[mstaoru]

When I hire engineers, I look for basic familiarity with the stack, and then we talk in broad terms about technology, architecture, some interesting software problems. What I look for in these conversations is the enthusiasm for tech, the "spark", if you would. In my 25+ years software career I've seen people with enthusiasm conquer every possible technical issue, even if they didn't have deep knowledge about it beforehand. Sometimes it takes more time, yes. But you cannot replace the spark. So many engineers these days just view this as a cushy career that pays above the market. FWIW, I mostly hired mid- and senior-level, so maybe in junior-level it makes sense to use the whiteboard. Maybe my approach is similar to the "potential" you talk about. I've also never looked at the "fit", I enjoyed working with all sorts of people, my "authority" denied, there's nothing better than engineers asking business questions and arguing about things that come from above. Unfortunately, this is not how things are done in most companies, so I guess if you want a "career" you better train that "emotional intelligence" thing which may mean completely different things to different people.