INTRO
Hiring pages and Upwork profiles look similar. The difference shows up in how someone talks about caching, metadata, server boundaries, and what they shipped under constraints.
Ask for production URLs, not just GitHub stars
Live products beat private repos. Ask what broke in production and how it was fixed. Case studies should name constraints — payments, roles, offline retail, healthcare ops — without inventing metrics.
On my portfolio, Evolvo client sites are labeled as employment delivery. Independent case studies say so too. That honesty is a hiring signal.
App Router fluency vs Pages-router nostalgia
A strong Next.js hire can explain when to use Server Components, Route Handlers, and Server Actions — and when not to. They should care about Core Web Vitals because buyers feel slow sites.
Also ask how they structure metadata, sitemaps, and canonicals. SEO is not a plugin bolt-on at the end.
Process beats personality slogans
Look for weekly demos, written scope, and a clear definition of done. “Hire me, I’m 10x” is not a process.
Timezone honesty matters for remote work from Pakistan: async updates, overlapping hours when needed, and a staging URL you can click without a meeting.
Five interview questions that separate seniors
When do you choose Server Actions vs Route Handlers? How do you set `metadataBase` and canonicals? What was your last production incident?
How do you structure RBAC for a second tenant? What do you refuse to put in an MVP? Vague answers here predict vague delivery.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
“Prefer live proof with role clarity over vanity metrics.”
- 02
Test App Router judgment, not just React trivia.
- 03
Process and communication are part of the hire.
- 04
Incident stories beat buzzword bingo.
CONCLUSION
Closing thought
Use this checklist on any candidate — including me. Then open the services page and compare against the work you actually need.
CONTINUE
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