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.