[ingmarheinrich]

As a side note: I almost never hire mid-level.

I hire seniors and high-potential juniors. Many mid-levels are mid-level because they don't have what it takes to become a senior. Those high-potential junior might or might not have it, but this doesn't really matter. If they don't have it, they become the war horses that are very familiar with the stack, and that do most of the implementation work, while the seniors do more the architectural kind of work, and take care of the juniors.

Not hiring juniors that have little experience, but seem to be very intelligent and eager to work, is one of the biggest mistakes you can do in tech hiring.