During my journey with Upsolver, I interviewed countless software engineers. One thing became very clear: assessing an engineer’s potential, particularly for startups, isn’t straightforward.
In startups, engineers often need to wear many hats, balance product quality with speed, and manage technical debt with a “just-in-time complexity” approach. A single trait ties these elements together - a genuine drive to create substantial business impact.
I’ve found one particular interview question very telling: “Tell me about a project you’re proud of and why you chose it.”
When answering this question, most candidates focused solely on the intellectual challenges of building complex systems and using cutting-edge technology. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, these engineers often tend to over-complicate problems and avoid ‘mundane’ tasks. Having too many of these engineers around can spell disaster for your startup.
Interestingly, only a few engineers emphasized their contribution to the business. Even fewer highlighted the relative simplicity of their solutions as well. These were the ones that ultimately joined our team.
This straightforward question has proven to be a valuable tool.
So what’s your go-to interview question? I’d love to hear your thoughts on Twitter.