Onboarding skilled and truly reliable developers for your project is quite a flex. Of course, there are many potential talents ready to be a part of your team, and filtering the perfectly seasoned ones takes observation and smart decision-making.
According to the 2023 Stack Overflow Survey, around 40.58% of developers use React.JS.
But how to find the most proficient and productive ones for your team?
Certainly, you need to have some clarity on the skills and aspects to consider when hiring React developers for your projects.
In this blog, we’ll spill the beans on the most important React developer skills you should consider when shortlisting and onboarding candidates.
9 Must Have Technical React Developer Skills
The technical skills contribute to most of the work for developers. Therefore, technical expertise should be given considerable importance. Here are the core technical React developer skills (technical and non-technical) that you should be seeking.
Fundamentals Of JavaScript
JavaScript is one of the most important skills for React.JS developers. When coding in React.JS, the fundamentals of JavaScript have a major role to play. Therefore, when assessing the knowledge of potential teammates, make sure the basic concepts are clear to them.
You may ask them questions or give them tasks surrounding variables, code structure, functions, loops, operators, objects, statements, functions, etc. Developers with strong foundational knowledge are likely to be the best resources for your projects.
JavaScript ES6
Along with the fundamentals of JavaScript, React developers must have a solid base and understanding of ES6. It’s a newer version of JavaScript that allows developers to create and maintain custom web apps.
When considering ES6, the most crucial skills include: event handling, DOM manipulation, call-back functions, variables arrays, and arrow functions, etc. This is so far considered an advanced version of JavaScript. Asking related questions to the candidates will give you an insight into how upgraded they are. Although the skills may vary a little, ES6 is a must-have complementary tool for your projects.
HTML And CSS
HTML and CSS account for the most essential React front-end developer skills. These core client-side technologies play a significant role in creating visually-aesthetic, high-value, intuitive UIs. Thus, a candidate’s knowledge of the same will give an insight into their quality of work.
User Interfaces are given utmost importance when determining the overall quality and perceived value of applications. Therefore, when shortlisting candidates, their ability to write and work with HTML tags and CSS selectors should be given the deserved preference. There are other additional skills to pay attention to, like understanding box models, performing CSS reset, reverting border-box, implementing responsive principles, etc.
JavaScript XML (JSX)
JSX deserves a special mention while we’re discussing important skills for React developers. JSX is a syntax extension that allows developers to code in an ergonomic way. When developers have reliable JSX skills, coding and incorporating HTML/XML elements in React becomes easier for them.
JSX skills also let the developers build web applications that require API integrations. This would be an otherwise tedious task. JSX not only streamlines and expedites development but also improves scalability.
It’s important to note that Babel skills are a great substitute for JSX (according to your requirements). Babel is a JavaScript parser that converts HTML syntax to JS files. Do not forget to consider these skills and experience.
Node + npm
When it comes to React full stack developer skills, Node is one of the necessities. While React is perfect for front-end development, Node will take care of a flawless backend. The MERN (MongoDB, Express, React, Node) stack is one of the best examples of full-stack development environments.
Developers can run React codes directly in Node, which widens the scope of interoperability. Additionally, Node skills can be specifically useful when React is used for server-side and client-side scripts. Make sure the developers also have a detailed understanding of NPM (Node Packet Management). This registry is a great resource for unlocking a higher value of the React library and updating app packages.
Git
React developers with a grasp of Git are often great at code storage, version control, and maintenance. These skills let the developers utilize centralized version control systems like GitLab, GitHub, and BitBucket for their projects. Making necessary modifications gets easier, and Git records all these changes to facilitate merging or isolating branches during code testing.
This way, developers can launch features or retract them with no to less effect on the source code and other modules. Thus, Git is one of the most important React developer skills in maintaining code flexibility without critical data loss.
Redux
The ability to understand and work with Redux is one of the crucial skills for React.JS developers. It allows them to deal with asynchronous state updates. Redux is a built-in state that makes it possible to preserve and control the React library. Many developers use it for state management and scalability.
With the help of Redux, developers can produce apps that are consistent in behavior, easy to test, and can operate in similar environments. Thus, it is something your projects will benefit from.
Virtual DOM And Event Handling
It’s uncommon to manipulate real DOM elements when using React. However, it’s now possible with JSX. With JSX React creates a virtual DOM which is a copy of the site’s DOM. This copy is used to analyze what changes are required when the user performs an action. Such selective updates take less time and the pages can refresh faster. While this is a part of JavaScript fundamentals, make sure your developers know how to use the event handling facility for the benefit of your projects.
Fetch Data From REST API And GraphQL
React.JS is a front-end development framework that can be used to fetch data from backend during web app development. The most common ways to do this are using REST API or GraphQL. This is one of the significant skills that developers should have.
These major technical skills will indicate how useful a candidate can be for your development projects. However, there are some non-technical aspects to this that you shouldn’t be missing.
6 Major Non-Technical React Developer Skills To Complement Technical Expertise
Knowledge and one’s ability to apply it to real-time situations are two different concepts. Make sure that while your shortlisted developers have the best of technical expertise, they know how to use it for your projects’ success. Here are some soft skills that they should have as an integral part of your team.
Research And Analysis
Every development project requires niche-specific research and analysis of the ongoing work at each step. While developers would work in a team, they should be capable of collecting all the necessary details for the success of a task or project and analyzing their own work when needed.
Learning Attitude
While technologies are rapidly evolving, being an enthusiastic learner is crucial for all developers. They should be willing to keep track of latest updates, newest technologies and how to implement them for developing robust applications.
Clear Communication
Communication is crucial to make sure everyone is on the same page. Most importantly, when there are clients, multiple developers, designers, and the QA team involved. Developers should be able to convey updates and ideas to stakeholders from both technical and non-technical backgrounds.
This is especially an important aspect when you’re hiring remote/offshore developers. They should be able to communicate clearly and smoothly with the available mediums.
Active Problem Solving
This one is especially concerned about not limited to developers who would also act as team leads. There may be multiple problematic times and errors within app development projects. They should be able to identify problems, come up with solutions, discuss them and implement the best ones throughout the development process.
Collaboration
When it comes to building complex digital solutions, team effort is essential. Developers cannot make everything work on their own, there’s always need for help, suggestions, and additional skills. Make sure that the developers you onboard have a collaborative attitude. Although this is something you’ll get to know gradually, allowing them to work on a few demo tasks will make it clearer.
Accountability
As a responsible team player, a developer should have the skills to work on multiple tasks when necessary and stick to deadlines. The best ones take accountability for their work and regular updates to the client. Try to analyze this quality when hiring developers for your team.
Also Read: Top React Chart Libraries to Visualize Business Data
Onboard Skilled React Developers To Strengthen Your Team’s Caliber
Filtering the most proficient developers from the available talent pool takes careful examination. Perfect technical skills and reliable expertise always need to be supported with necessary soft skills for maximum benefit. There are various additional resources that developers should be familiar with to upscale their work and its reliability.
Searching for the best talent feels like a lot of work?
At Narola Infotech, we have 350+ trained and highly-skilled professionals seasoned for various development requirements. We have accomplished 3000+ successful projects for companies like yours across the world.
Save up your time on tedious selection processes and hire react developers from our team.