5 Qualities I Look for When Hiring a Developer
Hint: it’s not qualifications
I’ve led many hiring processes, from junior technicians to senior software engineers. As a developer, I’ve also successfully been through the full recruitment process of many different types of company, from huge multi-nationals to tiny startups. In this post I’ll share my main takeaways from 20 years experience.
1. Basic Coding Skills
Method of assessment: informal programming test during interview
It’s very difficult to assess someone’s programming ability. For a start what does “programming ability” actually mean? Language knowledge plays a part, but so do problem solving, time management skills, understanding of algorithms and data structures. You get the idea.
Some interview processes test programmer knowledge, but I find this highly problematic. Most languages are so vast that someone could be an expert and still get tripped up by a few niche questions. Other processes attempt to test skills, possibly through an automated test. These too are unsatisfactory. Being good at these kinds of tests is in itself a skill that can be learned and practiced. Someone could be great at passing these tests, but terrible at other aspects of programming.
