Programmer for Hire: The Checklist Every Hiring Manager Needs

Before You Start

Most bad hires happen before the interview, not during it.

The biggest mistake: writing a job description that's a laundry list of technologies instead of a clear description of the problems you need solved.

Before you post anything, answer these questions:

• What specific problems will this developer solve in the first 90 days?
• What does "done" look like for their first project?
• What tech stack are they actually required to know vs. nice to have?
• Who will they work with most closely?

If you can't answer these questions, you're not ready to hire.

Technical Assessment: What Actually Works

Live Coding (60 minutes)

The most reliable signal. Give them a problem similar to your actual work. Watch how they:

• Break down the problem
• Ask clarifying questions
• Handle ambiguity
• Debug when things go wrong

The code itself matters less than the process.

Architecture Discussion (30 minutes)

Describe a real system design challenge you're facing or have faced. Ask them to walk you through how they'd approach it.

Listen for: trade-off awareness, simplicity bias (the best engineers reach for the simplest solution), real-world pragmatism.

Code Review

Show them a piece of your existing code. Ask for feedback.

Red flags: they point out style issues but miss logic bugs. Green flags: they ask about the context before criticising.

Take-Home Project

Useful if you make it small (2-4 hours max) and pay for their time.

Red flag: take-home projects longer than 4 hours or unpaid are disrespectful and will cost you good candidates.

Soft Skills: What to Evaluate

Communication

For offshore developers especially, written communication matters more than verbal. During the interview:

• Ask them to explain a complex technical decision in writing
• Give them a scenario and ask for a Slack-style response

Good communicators are clear, specific, and don't hide problems.

Initiative

Ask: "Tell me about a time you noticed a problem that wasn't your responsibility, and what you did about it."

Great developers fix things they see broken, even if it's not in their ticket.

Learning

Ask: "What's the last thing you learned that changed how you think about software?"

People who aren't learning aren't growing. In a fast-moving field, that matters.

Red Flags

• Can't explain their own code
• Never asks clarifying questions
• Portfolio projects with no tests
• Can't articulate trade-offs (everything is "best practice")
• Vague answers about past projects
• Overcomplicates simple problems

Green Flags

• Asks "why" before "how"
• Shows code they're genuinely proud of
• Can describe a project that failed and what they learned
• Has opinions and can defend them with reasoning
• Clear and specific written communication

The Reference Check

Most people skip this. Don't.

One good reference check question: "Is there a type of team or project where [candidate] wouldn't be a good fit?"

This question gets honest answers because it's not a binary "good vs bad" framing. The answer tells you a lot about fit.