Hiring Smart

Finding smart people to hire is difficult, but it’s worth doing because smart people tend to survive. In a software career, an individual has to cope with many negative experiences: inept bosses, bad design choices, work on the wrong product, dysfunctional teams, wildly late projects. These are challenging but normal software development experiences, and being smart is the most useful attribute a team member can have if he or she is to transcend such difficulties and emerge with a truly effective career. And of course, software is intellectual property, so you want to get as much intellect for your buck as you can.

As you interview to hire smart, look for a number of key characteristics and interview events.

Look for the ineffable ...

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