This is a guest post by Geoff. Geoff writes about how to use freelance websites, monetize blogs, and other entrepreneurial endeavors.

Hiring a freelance developer is a great way to complete a short term software project without committing to a permanent employee. You can avoid payroll expenses, paying benefits and the costs associated with training. Using freelancers is an excellent way to scale your business up and down quickly without long term obligations.

But before you hire a freelance web programmer off the street you need to do your due diligence and verify they will be a good fit. Bringing on the wrong resource can be expensive and a waste of your valuable time. When screening developers, thorough interviews and a test assignment are good steps in the hiring process. But while you are evaluating a candidate you need to consider the right factors before you make up your mind. Throughout the hiring process, here are the questions you need to ask yourself to avoid hiring a dud.