The most expensive Salesforce mistake is hiring a developer for work an administrator should do. A great deal of what people ask developers to build can be configured, and configuration is cheaper to build, cheaper to change and survives platform upgrades in a way custom code does not. Knowing which side of that line your work falls on is the decision that matters.
Configuration first, code only where configuration cannot reach
Custom code on a platform is a permanent maintenance obligation: it has to be tested, maintained across releases and understood by whoever comes next. Configuration does not carry the same burden. A good Salesforce practitioner will push back on a request for code and propose a declarative approach first, and a candidate who never does is either inexperienced or incentivised to build. Ask for an example of talking a client out of custom development.
Governor limits are the platform question
Salesforce enforces execution limits, and code that works on small data fails when volumes grow. Ask a candidate to explain how they write logic that processes records in bulk rather than one at a time, what happens when a trigger cascades, and how they would find out why an integration started failing intermittently at month end. These are the questions where platform experience is visible and general programming ability is not enough.
Release management and environments
Ask how they move changes between environments, whether work is version controlled, and what their rollback looks like. A worrying but common answer is that changes are made directly in production because it is faster. Ask how they handle testing requirements for deployment and how they keep sandboxes usefully populated. This is the area where an otherwise capable individual can leave you with an org nobody can safely change.
Data protection and ownership
Your customer data sits in this platform, so ask how they control access by job need, how they handle data in sandboxes, and how integrations authenticate. The elements at 16 CFR 314.4 are a reasonable checklist. On ownership, any custom code, and the configuration documentation, should be yours: require an express written assignment, since under 17 USC 101 commissioned software is not automatically a work made for hire.
Questions people ask about hire dedicated salesforce developer
Do we need a Salesforce developer for hire or an administrator?
An administrator, for most requests. Configuration is cheaper to build and change and survives platform releases better than custom code. Hire a developer for what genuinely cannot be configured, and treat a candidate who never recommends configuration as a warning sign.
What is the key technical question for Salesforce developers for hire?
Governor limits and bulk processing. Ask how they write logic that handles records in bulk, what happens when triggers cascade, and how they would diagnose an integration failing intermittently at month end.
What should we ask about release process?
How changes move between environments, whether work is version controlled, and what rollback looks like. Changes made directly in production because it is faster is a common answer and a serious one.