Hiring Playbook¶

Hiring is the highest-leverage activity you have as a leader. Get it right, and you build a team that compounds in capability. Get it wrong, and you spend the next year managing performance issues, repairing culture, or re-hiring for the same role.

Most engineering hiring fails not from lack of effort but from lack of structure. Unstructured interviews favor candidates who are good at interviewing—not necessarily good at the job. They amplify bias, produce inconsistent signals, and leave candidates with a poor experience.

This playbook provides a structured approach: clear criteria, consistent evaluation, work samples where possible, and a process that's fair to candidates and predictive of success.

The problem this playbook solves¶

Unstructured hiring produces predictable failures:

• Gut-feel decisions. "I just liked them" isn't a hiring criterion. It's bias wearing a friendly mask.
• Inconsistent evaluation. Different interviewers ask different questions and weight signals differently.
• False positives. Candidates who interview well but can't do the work.
• False negatives. Strong candidates rejected because they don't fit a narrow pattern.
• Homogeneous teams. "Culture fit" often means "people like us." Diversity suffers.
• Poor candidate experience. Slow feedback, unclear process, disrespectful interactions—your reputation spreads.

Structured hiring addresses these by defining success criteria upfront, using consistent evaluation across candidates, and relying on evidence rather than impressions.

When to use this playbook¶

Use this approach when:

• Hiring for any engineering role (IC or management).
• You want to reduce bias in your hiring process.
• You've had failed hires and want to understand why.
• You're scaling the team and need a repeatable process.
• You care about candidate experience and employer brand.

When this playbook isn't enough¶

This playbook covers the mechanics of hiring. It doesn't address:

• Headcount planning. When to hire and for what roles. That's a strategy question.
• Sourcing. How to find candidates. That requires dedicated effort beyond this scope.
• Compensation negotiation. Complex and company-specific.
• Immigration and compliance. Work with HR and legal.
• Executive hiring. Different process, different signals.

Roles and responsibilities¶

The hiring manager owns the outcome. Interviewers are evaluators, not decision-makers.

Core principles¶

Structure over intuition¶

Use rubrics. Ask consistent questions. Evaluate against defined criteria. Intuition creeps in where structure is absent—and intuition is where bias lives.

Work samples over whiteboard puzzles¶

The best predictor of job performance is a sample of the work itself. Where possible, use take-home exercises, pair programming, or system design discussions grounded in real problems.

Evidence over impressions¶

"I liked them" is not evidence. "They explained their approach clearly, considered edge cases, and responded well to feedback" is evidence. Calibrate on specifics.

Speed and respect¶

Slow processes lose good candidates. Disrespectful processes damage your reputation. Move quickly, communicate clearly, and treat every candidate as someone who might join—or tell their network about the experience.

Diversity is intentional¶

If your pipeline isn't diverse, your hires won't be. If your interviewers aren't diverse, your evaluation won't be equitable. Build diversity into the process, not as an afterthought.

The hiring loop: step by step¶

Step 1: Define the role and success criteria¶

Before posting the job, answer:

• What problem does this role solve? Why are you hiring?
• What does success look like in 6 months? Concrete outcomes.
• What skills are required vs. nice-to-have? Prioritize ruthlessly.
• What level is this role? Use your leveling rubric.

Create a hiring scorecard: a document listing the criteria you'll evaluate, the methods you'll use, and the weights for each area.

Hiring scorecard structure¶

## Role: [Title]

### Success criteria (6-month outcomes)

- [Outcome 1]
- [Outcome 2]

### Required skills

| Skill/Attribute           | Weight | How assessed                     |
| ------------------------- | ------ | -------------------------------- |
| Technical depth in [area] | High   | Technical interview, work sample |
| System design             | Medium | Design interview                 |
| Communication             | High   | All interviews                   |
| Collaboration             | Medium | Behavioral interview, references |

### Nice-to-have

- [Skill 1]
- [Skill 2]

### Red flags

- [What would disqualify?]

Step 2: Design the interview loop¶

The loop should cover all required skills with minimal redundancy. A typical engineering loop:

Assign interviewers to specific skills. Don't duplicate coverage unnecessarily.

Step 3: Calibrate interviewers¶

Before interviews begin, align on:

• What questions will be asked.
• What signals indicate strong vs. weak performance.
• How to score (use a consistent rubric, e.g., 1–4 scale).
• What a "hire" bar looks like.

If possible, have new interviewers shadow experienced ones before flying solo.

Step 4: Conduct interviews¶

Interviewers should:

• Prepare. Review the candidate's materials. Know what you're assessing.
• Create safety. Start with rapport. Explain the format. Make it a conversation, not an interrogation.
• Ask consistent questions. Use the planned questions; don't improvise based on vibes.
• Take notes. Record evidence, not impressions. Specific quotes and behaviors.
• Leave time for questions. Candidates are evaluating you too.
• Submit feedback promptly. Within 24 hours, while memory is fresh.

Step 5: Debrief and decide¶

The debrief is where individual signals become a hiring decision. Structure it carefully:

1. Written feedback first. All interviewers submit written feedback before the debrief to prevent anchoring.
2. Go around the room. Each interviewer shares their assessment, starting with the most junior (to prevent hierarchy bias).
3. Focus on evidence. "They struggled with X" is a claim. "When I asked about Y, they responded with Z, which missed the key consideration" is evidence.
4. Synthesize against the scorecard. Does the evidence show they meet the required skills?
5. Make a decision. Hire, no-hire, or gather more information. Avoid "weak hire"—either you're confident or you're not.
6. Document the decision. Record the reasoning for future reference.

Step 6: Extend offer and close¶

If you're making an offer:

• Move fast. Good candidates have options. Delays cost you.
• Be transparent. Explain compensation, benefits, expectations.
• Sell the opportunity. Why should they join? What will they learn and accomplish?
• Address concerns. Listen to hesitations; answer them directly.

If you're rejecting:

• Be timely. Don't leave candidates hanging.
• Be respectful. Thank them for their time. You might want to hire them later.
• Provide feedback if requested. Briefly, and focused on fit for this role, not personal deficiencies.

Work samples and take-homes¶

Work samples are more predictive than whiteboard interviews, but they must be designed well:

Guidelines for work samples¶

• Time-box strictly. 2–4 hours maximum. Respect candidates' time.
• Reflect real work. Use problems similar to what they'd actually encounter.
• Provide clear evaluation criteria. Candidates should know what you're looking for.
• Pay for their time. If the exercise is substantial, compensate them. This also broadens your candidate pool.
• Debrief together. Walk through their solution in a follow-up call. How they explain and respond to questions is as valuable as the artifact.

When not to use work samples¶

• If you can't protect the candidate's time (< 4 hours).
• If you can't evaluate it consistently.
• If it creates an unfair burden (not everyone has hours of free time).

Consider offering alternatives: take-home or live pairing, candidate's choice.

Templates and artifacts¶

Hiring scorecard template¶

# Hiring Scorecard: [Role Title]

## Role context

- **Why we're hiring:** [Problem this role solves]
- **Success in 6 months:** [Concrete outcomes]
- **Level:** [e.g., Senior Engineer]

## Required skills

| Skill     | Weight | Assessment method   | Interviewer |
| --------- | ------ | ------------------- | ----------- |
| [Skill 1] | High   | Technical interview | [Name]      |
| [Skill 2] | Medium | Design interview    | [Name]      |
| [Skill 3] | High   | Behavioral + refs   | [Name]      |

## Nice-to-have

- [Skill A]
- [Skill B]

## Red flags (no-hire if present)

- [Red flag 1]
- [Red flag 2]

## Interview loop

| Stage            | Interviewer | Skills assessed       | Duration |
| ---------------- | ----------- | --------------------- | -------- |
| 1. HM screen     | [Name]      | Role fit, motivation  | 45 min   |
| 2. Technical     | [Name]      | [Skills]              | 60 min   |
| 3. System design | [Name]      | [Skills]              | 60 min   |
| 4. Behavioral    | [Name]      | Collaboration, growth | 45 min   |

Interview feedback template¶

# Interview Feedback: [Candidate Name]

**Interviewer:** [Your name]
**Date:** [Date]
**Interview type:** [e.g., Technical, Behavioral]

## Skills assessed

| Skill     | Rating (1-4) | Evidence                |
| --------- | ------------ | ----------------------- |
| [Skill 1] | [Score]      | [Specific observations] |
| [Skill 2] | [Score]      | [Specific observations] |

## Rating scale

- 4: Exceeds bar – strong signal, would advocate for hire
- 3: Meets bar – solid performance, comfortable hiring
- 2: Below bar – concerns, would not advocate for hire
- 1: Significant concerns – clear no-hire signal

## Summary

**Overall recommendation:** [Strong hire / Hire / No hire / Need more info]

**Key strengths:**

- [Strength 1]

**Key concerns:**

- [Concern 1]

**Notes for debrief:**
[Any context or questions for the group]

Debrief agenda¶

# Hiring Debrief: [Candidate Name]

**Role:** [Title]
**Date:** [Date]
**Attendees:** [Interviewers + Hiring Manager]

## Pre-work

- All feedback submitted before this meeting
- No discussing candidate before debrief

## Agenda

1. **Go-around (2 min each)**
   - Each interviewer: skills assessed, rating, key evidence
   - Start with most junior interviewer

2. **Scorecard review (10 min)**
   - Map feedback to required skills
   - Identify gaps or concerns

3. **Discussion (10 min)**
   - Resolve conflicting signals
   - Address concerns with evidence

4. **Decision (5 min)**
   - Hire / No-hire / Need more information
   - If more info: what specifically, and who gathers it?

5. **Document decision**
   - Record reasoning for future reference

## Decision: [Record here]

Signals that hiring is working¶

Failure modes and mitigations¶

Equity considerations¶

Structured hiring improves equity, but only if you're intentional:

• Diverse sourcing. If your pipeline isn't diverse, your hires won't be.
• Diverse panels. Candidates should see people like themselves in the process.
• Consistent evaluation. Same criteria, same questions, same rubric for everyone.
• Accommodate differences. Offer flexibility in interview format (take-home vs. live); don't penalize needing accommodations.
• Audit outcomes. Track who advances through your funnel. Look for patterns.

See Diversity in Leadership for broader practices.

Further reading¶

• Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street — A structured approach to hiring.
• Work Rules! by Laszlo Bock — Google's approach to hiring and people management.
• Hiring for Potential — Research on structured interviews and bias reduction.

Related pages¶

• Diversity in Leadership — Building equity into hiring and advancement
• Onboarding 30/60/90 — What happens after the hire
• Performance Management — Evaluating success after joining
• Coaching New Tech Leads — If you're hiring for leadership roles
• Templates: Hiring Scorecard — Ready-to-use template