Hiring, from the Other Side

Here's some insights about what the hiring process can look like from within a company. The title is a play on Adele's "Hello (from the other side)".

Quick context: I’ve interviewed for about three jobs in my life and interviewed somewhere between 300 and 500 candidates for teams I led. So yes, my view is from the interviewer’s chair. I’m in software, which has its own hype cycles, but most of this applies broadly.

What you’ll get here:

• A short glossary so we’re speaking the same language
  
  
• Three real hiring scenarios I’ve run
  
  
• What each one means for you
  
  
• A practical checklist to be the candidate they remember

How companies talk about hiring (so you can decode it)

This is how we talk about the hiring process, you'll might hear these terms but not all of them might mean something to you.

• Hiring Manager: Owns the budget and the final decision. Might not run the process day-to-day.
  
  
• Internal Recruiter: Works at the company, screens and coordinates. Often your main contact. Can be a gatekeeper without deep technical knowledge.
  
  
• External Recruiter: Paid a percentage of your salary if you get hired. Useful network, misaligned incentives. Treat claims about budget with skepticism. Make sure you check if the recruiter is external or internal.
  
  
• Referral: Someone inside vouches for you. Often faster process, better odds, sometimes bonus for the referrer.
  
  
• Interview Committee: Everyone weighing in. A founder can overrule. Decisions after each round.
  
  
• The Team: The people you’ll actually work with. Weirdly, sometimes they have little say.
  
  
• Rounds: Each live step (screens, interviews, take-homes). Usually 2–4 rounds; sometimes more.
  
  
• Take-home assignment: Later-stage homework to test motivation and skill; gives you something concrete to discuss.
  
  
• The Market: If talent is plentiful, companies get picky (and add hoops). If scarce, they cut steps and sweeten offers.
  
  
• Pipeline: How many candidates are in play. A full pipeline means more competition and faster, colder decisions.
  
  
• ATS (Applicant Tracking System): The tool tracking every note, score, and email. A one-line “reject” from a manager becomes a canned rejection to you.
  
  
• Evaluation: Scorecards (1–5 on skills, values, etc.). Imperfect, but used to create “objective” comparisons.

Alright, now that you know the terminology, let's take a look at some examples.

Scenario 1: The scale-up with money to hire and a high bar

Context: At Mendix circa 2015, we’d just raised a Series B. We needed cloud engineers. Money wasn’t the bottleneck; talent was. We used an internal recruiter to find candidates. The team only saw profiles after recruiter screening.

Process we ran:

• 20–30 minute screen with recruiter or hiring manager: vibe check and basics. Not deep technical discussion.
• 60-minute interview with hiring manager + team member(s): skills and experience.
• Optional take-home (~1 day) and a 90-minute review.
• Decision rule: If anyone serious said “I have doubts,” we didn’t proceed. Feedback to candidates was often generic.

What this means for you:

• Treat the first screen as a clarity and professionalism test. Keep complex answers simple. Don’t go too technical unless invited.
  
  
• Internal recruiters can be gatekeepers. Make your resume skimmable: crisp summary, measurable outcomes, relevant tech. Layout matters more than it should.
  
  
• A referral here is gold. It gets you past the first filter faster.
  
  
• Ask politely about how they decide: “What are the top 3 things you’re evaluating for this role?” and “What would cause a no-go at the end?”
  
  
• Take-homes are work. If you do one, over-communicate assumptions, document trade-offs, and propose next steps. That artifact can carry you.
  
  
• Expect limited feedback. Ask once if you want concrete tips to improve.
  

Scenario 2: The startup drowning in applicants

Context: At easee, we needed a QA engineer. I was CTO. QA draws lots of entry-level applicants. We didn’t want to use external recruiters (expensive, sometimes game-y), so we posted the role and got ~200 CVs fast. I screened ~40 candidates, did ~10 one-hour interviews, and brought 3 to final.

What I learned: it’s a ton of work. Without a system, you forget people. Generic cover letters (now often AI-written) don’t help you stand out.

What this means for you:

• Assume you have 10–20 seconds to earn a deeper look. Lead your CV with a 2–3 line summary that matches the job. Include one punchy proof point.
  
  
• Show effort early. Examples:
  
  
• A 60–90 second Loom introducing yourself and one relevant project.
  
  
• A short test plan or bug report you’ve written (for QA), or a concise repo/mini-case for other roles.
  
  
• Three crisp bullets: why this team, why now, and what you’ll do in the first 30 days.
  
  
• Don’t submit AI-flavored mush. If I can’t hear your voice, I assume I’ll have to manage you closely.
  
  
• Make it easy to remember you. Use a distinctive, relevant example and repeat it: “I cut regression escapes by 40% by reworking the smoke suite—happy to walk you through how.”
  
  
• It’s fair to ask about the pipeline: “How many candidates are in later rounds?” This helps you calibrate your effort and timeline.
  

Scenario 3: The tiny, chaotic company with a founder-driven process

Context: ~10-person company. The CEO sources on platforms like honeypot.io, runs loose interviews focused on vision, and sometimes hires on the spot. Why it works for them: they can place you at client companies if you have the right certs—team fit and long-term role clarity are secondary.

What this means for you:

• Expect inconsistency and gut calls. If you need structure, tread carefully.
  
  
• Test for chaos with specific questions:
• Who do I report to? How often do we meet?
• What does success look like at 30/60/90 days?
• What’s the plan if client work slows?
  
  
• How many people have left in the last 12 months, and why?
  
  
• Protect yourself: clarify pay, bench policy, and benefits in writing. Consider a short paid trial or contract-to-hire if the vibes are shaky.
  
  
• If something feels off, it probably is. You’re not crazy.

What almost no one tells you

• Incentives aren’t aligned. External recruiters get paid more when your salary is higher. Hiring managers want fairness across the team and budget sanity.
  
  
• The fastest path is to no. Efficient funnels reject early and often to save time.
  
  
• “We picked someone with a better fit” is usually true—and also a catch-all. It can mean timing, salary, team dynamics, internal politics, or a quiet “no hire” policy.
  
  
• Feedback quality is low by design. Too much detail invites arguments and risk.
  
  
• Not knowing what you want is risky for managers. If you’re still exploring, say so and show how this role fits a clear hypothesis.
  
  
• Desperation level at the company changes everything. When the market favors companies, they add hoops. When it favors candidates, they skip them.
  
  
• Hiring is expensive, and it takes months before you're truly productive. If there are concerns you might not stay long with the company, this is a red flag for many roles. In your resume, short stints are a bad sign, so if there are good reasons, explain them. If there are promotions, they are a very good sign, so clarify those too.

Questions that change the interview

Try using a few of these in your next call:

• What’s something in your code/process/product you’re a bit embarrassed about?
  
  
• What are you most proud of in the company?
  
  
• What would make you say “no” to me after this call?

How to be the candidate they remember

• Lead with a story: why this company, why this role, why now. Make it feel inevitable.
  
  
• Make the recruiter’s life easy. Send a 3–4 sentence summary they can paste into the ATS note: who you are, why you fit, one concrete result, link to proof. Gatekeepers remember people who cut their admin time.
  
  
• Be a pleasant calendar event. On time, tech checked, concise answers (60–90 seconds), finish with “does that answer your question or should I go deeper?”
  
  
• Calibrate confidence. Clear, calm, and prepared beats hype.
  
  
• Confidence without bragging is contagious. It’s very easy to hire a person who believes in what they can do and really looks forward to working in this team. It feels like you won’t have to hand-hold this person while they do their jobs, which is always nice for a manager.
  
  
• Ask real questions. Show you’re also evaluating them. People advocate for candidates who have their own standards.
  
  
• Following up after the interview with a short message shows that you really want this position. Make it positive and not desperate.

Reality check on rejection

• Rejections are often about team dynamics, timing, or budgets you can’t see. Don’t overfit your entire approach to one no.
  
  
• Ask for feedback once. If you get a generic response, move on.
  
  
• Keep your own pipeline full. Options create calm.

If you made it this far

Thanks again for listening to the interview and reading this “other side” view. And if you’re mid-process somewhere, remember to make it easy for the right people to say yes.