Ask HN: What signals do you look for when hiring?

5•kathir05•2h ago

There is good drama out there about ATS score, resumes keywords matching, AI resumes generator, formatter.

I dont know how people are coming up with such juicy and vanity metrics but mostly are noise.

• How you think • How you solve problems • How you execute ideas • The results you’ve achieved

These are the real hiring signals that actually matter, something we consistently hear from many startup founders and recruiters.

That’s why more people are showcasing their work through portfolios. And that’s what recruiters actually look for.

Hard to productize these with or without AI but still ATS drama exists

What signals do you look for when hiring? Do you still see legacy ATS score drama relevant?

Comments

rkwap•1h ago

I mostly look for side projects on github and past experience.

rvz•1h ago

A verifiable track record that is very hard to fake.

This includes:

1. Open source contributions to high-profile / major repositories (with code-review in the open with core maintainers).

2. Side projects that are production-grade with customers and recurring revenue.

3. Given presentations at conferences.

At least 2 out of 3 of those. Years of experience is a additional plus.

But those still using keyword matching, ATS scores, leetcode don't have a clue on how to hire or who to hire as all of that can be faked, gamed and cheated by LLMs in 2026.

Instead of hiring builders, they continue to optimize for people studying for interviews and at the end of the day, I only care if you know how to make money and I prefer the former.

kathir05•53m ago

These are valid points and it's pity that none of the hiring systems are designed for these high intent signals. Simple filters like 1. open-source in repos with stars > 100. 2. regularly write blogs on core hard topics 3. Attend or give presentations on hard topics would solve 90% of hiring process.

Rather keyword matching, ATS scores, leetcode are just vanity metrics. Do you know any tool that solves for these high intent signals?

rozenmd•17m ago

A CV that tells me what you did, and what benefit it had to your employer.

I'm only impressed by side projects if they had users and/or MRR - something serious that proves you worked on it long enough to have something to show for your efforts

At the same time I wouldn't skip a candidate for not having a portfolio - a full time job is enough