Interviews are hard. Not because the technical problems are difficult, but because they test everything except what actually matters for the job.
The Impossible Juggling Act
During a technical interview, you’re simultaneously thinking through the problem, presenting your thought process clearly, remembering algorithms you haven’t used in years, managing social dynamics, and coding under artificial time pressure.
It’s like asking a chef to prepare a meal while explaining molecular gastronomy to food critics who keep interrupting with questions about knife techniques.
What We Actually Test vs. What Matters
What interviews test: Ability to code under pressure, recall of computer science fundamentals, performance in artificial social situations, tolerance for stress and judgement.
What the job requires: Collaborative problem-solving, learning new technologies quickly, debugging complex poorly-documented systems, working with incomplete requirements, communicating with non-technical stakeholders.
The overlap is minimal.
The Post-Interview Revelation
You know what happens after most technical interviews? You think of the elegant solution in the car. The obvious approach that would have solved the problem in half the time.
This isn’t because you’re bad at your job — it’s because interviews create artificial cognitive load that prevents clear thinking.
The Talent Agent Solution
Here’s a radical idea: developers should have talent agents, like actors and writers do.
The gig economy reality: We’re already moving toward a gig economy. Developers change jobs every 2-3 years. We’re essentially freelancers with longer contracts.
Marketing skills aren’t development skills: Not all good developers are strong at self-marketing. Many brilliant engineers are terrible at writing resumes, networking, negotiating compensation, and presenting themselves in interviews.
This is fine! We don’t expect actors to book their own roles.
Agents understand the market: A good agent would know which companies are actually hiring, understand compensation benchmarks, have relationships with hiring managers, present candidates in the best light, and handle awkward negotiation.
We Are Not Resources
The current hiring process treats developers like interchangeable resources to be optimised and allocated. But we’re knowledge workers with unique strengths, perspectives, and career goals.
Agents would shift the dynamic from “prove you’re worthy” to “let’s find the right mutual fit.”
What You Can Do Now
Until developer agents become common:
- Find recruiters who understand technology — Work with people who represent your skills accurately
- Build a portfolio of real work — GitHub, side projects, and contributions speak louder than interview performance
- Ask about team dynamics — Interview the company as much as they interview you
The best developers aren’t necessarily the best at interviewing. The current system wastes talent by optimising for interview performance instead of job performance.
Until then, remember: a bad interview doesn’t make you a bad developer. It just makes you human.