DEV Community: Andrey Cooper

"Everything went well but they did not hire me...". Here's why:

Andrey Cooper — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 10:23:39 +0000

We are suckers for the good signs.
We are easily attracted to comfort, friendly people, and a respectful environment.

An experienced hiring manager will make you feel right at home, just to crack your personality.

Don't fall for the good signs, they are unpredictable.
Look for the bad ones and stay away from such companies.

Every decent HR or hiring manager will tell you about the process, the company, and the team. They will tell you jokes and laugh with you. They will mention the school or a hometown if you have it in common.

That happens for the 3 main reasons

Learning as much as possible about your personality is done best if you feel comfortable. Hence the laughter. An experienced hiring manager establishes a relationship with the candidate at the hiring table. They would imitate situations that frequently happen in the team.
Hiring a person is not buying milk at the grocery store. The selling process goes in both directions all the time and telling you about the team, product, or development process is attaching you emotionally to the process for a longer time.
Keeping the high bar. A successful hire contributes to the company's value, while rejected hires contribute to the company's image. That's why every company that cares about its name will respect every candidate by maintaining a high level of positive experience no matter the immediate feeling. They will do anything so you spread the excitement further.

So what should you do to get a better understanding?

The following are 100% proof things went wrong for you

The interview ends earlier than scheduled. 15 minutes are usually set for a pre-sync before the process, 30 for an intro, 45 for HR or org level, and 60-90 minutes for technical or architecture sessions. An experienced interviewer knows how this time should be used. In case the meeting ends in the middle, they have no interest in you.
There's no follow-up call for more than 2 weeks. Good candidates are always hard to find. No matter the size of the company, in case they like you, a quick call or a message will always follow within a week's time range.

Bonus.
The list of signs to be avoided

The person is late for the meeting and nobody apologizes.
The manager who interviews you is strict and unsmiling. In case the interviewer is your direct supervisor, he/she tries to tell you "this is my style, love it or hate it".
The questions you've been asked are out of your position's responsibility. A manager is being assigned development questions, a developer's assignment includes a lot of SQL queries, end so on. The company either does not know how to hire or has no clear definition of the requirements. Both are to be avoided.

Samsung's contribution to innovation is much higher that any other brand, including Apple

Andrey Cooper — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 16:44:12 +0000

Yes - their devices sell slower than iPhones, but their tech contribution is much higher.

Just to mention a few:

Amoled displays, screens that are best in class
Wireless charging (standard since Galaxy S5)
Curved displays
The S Pen, yes, they were first
Variable aperture camera
Biometric Authentication - do you remember the fingerprint scanner on the back of the Samsung devices that could tell your heart rate?
Oh, and the foldable screens

There are successful companies and there are impactful.

Samsung is impactful.

Hiring the best developers is a mistake.

Andrey Cooper — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 18:45:43 +0000

Declaring, during an interview introduction, that “we are building the best team in class” is as unrealistic as saying “we are building the next Google of the current generation”. Such a statement, if said seriously, is an indication of an inevitable failure.

Let’s think for a second about the definition of a start-up.

Start-up is a company in the initial steps of business

It means

Not-existing or a very early form of a product.
Zero or a deficient number of clients.
Financial resources are very limited. Depending on the stage, the company may be covered by as much as 2 years of funding.
There’s no business and no legal structure.
There is no well-defined development process.
Leadership is not settled on goals and management style.

Considering all these, you will be constantly running against disappearing time and money resources.

“Writing the best code” becomes much less relevant than “taking care of tasks fast” or “being able to work independently”.

Keep in mind that many team members will be involved in demo meetings, research sessions, and POC development. In order to do it, people have to understand the company's business, be able to efficiently present the product as well as **communicate **troubles and bottlenecks.

Investing your energy in looking for the best developers will not be possible.

So whom should you hire then?

Below are the characteristics you should be looking for

Understanding of the company business (or willingness to understand)
Ability to work independently
Good communication skills
Solid development background
Compliance with the culture (current and the future). Yes, you have to envision and go for the culture from day 1.
Passion. Anything is relevant. It can be either a hobby or a life lesson. The person that is able to get excited about a hobby, is capable to get excited about the work.
Long-term potential. This goes both directions - willing to grow and learn with the company and willing to see this person thrive through the company's success.
Being able to receive and deliver feedback.

You will not be able to quickly find people with all the mentioned functions. 3-4 abilities are enough for the start. You, as a manager, have to identify and understand what are the missing characteristics and how they should be mentored.

PS.

In the picture is the 1924 US Olympic Boxing Team.
That year the team took first place with 6 medals.