4 ms·

Our flaw was similar. We were asking high level questions. At no point did we ask things like "have you ever used Microsoft Windows" or "have you ever used a d

Our flaw was similar. We were asking high level questions. At no point did we ask things like "have you ever used Microsoft Windows" or "have you ever used a desktop computer". It would seem we cannot take these questions for granted anymore. The best strategy I've come up with is to build an intern program and source talent from that lower cost/risk pool. Pulling high level employees off the street was almost always a circus for us.

pavel_lishin 2y ago
We had an apprenticeship/internship program, and it worked out great. It gave new grads (from both colleges and bootcamps) on-the-job experience as well as active mentorship, it gave us an extended but time-limited way to verify that these folks were actually good at their job, and for the most part, they were all excellent software engineers, and we extended offers to something like 75% of them, and 50% of those accepted and worked there for awhile before moving on to another company. imo, a very worthwhile investment of time and money.
- BrandoElFollito 2y ago
  This is my favorite way of hiring (in France). You have all your time to get to know the employee and the employee has all the time to get to know the company. It usually brings excellent people for long, no surprises.
anthomtb 2y ago
> build an intern program I agree this is the best way to hire. Additional benefits are the chance to work on greenfield problems for low cost and creating leadership opportunities for folks with a couple years of experience. The only downside I have seen with the intern-to-FTE path is a tendency to leave after a few years as an FTE. I never ran numbers, and didn't have the god-power to get the data anyways, but would guess that half the interns who came on as FTE's were gone within 5 years. It would have been particularly interesting to compare intern->FTE tenure versus college grad->FTE tenure. Thinking about it more, moving on after a few years of productive work is not that much of a downside. Much better than not moving on after years of non-productive "work".

pavel_lishin 2y ago

We had an apprenticeship/internship program, and it worked out great. It gave new grads (from both colleges and bootcamps) on-the-job experience as well as active mentorship, it gave us an extended but time-limited way to verify that these folks were actually good at their job, and for the most part, they were all excellent software engineers, and we extended offers to something like 75% of them, and 50% of those accepted and worked there for awhile before moving on to another company. imo, a very worthwhile investment of time and money.

BrandoElFollito 2y ago
This is my favorite way of hiring (in France). You have all your time to get to know the employee and the employee has all the time to get to know the company. It usually brings excellent people for long, no surprises.

anthomtb 2y ago

> build an intern program I agree this is the best way to hire. Additional benefits are the chance to work on greenfield problems for low cost and creating leadership opportunities for folks with a couple years of experience. The only downside I have seen with the intern-to-FTE path is a tendency to leave after a few years as an FTE. I never ran numbers, and didn't have the god-power to get the data anyways, but would guess that half the interns who came on as FTE's were gone within 5 years. It would have been particularly interesting to compare intern->FTE tenure versus college grad->FTE tenure. Thinking about it more, moving on after a few years of productive work is not that much of a downside. Much better than not moving on after years of non-productive "work".