how to hire a great developer

Your digital advantage [email protected] | @TimMarkHamilton

Hiring a Great Developer

mailto:[email protected]?subject=

Your digital advantage

Tim Hamilton Founder & CEO Praxent

• Web • Mobile • Desktop • IoT

Background: Originally from South AfricaStudied Economics & MIS at UT AustinInterviewed ~500 since 2009Hired 50

Software products & platforms for aggressive growth.

Your digital advantage [email protected] | @TimMarkHamilon

Why talk about hiring?

• 50% - 75% of hiring decisions are mistakes according to Brad Smart and Peter Drucker

• Only 14% of leaders are good at making hiring decisions

• The wrong hire can cost upwards of 15X their annual salary



“According to 4,000 studies [and over 15,000 data points] we’ve examined, traditional interviewing is not predictive of job performance.” – Geoff Smart & Randy Street

Traditional Interviewing Doesn’t Work



SCORECARD (1-2+ hours)123

54

PHONE SCREENING INTERVIEW (30 min)

BIOGRAPHICAL INTERVIEW (1-2 hours)

FOCUSED INTERVIEW (1-2 hours)

REFERENCE CHECK INTERVIEW (10 min per)

Five Steps to Hiring A-Players



Scorecard Phone Screen Bio Interview Focused Interview Reference Check

Scorecard • Mission Statement• 3-8 Outcomes (in order)• Competencies• Required Skills• Strengths & Risks

Hire the specialist, not the generalist.




“Learning beats knowing in the new world of work.” – Liz Wiseman

Scorecard • Cultural fit > skill fit• Learning > knowing




Clients First

Always Deliver

Never Settle

Do It Together

Own the Outcome

Scorecard Built around your culture: core values and brand promise




Intellectual • Intelligence• Analysis Skills• Judgment /

Decision Making• Conceptual Ability• Creativity• Strategic Skills• Pragmatism• Risk Taking• Leading Edge• Education• Experience

Personal • Integrity• Resourcefulness• Organization /

Planning• Excellence• Independence• Stress

Management• Self-Awareness• Adaptability• First Impression• Self Confidence

Interpersonal • Likability• Persuasion• Assertiveness• Communications –

Oral• Communication –

Written• Political Savvy• Team Player• Interpersonal

Awareness

Behavioral CompetenciesMotivational • Energy• Passion• Ambition• Compatibility of

Needs• Balance in Life• Tenacity

Management • Selecting A Players• Training /

Development• Goal Setting• Empowerment• Accountability• Redeploying B/C

Players• Team Building• Diversity• Running Meetings




Envision: What would a resounding success look

like after 12 months?

Sample scorecard


http://bit.ly/2a77c78

http://bit.ly/2a77c78



Phone screening interview • Filter out non-fit

candidates• 20 min for your

questions, 10 min for theirs

• 15-30-minutes total• Trust your gut




What are your career goals?

• Candidate goes first so you don’t influence their response

• Look for authenticity, not a regurgitation of content from your site

• Do their passions and energy align with your company

• Are you looking for a manager or individual contributor? What are they looking for?




What are you really good at?

• Look for at least 5 to start but • Push for 8-12 so you can build a

complete picture of their aptitude • Technical strengths or personal

strengths?• Get examples to put strengths into

context• Look for strengths that match your

scorecard




What are you not good at or not interested in? • Push for real weaknesses• Say “that sounds like a strength to

me” if you get cookie-cutter responses

• Look for 5-8 weaknesses • How much self-awareness do you

need in the ideal candidate?




Who were your last five bosses and how they rate your performance?

• Threat of Reference Check (TORC) ask “when” not “if”

• Ask for the spelling; this unlocks the truth• Ask for details. “Why a 7?”• 8’s, 9’s, 10’s positive, • 7’s neutral• 6 and below are bad• What about the current boss?




What are your salary expectations?

• Are we in the same ballpark?• Remember: this step is all about

saving time by selecting the candidates you’ll move to the next step




Do you have any questions for me?

• Look out for me-centered questions first.

• What would the ideal candidate ask about the company? About the role?

• The questions they ask are as telling as their answers.




Kicking off the phone screen

• 20 min for me, 10 min for you• Permission to be candid?• Don’t overshare before you ask the

first question




Getting curious with dig deeper questions

• What, How and Tell me more• What did you do?• How did you feel?• What happened next?




Biographical interview • 1-2 hours long• Face to face or video• Uncover patterns of the

candidate’s career history• 15 years worth• Look for facts and stories

not hypotheses • Old habits die hard• Curiosity > judgment




What accomplishments are you most proud of?

• Outcomes > activities or learnings• Do they line up with what they were

hired to do?• Alignment with your scorecard?




Real Example: What accomplishments are you most proud of?




What were some low points?

• Could their frustrations from the past recur in the future?

• Do they externalize blame?• Do they talk negatively about

others?




Who were the people you worked with? What was it like working together?

• Do they talk negatively about others?• What kind of leadership do they

thrive under?• What kind of leadership do they

struggle under?• Do they give credit or take credit?




What will you boss tell me were your strengths & areas for improvement?

• Do the strengths map to your outcomes and competencies?

• Are the weaknesses create significant risks?




Why did you leave that job?

Caution: if they are thinking of leaving their current job because of money (or other hygiene factor) and they are an “A-player” they will likely stay when their current manager gives them a counter-offer.




Focused interview • Competency-

based questions• Focused on the

scorecard• Still focused on

the past

http://bit.ly/2a2eopd


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qNMIJY-20-w9QTp2s8FBE0BbRAJLZxdsUugV7wIgTUo/edit#heading=h.t4j540nnuusv
























































































































































































































http://bit.ly/2a2eopd

https://goo.gl/uj7Zrr



Scorecard: Strengths & Risks




Reference checking interview • 10-minutes per

reference• Listen for what they

are not saying



Demo



Q&A• How to work with recruiters to source candidates?• How to stay engaged with A-players in a hectic market like Austin?• Thoughts on benefits and retention?



Thank you!Slides available at: http://bit.ly/2azSlHo


http://bit.ly/2azSlHo

how to hire a great developer

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