Guide to Vetting Software Developers

As a Product Owner or manager responsible for timely product delivery, achieving high sprint completion rates and quality code output requires having skilled individuals in the right roles. The expense and time involved in recruiting and assessing engineers can be substantial, with the risk that a hire may depart after just two months.

The vetting process should consist of two essential stages: evaluating interpersonal qualities through HR-conducted interviews, and assessing technical proficiency through discussions led by technical staff members. Both components matter significantly. While technical competencies can improve through coaching, problematic personality traits or collaboration issues prove far more difficult to remedy.

When assessing soft skills, avoid cliched questions and instead ask what competencies candidates wish to develop or which areas they want to strengthen. Key evaluation areas include communication effectiveness, teamwork capacity, problem-solving approach, conflict resolution style, flexibility, motivation level, and learning capacity.

For technical evaluation, employ scenario-based questions mirroring actual project work rather than memorization-focused inquiries. Examples might explore deployment strategies, framework patterns, or architectural decisions. Descriptive questions promoting genuine discussion prove more valuable than theoretical ones requiring singular correct answers.

Live coding assessments should reflect project realities — whether test-driven development, pair programming, or code review processes. Additional verification methods include portfolio examination, GitHub profile analysis, and task-based evaluations demonstrating algorithmic thinking and syntax knowledge.