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> I can tell you it's because he's actually a very skilled engineer. He will blow the interviews completely out of the water. Easily top 1% or top 0.1% of candi

> I can tell you it's because he's actually a very skilled engineer. He will blow the interviews completely out of the water. Easily top 1% or top 0.1% of candidates -- other startups will tell you this as well. It is hilarious that companies that hired a guy who was scamming them are also convinced they are great at assessing the skill level of devs.

Aurornis 1y ago
Being a good developer and being a scammer are completely uncorrelated variables. Someone can be a good developer and also be a scammer. I don't understand why you think this is hilarious or weird.
- conartist6 1y ago
  It's hilarious because companies use such scammable ways to define who is "top 0.1%" Also there's a ton amazing engs out there who want and need work but the companies all only want that one "perfect" guy (or gal), as if such a thing exists
  - sfn42 1y ago
    I've seen a lot more employed shitty devs than I've seen unemployed amazing devs. In fact I don't know a single competent developer who has trouble getting work. This is in Norway, maybe it's different elsewhere.
    - aleph_minus_one 1y ago
      My observation of the situation in Germany is different: I know quite some quite skilled developers who have/had quite some trouble getting jobs. The other hand, the bad developers (impostors) who easily found jobs were typically sycophants. On the other hand, many highly skilled developers were rather more stubborn (they can't stand bullshit), very honest, and not "corporate politicians".
    - Spooky23 1y ago
      There’s low correlation between success and ability once you hit a baseline. There’s an element of chance, and stuff like leetcode is just a veneer of science over a vibe based process, which conveniently scopes out management culpability. Personally, I think it’s hilarious that Silicon Valley types have essentially enshrined civil service exams for hiring.
- kgwgk 1y ago
  > Being a good developer and being a scammer are completely uncorrelated variables. One could expect good developers to be less inclined to fraud as they may not “need” it as much. That also made me thing of Berkson’s paradox: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkson%27s_paradox https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkson%27s_paradox If these were really independent traits they would look negatively correlated as we talk about people who are good OR scammers.
  - KaoruAoiShiho 1y ago
    It's not about need, it's about beating the system. The "hack".
    - kgwgk 1y ago
      The “need” of beating the system. Good developers may or may not have a lower deficit of “it”.
      - immibis 1y ago
        IMO being a good corporate developer is not very correlated with being a good "hacker" (finding ways to exploit systems). They may be correlated a little but not very. Being a good startup founder is probably correlated with being a good hacker, much more than being a good corporate developer is. Startups have to find and exploit niches.
- rpcorb 1y ago
  Exactly. It's so bleak that this industry throws integrity out the window in the name of productivity.
mkipper 1y ago
Is it so hard to believe that someone can be a great candidate in an interview when you're getting 100% of their attention and then be horrible at their job when you're getting 20% of it because they're juggling 5 jobs?
- ojr 1y ago
  he had no proof he can code, no projects, no github, only hired because he gave them a lowball offer, it was lowball because he was scamming
  - mindwok 1y ago
    Where did you hear this? People on X said the exact opposite.
    - ojr 1y ago
      Technical interviews and answering system design questions do not prove you can code. This is for a founding engineer position. When I started in the industry in 2014, I had to explain the architecture decisions of my side projects. Now people parrot information off the web and call it proof of code.
  - sfn42 1y ago
    The OP said he blew interviews out of the water. Presumably they mean technical interviews, that's how he proved he can code. By writing code. Lots of devs don't have personal projects. I love programming but after spending the whole day programming I don't particularly want to go home and continue programming.
    - ojr 1y ago
      you wouldn't and he wouldn't get past me, lots of devs don't have personal projects? That is a good filter, give me the ones with higher agency that do. Maybe my standards are too high. I usually contribute the most lines at work, and have personal projects that helped get me the job in the first place. With agentic coding on the rise, it's easier to make a side project after a year of nights and weekends. Nobody wants to go home and make a project that proves to future employers you can do the job, everybody wants to get paid though.
sbmthakur 1y ago
With due respect, they probably just asked leetcode-esque and sys design questions.
- wanderlust123 1y ago
  There’s literally no evidence they did either of these things. I really hope these companies can explain their hiring process as it reflects badly on them that they keep calling him top 0.1% without any explanation of their process.
- pailhead 1y ago
  One of them didn’t. They just said they have the best system to pick candidates, that they’ve learned at their respective FAANG places, and that it can’t fail.
hooloovoo_zoo 1y ago
The had 100 candidates and hired him. Top 1% QED. (/s)
pailhead 1y ago
This.

Aurornis 1y ago

Being a good developer and being a scammer are completely uncorrelated variables. Someone can be a good developer and also be a scammer. I don't understand why you think this is hilarious or weird.

conartist6 1y ago
It's hilarious because companies use such scammable ways to define who is "top 0.1%" Also there's a ton amazing engs out there who want and need work but the companies all only want that one "perfect" guy (or gal), as if such a thing exists
- sfn42 1y ago
  I've seen a lot more employed shitty devs than I've seen unemployed amazing devs. In fact I don't know a single competent developer who has trouble getting work. This is in Norway, maybe it's different elsewhere.
  - aleph_minus_one 1y ago
    My observation of the situation in Germany is different: I know quite some quite skilled developers who have/had quite some trouble getting jobs. The other hand, the bad developers (impostors) who easily found jobs were typically sycophants. On the other hand, many highly skilled developers were rather more stubborn (they can't stand bullshit), very honest, and not "corporate politicians".
  - Spooky23 1y ago
    There’s low correlation between success and ability once you hit a baseline. There’s an element of chance, and stuff like leetcode is just a veneer of science over a vibe based process, which conveniently scopes out management culpability. Personally, I think it’s hilarious that Silicon Valley types have essentially enshrined civil service exams for hiring.
kgwgk 1y ago
> Being a good developer and being a scammer are completely uncorrelated variables. One could expect good developers to be less inclined to fraud as they may not “need” it as much. That also made me thing of Berkson’s paradox: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkson%27s_paradox https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkson%27s_paradox If these were really independent traits they would look negatively correlated as we talk about people who are good OR scammers.
- KaoruAoiShiho 1y ago
  It's not about need, it's about beating the system. The "hack".
  - kgwgk 1y ago
    The “need” of beating the system. Good developers may or may not have a lower deficit of “it”.
    - immibis 1y ago
      IMO being a good corporate developer is not very correlated with being a good "hacker" (finding ways to exploit systems). They may be correlated a little but not very. Being a good startup founder is probably correlated with being a good hacker, much more than being a good corporate developer is. Startups have to find and exploit niches.
rpcorb 1y ago
Exactly. It's so bleak that this industry throws integrity out the window in the name of productivity.

mkipper 1y ago

Is it so hard to believe that someone can be a great candidate in an interview when you're getting 100% of their attention and then be horrible at their job when you're getting 20% of it because they're juggling 5 jobs?

ojr 1y ago
he had no proof he can code, no projects, no github, only hired because he gave them a lowball offer, it was lowball because he was scamming
- mindwok 1y ago
  Where did you hear this? People on X said the exact opposite.
  - ojr 1y ago
    Technical interviews and answering system design questions do not prove you can code. This is for a founding engineer position. When I started in the industry in 2014, I had to explain the architecture decisions of my side projects. Now people parrot information off the web and call it proof of code.
- sfn42 1y ago
  The OP said he blew interviews out of the water. Presumably they mean technical interviews, that's how he proved he can code. By writing code. Lots of devs don't have personal projects. I love programming but after spending the whole day programming I don't particularly want to go home and continue programming.
  - ojr 1y ago
    you wouldn't and he wouldn't get past me, lots of devs don't have personal projects? That is a good filter, give me the ones with higher agency that do. Maybe my standards are too high. I usually contribute the most lines at work, and have personal projects that helped get me the job in the first place. With agentic coding on the rise, it's easier to make a side project after a year of nights and weekends. Nobody wants to go home and make a project that proves to future employers you can do the job, everybody wants to get paid though.

sbmthakur 1y ago

With due respect, they probably just asked leetcode-esque and sys design questions.

wanderlust123 1y ago
There’s literally no evidence they did either of these things. I really hope these companies can explain their hiring process as it reflects badly on them that they keep calling him top 0.1% without any explanation of their process.
pailhead 1y ago
One of them didn’t. They just said they have the best system to pick candidates, that they’ve learned at their respective FAANG places, and that it can’t fail.

hooloovoo_zoo 1y ago

The had 100 candidates and hired him. Top 1% QED. (/s)

pailhead 1y ago

This.