You're evaluating software engineers. How do you avoid common mistakes?

2 Use multiple methods

Relying on a single method of evaluation, such as resumes, interviews, or tests, can limit your perspective and overlook important aspects of a candidate's abilities and potential. To get a more comprehensive and accurate picture of a software engineer's skills, you should use multiple methods of evaluation, such as portfolio reviews, coding challenges, work samples, behavioral questions, or peer feedback. By using multiple methods, you can assess different dimensions of a candidate's performance, such as technical skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills, teamwork skills, or creativity.

3 Align expectations

One of the most common mistakes when evaluating software engineers is to have unrealistic or mismatched expectations. For example, you might expect a candidate to know everything about a specific technology, or to solve a complex problem in a short time, or to fit perfectly into your existing team. However, these expectations can be unfair or unrealistic, and can lead to frustration or disappointment. To avoid this mistake, you should align your expectations with the reality of the market, the role, and the project. You should also communicate your expectations clearly and openly with the candidates, and give them feedback and guidance along the way.

4 Avoid biases

Biases are inevitable and unavoidable when evaluating software engineers, but they can also be harmful and detrimental. Biases can affect your judgment and decision-making, and lead to unfair or inaccurate evaluations. For example, you might favor candidates who share your background, opinions, or style, or you might reject candidates who challenge your assumptions, or who have different approaches or perspectives. To avoid biases, you should be aware of your own preferences and assumptions, and seek diverse and independent opinions from others. You should also use data and evidence to support your evaluations, and avoid relying on intuition or gut feelings.

5 Learn from feedback

The final tip for avoiding common mistakes when evaluating software engineers is to learn from feedback. Feedback is essential for improving your hiring process and outcomes, and for identifying and correcting your mistakes. You should seek feedback from multiple sources, such as candidates, colleagues, managers, or customers. You should also give feedback to the candidates, whether you hire them or not, and help them improve their skills and performance. By learning from feedback, you can refine your criteria, methods, expectations, and biases, and become a better evaluator of software engineers.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?