Vervoe logo

How To Hire a Junior PHP Developer

Complete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Junior PHP Developer hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.

Junior PHP Developer Recruitment Guide

What does a Junior PHP Developer do?

A Junior PHP Developer needs to have a very good fundamental knowledge and be trained in developing and testing various PHP scripts. This needs to be combined with communication skills to enable them to effectively solve problems and work with their colleagues that form development teams. A Junior PHP Developer will be responsible for writing and maintaining source code using the PHP language.

Day to day tasks of a Junior PHP Developer

Skills assessment

Junior PHP Developer definition

Junior PHP Developers use their knowledge of the PHP programming language to help senior resources create back-end code which provides critical functionality for website end-users. PHP developers need to be extremely precise and security focused as a common use of PHP is to facilitate a website that is processing a request to enter the data into a database.

Junior php developer 1
HIRING PROCESS

Junior PHP Developer Hiring Process

Step 1: Understand the role
Step 2: Source Applicants
Step 3: Skills Assessment
Step 4: Interview
Step 5: Hire

Build the Ideal Candidate Profile​

To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.

Write A Job Description Based On Skills

Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.

Selecting The Ideal Candidate

See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.

Interview Top Performers

Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.

Making An Offer

Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.
Build the ideal candidate profile

Skills needed for a Junior PHP Developer

Junior PHP Developers need to be highly proficient in PHP but also other web languages like JavaScript and SQL. Furthermore, they will also need to know fundamental OOP principles as this will help them write code which is suitable for enterprises. Communication is extremely important as they will be interacting with different stakeholders on a regular basis.

Pro Tip

For entry level roles, you should ask the candidate about their experience with PHP and where they’ve used this language in the past and their portfolio of work.

WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS

How to write a Junior PHP Developer job description

Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Junior PHP Developer job description:

Job Title: What position are you hiring for?

Summary: What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?

Responsibilities: An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization

Requirements: Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully

Benefits: Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer

Pro Tip

In building your candidate profile, remember you’ve already identified what skills are needed to succeed in the role. Here’s where to list your “must-have” skills and maybe a couple of “nice-to-have” skills. For example, a Junior PHP Developer who wants to adequately test their software should know how to use selenium.

Junior php developer 2
SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

Sample skill tests for a Junior PHP Developer

Create a free account today to access the full assessment and more from our library

Junior php developer 3

Question 1

PHP

Question Type: Text

What is the difference between a session variable versus a cookie? (In terms of where the information is stored).

Junior php developer 3

Question 2

Communication

Question Type: Audio

You’re working for a start up and the CEO gazes towards you and asks you a question about SQL injection attacks. Last night he read a post on Linkedin about data breaches and wants to make sure the company is using all the proper PHP techniques to mitigate such an attack. Explain in two minutes or less the practices you’ve used to make sure your inputs are sanitized.

Junior php developer 3

Question 3

Write Script

Question Type: Code

Create a function named ‘math’. In this function you will multiply the two input variables and see if the result is divisible by 2, if it is return 1, otherwise return 0.

INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS

How to interview a Junior PHP Developer

Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.

Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.

Making An Offer

How much does it cost to hire a Junior PHP Developer?

Junior PHP Developers in the USA can expect salaries in the median neighbourhood of $58,789 as reported by Indeed.com and $55,876 according to Glassdoor.com. Ninety percent of Junior PHP Developers can expect to earn up to $81,289 and the lowest ten percent are paid up to $51,143 according to Salary.com.

Junior PHP Developer Salary United States

The United States has a median salary of $64,073 USD for Junior PHP Developers. This figure will change based on many different elements when a salary is made for employees, for instance, the performance of an employee and location of the organisation.

Junior PHP Developer Salary United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom a Junior PHP Developer can be expected to receive a yearly salary of approximately £24,930. This figure will change based on a number of factors such as the location of the organization and seniority of the position.

Junior PHP Developer Salary Australia

Junior PHP Developers in Australia have a reported yearly wage of $100,000 AUD. There are a handful of factors which need to be taken into consideration when this number is offered to candidates, for example, the industry of the organisation, salary share options and depth of knowledge.