I've been advising startups for 10 years — here's how I hire world-class developers

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Since my first job at a mobile-media startup, way back in the ancient times before the app store existed, I've had a hand in hiring developers.  

A few years later, when I started managing development teams, it fell completely on my shoulders. I've even had to rebuild a team which was later part of a high-profile (and high-priced) Amazon acquisition.  

This gave me a pretty solid clue that my system for hiring developers, or really any engineering talent, was great at picking up some of the best talent in the world.

Beyond the Amazon acquisition validating this concept, I've spent over $1 million on developers in the last few years to prove this process out. Now, it is a core premise of how I advise startups to take their development and engineering team to the next level.

It goes deeper than "hire slowly, fire quickly." That's absolutely true, but it doesn't tell you how to effectively attract and hire world-class developers. If you really know how to hire a rockstar, this particular maxim reads more like "hire carefully, fire if you've somehow screwed the process up."

This is how I hire world-class developers:

Treat your job description like a sales letter

Be as specific as possible in what you are looking for, what the short- and long-term fit is, what skills you want, and what skills you don't want. This will help you get more relevant resumes in your inbox.  

Since your job description describes exactly what you want and what you don't, you can now review resumes in record time. If you aren't getting a steady stream of candidates that fit your job description, you should be working with a recruiter.

Build rapport (and make sure candidates aren't lying) 

This means you have to jump on the phone with them for a little "getting to know each other" chat and a phone screen.  

Do a quick online search for relevant questions to ask to make sure that applicants aren't totally BSing you on their resumes. Make sure you have a list of what you want to hear and what you don't want to hear. 

And always remember: This is a two-way street. You are looking to choose them, and they are looking to choose you.

Watch the machine work

Now you get to see some actual work. If you're hiring a contractor, pay for a small project. If you're looking for a full-time developer, this is part of the pipeline, and they have to pass it to get through to the interview.

The project can be irrelevant to your company, and it should be painfully simple to do — nothing more than an hour or so of work. I always make mine ambiguous in what the end result should be, so I can see if what they call "done" matches what I call "done."

Put a time limit on it and be firm within reason to their other obligations outside of work. Remember, this is only an hour of their time.

Do NOT skip this step.

I can't stress this enough. This is where you and your team can see inside a candidate's thought process, see their best practices and standards, and see how they solve open-ended problems.

Some developers will resent you for this, and you won't be hiring them. In today's competitive marketplace, it's an absolute necessity.

I've actually had a developer actually tell me that he doesn't trust a company that skips a test project for new hires!

Guess what? He's a complete rockstar, and I trust him.

Deepen investment

Write up relevant whiteboard questions and ask the developer to solve them on the fly in person or via video chat. If you aren't technically inclined, have your tech friends (or Google) list out some questions, acceptable answers, and red flags.

The goal here is to see how they think on the spot and get a good sense of strengths and weaknesses, not to trick them into solving brainteasers or super specific problems.

Do they understand the languages that you're using? Do they have a clue about security? Can they explain their ideas and thinking? These are important skills for any technical person.

Get down to it

It's finally go time for the interview. This can be in person or via video chat, depending on the circumstances. This should be immediately after the whiteboard session to keep the candidate engaged and into what you're doing. At the end of this interview, you will be able to get a solid impression of him or her and sell the position after you know you like them.

Close the deal or walk away

Have a debrief with everyone who interviewed the developer. If you're the lone wolf interviewing, get a mentor, consultant, or coach to help you out. The debrief should take place immediately after the interviewing ends, so you can decide and make an offer or move on to the next developer within a few minutes of the first one leaving.

At the end of this process, you can have an offer out to a candidate within fifteen minutes of them leaving the interview. You'll know what they are good at, what they're bad at, how they communicate, and how they solve problems in real time.  

This will give you full confidence when you make the hire. Additionally, by the end of the interview process, the developer is super invested in your company and is truly excited to play a part in it.

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