Every hiring manager knows the frustration. You post a position for a senior developer, and within hours your inbox fills with hundreds of applications. You scan through credentials, GitHub repositories, and cover letters, searching for that perfect candidate. Meanwhile, some of your best potential hires never make it past your initial filter, not because they lack skills, but because they don’t fit your narrow definition of what a tech professional should look like.
The most qualified person for your open role might currently work as a librarian who codes automation scripts in their spare time. They could be a former teacher who pivoted to web development during the pandemic. They might be the customer service representative at your own company who’s been quietly building internal tools that everyone uses but no one acknowledges. These candidates possess exactly what you need, but traditional IT recruitment processes are designed to overlook them.
The Interview Blind Spot
Traditional technical interviews compound the visibility problem. The standard format, algorithmic challenges on whiteboards or coding platforms, tests a specific type of performance under pressure. Some brilliant engineers freeze in these artificial scenarios, while others who are mediocre at actual software development excel at interview-specific skills.
This format particularly disadvantages candidates from non-traditional backgrounds. Someone who learned to code while working full-time might not have practiced the specific algorithms that computer science students drill repeatedly. They can build functioning applications and solve real business problems, but they stumble on abstract puzzles disconnected from actual work.
The interview process often prioritizes speed over thoughtfulness, confidence over competence, and memorization over problem-solving. A candidate who asks clarifying questions might be seen as indecisive rather than thorough. Someone who admits uncertainty about an edge case might be judged as lacking knowledge rather than demonstrating intellectual honesty. These subtle biases filter out exactly the thoughtful, careful engineers you actually want on your team.
Measuring What Actually Matters
The fundamental question is what you’re trying to measure when hiring. If you want someone who can solve technical problems, communicate effectively, learn quickly, and contribute to success, then evaluate those capabilities directly.
Stop using credentials as proxies for ability. Test actual skills you need. Assess learning ability by presenting something new. Evaluate communication through technical conversations. Judge problem-solving with actual problems.
This approach requires more effort upfront but pays dividends in finding excellent people your competitors overlook.
The Competitive Advantage
While your competitors chase the same obvious candidates with computer science degrees from prestigious schools and experience at famous companies, you can build a different kind of team. A team with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. A team that includes the former teacher who brings patience and clarity to documentation. The career changer who questions assumptions that everyone else accepts. The internal promotion who deeply understands your business.
This isn’t about lowering standards. It’s about measuring the right things and looking in the right places. The tech talent shortage exists partly because IT recruitment focuses too narrowly on traditional markers. Expand your definition of what a great candidate looks like, and suddenly the talent pool grows dramatically.
Your best hire might not look like a typical developer. They might be hiding in plain sight, waiting for someone to finally see them.
