The ONE Question to Ask Developers Before You Make a Hire Decision

Hiring a developer is tricky. The best companies, with the sexy names, automatically attract the best developers. For those folks, asking to see the developer’s contributions to open source projects may be an option. But that assumes, the developer believed in a project and in giving away their work for free. These are not necessarily important filters for my development positions. Instead I ask:

“What have you built that you were not paid to build”

I like to see the following in their response (in order of importance):

1. Yes – they have built something (the more things the better)
2. They were/are passionate about it
3. They identified a REAL problem and set out to fix it
4. There is quality in the logic used to solve said problem
5. The application is live and I can play with it
6. The thing they built uses the same or similar skills as those I am hiring for
7. They were able to recruit others to help them with the project

The way the question is constructed and the answer it generates are very important. In just one question, I can check off a lot of boxes and thus be more effective than asking:

• ** Tell me about a time you were a self starter?
• Tell me about a time where you had to work with a team?
• Tell me about a time where you solved a tough problem?
• Tell me about a time where you were stuck and had to ask for help?
• What are your interests?
• ** Tell me about the quality of your work?
• ** Clearly articulate a complex idea or concept?

** you want to ask this, but it cannot really be asked effectively

The master of any craft, practices his craft
(even when nobody’s looking).

While there are a lots of other factors in a hire, in my book, the one question is remains heavily weighted.  Every great developer I have ever approved for hire, answered this question satisfactorily. It has become my go-to in all interviews. But, a one question interview is awkward so here are a few good follow ups.

“What blogs/podcasts do your follow?”

“What was a favorite blog post you recently read?”

“What meetups have/do you attend?”

“Have you ever hosted a meet up?”

“Do you have a blog?”

“Do you have a twitter account?”

After the interview play with their project (if it is live), review their twitter account, find their favorite blogs, read their blog posts, look for their meet ups. In all cases you are looking for quality and participation.