Hiring for small companies
Advice on hiring software engineers for small companies, focusing on independence, drive, and gut feeling over pure technical ability.
Rui Peres writes thoughtful, concise reflections on leadership, software engineering, delivery, and personal growth. His blog blends management insights, tech culture, and everyday observations with a calm, reflective tone.
120 articles from this blog
Advice on hiring software engineers for small companies, focusing on independence, drive, and gut feeling over pure technical ability.
Engineers should directly engage with customers to understand their needs and demonstrate product value, moving beyond formal user interviews.
Analyzes why large online tech mentorship communities often fail, exploring issues like free services undervalued and lack of meaningful engagement.
Explains second-order thinking, a mental model for considering long-term consequences of actions, with examples from software engineering and management.
Explains confirmation bias, its prevalence among software engineers, and its impact on decision-making and code reviews.
Analyzes Shopify's controversial meeting purge, critiques its execution, and shares best practices for running effective, productive meetings in tech.
A coaching-style article posing critical questions for tech leaders to consider before scaling their engineering teams and hiring new developers.
A software engineer reflects on their 2022 career move, detailing their technical work across mobile, frontend, backend, and DevOps at a startup.
A developer discusses the importance of mentorship, feedback, and asking for help to improve skills and succeed in the tech industry.
A senior software engineer shares key lessons from 20,000 hours of experience, covering learning, code quality, and career growth.
Tips for writing effective CVs for tech roles, focusing on quantifying achievements and keeping a work diary to track accomplishments.
A manager's role as a buffer, shielding their team from external pressures and internal stress to maintain focus and productivity.
A guide on the concept of 'managing upwards' to build trust with your manager and increase productivity by proactively taking ownership.
A developer's weekly reflection on George Hotz's Twitter exit, codebase criticism, and the challenges of tech management.
Analyzes George Hotz's resignation from Twitter, highlighting the pitfalls of technical arrogance and poor teamwork in large tech companies.
A software engineering manager reflects on the challenges of building trust within tech teams, especially when lacking shared technical expertise.
A critique of the unrealistic expectation that an outsider could quickly fix Twitter's massive, complex legacy codebase.
A manager's guide to handling engineers who prioritize low-impact side tasks, balancing motivation with business needs.
Explores the unique challenges of measuring engineering manager performance compared to individual contributors, focusing on timeframes and domains of responsibility.
Discusses the importance of holding managers accountable in tech companies, focusing on metrics like attrition, team performance, and using tools for feedback.