Welcome back to I'm a Software Engineer ~ What Next? The podcast for devs figuring out their next move. Hosted by James Wilson and Matt Sinclair, we talk honestly about what it takes to build a meaningful career in tech.
In our first "Summer Shorts" episode, Matt and James dive into something every hiring manager and recruiter has faced: candidates who seem like a great fit — strong CV, good early interviews — but don't make it through. Or, just as often, the ones that slip through the cracks but might have been the right hire.
Drawing on Matt's years of experience leading engineering teams, we talk through:
- Why hiring starts with understanding the real problem you're solving
- How the cost of a "wrong hire" compares to the risk of missing the right person
- What makes hiring for deep tech roles fundamentally different from product-focused startups
- Why values alignment can matter more than technical brilliance
- What engineers should look for when evaluating whether a startup is worth joining
If you're scaling a team or navigating your next move as an engineer, this episode offers a grounded look at where things go right — and wrong — in the hiring process.
🎧 14 minutes. Zero fluff. Tune in now.
⏱️ Chapters
- 0:00 Intro: James's sure-thing candidate who got knocked back
- 1:08 It cuts both ways, and the worst mistake is the one you don't fix
- 2:40 The cost of a wrong hire vs missing the right person
- 3:39 Start with the real problem: deep tech vs business model disruption
- 5:29 Get help if you are not technical: no technical co-founder is a red flag
- 7:44 Technical competence is table stakes, then values: a rubric under pressure
- 9:43 Culture: fit in vs fit out
- 11:19 Strong vs weak cultures, and be intentional: write your values down
- 12:45 Wrap-up: have a plan, and send us questions for an AMA
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