I applied through an employee referral. The process took 1 week.

Recently, I went through a hiring process that left me questioning how companies evaluate talent—especially for senior or leadership roles. The process began with a standard introductory call to align mutual expectations. That was fine.

The next step was a coding challenge involving screen rendering. Unfortunately, the developer assigned to interview me was absent for most of the session. There was no support, no engagement, and little understanding of the development flow.

To add context: I was referred internally for a Solution Architect role, not a developer position. Despite that, the feedback I received focused solely on coding quality, stating I was “not able to code”—a statement both inaccurate and, frankly, absurd. For the record, I’ve:

• Founded two startups
• Built ~10 platforms from scratch
• Written production systems in C#, PHP, JavaScript, Elixir, Rust, and Go
• Handled infrastructure
• Run HPC@home environments with RDMA networking

But apparently, I “can’t code.” 😄 The task itself? It was trivial—something you could hand to an AI and get a faster result.

The real issue wasn't the challenge, but how it's used in hiring. Many tech hiring pipelines over-rely on individual developers as gatekeepers. While these devs may be skilled in coding, they often lack training in soft skills evaluation, candidate engagement, or objective assessment. If they're having a bad day, feedback can be arbitrary or misleading.

Technical interviews rarely evaluate architectural thinking or solution design—skills crucial for senior roles. Preferences like OOP vs functional programming should be guided by context and requirements, not personal bias. “Don’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree.”

As a former CTO, I’ve hired engineers based not just on their technical skills, but also on:

• Cognitive flexibility in solving problems
• Emotional intelligence and collaboration skills
• The ability to choose the right tool for the job

Ironically, I now feel my psychological screening as a CTO was more effective than many current recruiting processes.

I don’t usually write posts like this, but I know I’m not alone in thinking the hiring process in tech is broken—especially for senior and leadership roles. So, I’m breaking the silence.

paint the screen based on colors