Curiosity
Great engineers are curious. They take charge of their growth by learning new things. They independently gather context about the business, product, and technology.
Curiosity can be assessed by the questions the candidate asks. Did they ask why we switched to Turbo? Do they ask about the business’s OKRs or financial health?
Candidates can also express curiosity through their work samples. For example, they may work as a full-stack engineer but give presentations on game engine design. They may blog about programming languages they tinker with.
Non-technical curiosity is also important. We want engineers to understand the business’s priorities. Good engineers constantly ask “why” we are prioritizing one feature/goal/metric over another.
Questions
- Senior+ engineers have a breadth of knowledge and go deep into a particular area. This is known as T-model or paint-drip. What is the candidate’s stem of their T?
Potential issues
- Humility pairs nicely with curiosity. Look out for an abundance of confidence. Over-confident engineers aren’t open to hearing they’re wrong, especially from someone less senior. We want people in leadership positions to have an open mind.
- You don’t need to read blog posts on quantum computing in your free time to be a great engineer. However, some candidates lack interest in learning new technical concepts. That’s not bad in and of itself, but they likely won’t excel at Blueberry.
Motivation
Our environment isn’t the best fit for everyone. We are scrappy. This can be off-putting to engineers who value perfection.
A common mistake companies make is hiring someone who lacks motivation. These mis-hires often have an impressive history and perform well in interviews. But when they show up to do the work, they aren’t engaged.
Sometimes a lack of motivation is due to extenuating circumstances. Sometimes it’s a values mismatch (e.g., the engineer expected a culture that values perfection over speed). Other times, the engineer is incentivized by things Blueberry cannot provide (Big Tech salary with low expectations of work output).
Motivation is hard to assess. Almost impossible. We can at least look for signals that the candidate shares our values and can be energized in our environment.
Blueberry strives to be a meritocracy. Pedigree or prior experience is second to work ethic and solving problems that advance our mission. To be successful in this environment, you should be aligned with our values, enjoy agency, and be curious.