What I look for in a developer now

I have hired well and badly, and the difference had almost nothing to do with technical ability.

The signal I trust most

What happens when I describe something badly on purpose.

A weaker developer builds what I said. A better one asks what happens in the case I did not mention. The best ones tell me the thing I described will not work for the user I described it for, and say why.

That is not seniority. I have had juniors do it and very experienced people not.

The other things I look for

• Do they show me something early, unprompted? People who go quiet for three weeks go quiet for three weeks later too, when it matters more.
• Do they tell me when they are stuck? Silence is almost always a stuck person hoping to resolve it before anyone notices.
• Do they push back on scope? A developer who says yes to everything is expensive.
• Do they write things down without being asked?

What I have learned to offer

Clarity and prompt payment, in that order. Clear acceptance criteria before the work starts, a decision when they need one within a day, and money on time without being chased.

Those three things get me better developers than paying more would, and I know that because I have tried paying more.