After 11 years as a CTO, here's the hard truth, traditional tech hiring is failing us. Here's why, and what actually works...

The Problem:

• Keyword-obsessed ATS systems filter out great talent
• Coding tests create artificial pressure that doesn't mirror real work
• Traditional interviews don't assess communication skills
• We're still hiring like it's 2010, but work has fundamentally changed

What Actually Works:

1. Replace cover letters with 4 key questions:

• Describe a challenging bug you solved
• Tell me about a feature you're proud of
• What type of coding work energizes you?
• Role-specific technical question

This approach lets you evaluate someone’s ability to communicate and tells you much about where they’re at in practical ability.

2. Have them share code they’ve written

• During the interview let them talk about what their code does
• Ask them questions on what they’d change and other critical questions
• Good engineers will always see something they’d do differently, lazy ones have never thought about it.

Don’t worry, someone who’s submitted code they didn’t write themselves isn’t going to be able to speak to it well.

3. Video responses > Written applications

• Tests real-time communication skills