🪴 Making your next hire count

Hiring is like art, everyone uses a different style. Some teams prioritise soft skills, other hard skills. Some love the charisma of extroverts, while other lean towards the quiet genius of introverts.

My point is: there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for hiring, and broad advice can feel.. well, useless.

Therefore, please treat this edition as guidelines only, rather than a tutorial. Guidelines by me and Mr. Steve Jobs (yeah I just put me and Steve in the same basket, but guess what — i’m the writer, therefore I create the narratives).

Here are 7 traits of successful hires my good friend Steve never compromised on when it came to building his iconic teams, and neither should you.

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📚 They are self-taught

Steve valued lifelong learners over fancy degrees. He hired people obsessed with mastering new skills on their own.

Why? Because curiosity fuels creativity and resilience.

Interview question: What’s the last skill you taught yourself — and why?

💥 They’ve failed, failed very hard

You shouldn’t resent people that have failed (and neither did Steve). In fact, you should be looking for them.

Failure, especially big, bold failure, shows someone’s willing to take risks and bounce back stronger.

It builds resilience, tenacity and mindfulness you just can’t get in a person without them experiencing failures.

Interview question: Tell me about a time when you took a big risk, failed, and had to recover. What did you learn?

⚡ They are polarising

Strong opinions don’t scare great leaders, they excite them. Steve loved hiring people who were passionate, willing to argue their stance, but humble enough to pivot when proven wrong. Great debates breed better ideas.

Interview question: Describe a situation where you changed your mind after a debate or feedback. What made you reconsider?

🌀 They simplify chaos

And it very often is. Exceptional people don’t just work in chaos; they cut through it to find clarity.

They make the complicated feel effortless, and that’s the superpower you should be on a lookout for.

Interview question: Describe a time when you turned a large, complex problem into a simple solution. What was your approach?

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🥇 A-players attract A-players

Exceptional people are magnets for other exceptional people. They raise the bar for your whole organisation, not just their own work.

All the Big Tech companies love to talk about hiring A players. These mythical 10x geniuses are supposed to single-handedly transform the company. But in reality, most hiring processes don’t attract top talent, they only attract people who interview well.

If you are the mythical person, showcase it by building something impressive, earning a reputation, and letting the opportunities come to you.

Interview question: If you were to build a team from scratch today, what would you prioritise to ensure it’s high-performing?

🔍 They obsess over details & push for greatness

Steve cared about the things no one saw, like the inside of an iPhone. Great talent shares that obsession. They understand the little things are what separate “good” from truly great.

How you do anything, is how you do everything.

High performers never settle. “Good enough” isn’t in their vocabulary. They push themselves and their teams to achieve excellence—and don’t stop until they do.

Interview question: Could you show me demo/tell me about a project of yours? (pay attention to how the person handled smallest of details)

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