I’m curious how hiring managers and founders here weigh relevant vs demonstrated ability. For instance, suppose an applicant spent the last five years as a civil engineer and applies for a data science job or a high school teacher who self taught backend Go at night and ships side-projects. Or a graphic designer who’s built and sold a few small apps but has no formal CS background, etc etc.

what evidence or signals convinced you of a career changer being the right fit and which proof points mattered most (certs, projects, references, something else)?

Also, if you passed on someone like this, what was missing?