Hiring developers is where most early teams lose the most time and money. Here is a practical guide - where to find good engineers, how to screen for skill and fit, what it actually costs, and the mistakes that quietly sink a team.
Most bad hires start with a vague brief. Before you write a job post or call a recruiter, get specific: what will this person build in their first 90 days, what stack and seniority it demands, and what good looks like on your team. A sharp brief filters more candidates than any interview.
Decide the model too: a full-time hire, a contractor, staff augmentation or a dedicated team all solve we need engineering differently. If you are unsure which, our guide to staff augmentation and augmentation vs a dedicated team break down the trade-offs.
A short, realistic task or a walk-through of past work predicts on-the-job performance far better than whiteboard puzzles or LeetCode speed.
A technically strong hire who cannot work in your process or communicate still fails. Assess working style deliberately - it is the signal CVs hide.
Good developers have options and go cold in slow pipelines. A tight, respectful process wins candidates the marathon interviews lose.
The salary is the visible number. The hidden cost is the hire itself: weeks of sourcing and interviewing, the ramp-up before a new engineer is productive, and - if it goes wrong - the cost of unwinding it and starting over. A mis-hire can cost several times the salary once you count lost time.
That is why speed and screening quality matter more than shaving the rate. Getting the right person in faster beats getting a slightly cheaper one after three wasted months.
This is exactly why every engineer we place is screened on real work and run through a structured work-style assessment powered by JobCannon before you interview them - fit is the mistake that costs the most.
Start with a sharp brief - what they will build in 90 days, the stack, the seniority and what good looks like. Source from referrals, communities or a pre-vetting partner. Screen with real work plus a fit check, keep the loop short, and pick the model (full-time, contract, augmentation) that matches whether the need is permanent or temporary.
Referrals from engineers you trust have the highest signal. Communities and past colleagues beat generic job boards for senior roles. When you need people fast or lack a pipeline, a specialist recruiter or staffing partner who pre-vets candidates saves weeks.
Test real work - a short realistic task or a walk-through of past projects - not trivia or LeetCode speed. Screen deliberately for working style and communication, not just skill, because fit is where the expensive mis-hires hide. And keep the loop short so good candidates do not go cold.
Beyond salary, count sourcing and interview time, the ramp-up before productivity, and the large cost of a mis-hire if it goes wrong. That total is why screening quality and speed matter more than shaving the rate.
Need the work done rather than staffed? We don't just place people — Make It Real also runs the work end to end. Same team, two ways in.
We reply within one business day with a shortlist plan. Success fee — you pay only when you hire.
