Effective database management impacts both your customers and your internal teams. Both of these groups benefit from easier and smoother access to the data they need — customers get better performance and therefore better user experience and internal teams can work more efficiently when they don’t have to spend additional time finding documents or other assets they need.
There are two types of databases you can utilize for your digital business — relational (SQL) and non-relational databases (NoSQL). Why the second ones have been getting traction in the last few years?
- NoSQL databases are more suited for modern agile and DevOps companies who want to deliver new updates to their product faster and more frequently.
- They are a better choice for larger companies as it's easier to store structured, semi-structured, and completely unstructured data within one database.
- They handle big data sets better.
- NoSQL is the go-to choice for businesses that plan to scale rapidly and can't spend too much time adjusting their standard SQL database to growing traffic and growing number of data.
- NoSQL databases are better adapted for the cloud.
- In the long run, maintaining a NoSQL database is less expensive as it requires less management.
It’s important to note, however, that most developers are still more experienced with SQL than NoSQL databases. This makes it a bit more difficult to find a NoSQL database developer that perfectly fits your company. How to make the hiring process easier in such a case? We recommend hiring MongoDB developers.
Why invest in MongoDB and hire MongoDB developers?
There at least a few major reasons for choosing MongoDB and hiring MongoDB developers when you plan to implement a NoSQL database for your projects.
- MongoDB is the most popular NoSQL management tool on the market — it's used by more than 26% of professional developers.
- MongoDB has a bright future ahead of it — it's the most wanted database technology among developers. Nearly 20% of developers not yet working on MongoDB want to start using it in their work.
- MongoDB is open-source, meaning you can use it completely for free (there is a paid subscription model but it only applies to some use cases).
- It works on all types of servers, including on all major clouds (such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud).
- MongoDB can work with virtually any programming language. It officially supports 12 languages: C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript/Node.js, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Scala, Go, and Erlang.
The most important hard skills for MongoDB developers
Only the right set of technical skills guarantees your MongoDB developers deliver amazing results when it comes to database management. Look especially closely into the following areas…
- Extensive experience with MongoDB and NoSQL
Previous business experience with MongoDB is crucial to truly thrive in the role of a MongoDB developer. Some of the most important aspects of the NoSQL experience include collection creation, index creation, shading implementation, and debugging.
- Experience with other NoSQL tools
While MongoDB is the leading tool in the NoSQL space, knowledge of the alternatives is also useful as it gives additional perspective on the market and proves that the MongoDB developer you are hiring is truly involved in their specialty’s developments. Some popular alternatives to MongoDB are RavenDB, Redis, and Amazon’s DynamoDB.
- Experience with SQL
Some companies decide to hire MongoDB developers not to fully transfer to NoSQL but to leverage the potential of both SQL and NoSQL for their projects. Using both relational and non-relational databases is possible and is getting more and more popular, so you should make sure the MongoDB developer you hire has also some experience with SQL — preferably with one of the most popular SQL database tools, such as SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL.
- Experience with the cloud
Most of the successful digital products are nowadays stored in the cloud — this guarantees them top performance and powers continuous delivery and integration. Hire MongoDB developers who have experience with the cloud solution you choose, whether it’s AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or a less-common platform.
- Understanding of the technologies present at the company
For the best results, hire MongoDB developers who have an understanding and at least basic proficiency with technologies that power your product. Consider the programming language(s), major frameworks and libraries, and other tools that make up the tech stack of your business.
Never underestimate soft skills
But when you hire MongoDB developers — and any other IT experts — you should also remember to look for more than just technical excellence. Get on board people who know how to cooperate with others well and power up innovation in your company.
Look especially for candidates with the following soft skills…
- Attention to detail
To deliver reliable database solutions that never disappoint.
- Approachability
To listen to the needs of other teams across the company when designing a database.
- Expert time management
To fit all the regular tasks of a MongoDB developer within a job day.
Best MongoDB developer job interview questions
Many developers have expansive SQL knowledge but only minor experience with non-relational databases. To make sure your candidate truly has the knowledge of MongoDB they should have, run a proper technical interview with them. As such an interview should be led by a person experienced in MongoDB, you might want to ask another expert for help — this can be another NoSQL/MongoDB developer, a software consultant, or an IT project manager.
Some of the questions a prospective MongoDB developer can be asked during a job interview are…
- What is a covered query in MongoDB?
- What is replication in MongoDB?
- Are you familiar with any alternatives to MongoDB? What advantages do you see in them compared to MongoDB?
- Why is MongoDB called schemaless?
- What is journaling in MongoDB?
- How is capped collection useful?
- When would you use GridFS?
- Horizontal vs vertical database scaling — what's the difference?
- What does writebacklisten mean in MongoDB?
- How does concurrency affect a replica set primary?
Finding the MongoDB developer who truly fits your business
Even by imposing very specific skill requirements, you might still end up with at least a few candidates who passed the initial review. How to choose the right ones from this group? Consider the following three areas of company fit…
- Project/product fit
What product will the NoSQL database power? Are you building a mobile app, a web app, or desktop software? What kind of features make it unique? Review the portfolios of your candidates and look for experts who have previously worked on projects similar to yours. They will already have an idea on how to best approach designing a database for a business like yours.
- Industry fit
If project fit is not possible — or if you want to get even a better match — consider also the industry fit. Look for MongoDB developers who have previously worked within your industry as, once again, they will already be aware of some unique database solutions that your business vertical requires.
- Company culture fit
Just like soft skills, this area of company fit highly impacts the cooperation and innovation across your company. Think of the values that drive your business to success — from the style of management and work environment (corporate vs startup) to focus on diverse teams and attitude towards remote work. Then, find MongoDB developers who also consider these values as important.
Who else will you be needing?
Data management is a critical element for virtually every business with any kind of digital assets — but it rarely is the product itself. If you want to improve other areas of your business, including direct product development, there are still more experts to hire than just MongoDB developers. From IT project managers, Product Owners, and Scrum Masters to digital designers, data scientists, and machine learning engineers, the list is long, and picking the right talents can be troublesome.
We can help. At Ideamotive, we run an industry-leading network of IT talents from all specialties. Our team can help you clarify your needs and then connect you with the exact experts you need based on any unique requirements you might have.
