must ask questions based on job requirements to test communication, organization, time management, teamwork, and leadership skills. It helps assess prospects based on their interpersonal and non-technical abilities.
These interview questions for Android app developers are meant to assess their technical ability and experience.
Building an Android application is a method for businesses to communicate with potential audiences. For this reason, hiring an Android developer is challenging and essential for the hiring team. Using technical assessments, gauging non-technical skills, and matching job requirements with candidate profiles helps hire talented developers.
Partnering with Mercer | Mettl enables businesses to leverage a customizable online assessment platform to shortlist candidates during the hiring process. The technical skills assessment and coding tests help evaluate candidates’ technical skills. Advanced emulator tests further enable recruiters to assess the technical abilities of potential candidates.
Originally published June 14 2023, Updated June 14 2023
Vaishali has been working as a content creator at Mercer | Mettl since 2022. Her deep understanding and hands-on experience in curating content for education and B2B companies help her find innovative solutions for key business content requirements. She uses her expertise, creative writing style, and industry knowledge to improve brand communications.
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Behavioral Competencies
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Coding Competencies
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