Three Key Qualities of a Good Tech Hire

In a small, growth-minded company, there are three key qualities to look for in a “tech” hire:

1. Technology skills – Duh.  This isn’t necessarily the most important quality, but naturally it’s up there.  No tech skills, no tech hire.  What we’re looking for here isn’t gobs and gobs of experience, but fluency in at least one area (e.g. C++, network administration, database administration, image processing, etc), the ability to identify and solve problems, and the capacity to acquire deep knowledge quickly.
2. People skills – Engineers with no people skills are so common they’re cliché.  They can be excellent precision instruments, but in a fast-paced, growth-focused environment they can be deadly.  Technical staff that work so well with others that they make them better at their jobs aren’t just employees, they’re force multipliers.
3. Business awareness – It’s very easy to find a geek who’s thrilled about building cool stuff regardless of whether or not your business needs it.  Avoid them or you will be tearing your hair, rending your clothes, and wishing you were folding denim at The Gap.  Experienced technologists with good business sense know how to deploy technology to support the business.  Cost/value calculations are second nature to them, and their solutions to problems just make sense.

Finding someone with all of the above is difficult, but well worth the effort.  When you do, grab them, share your vision with them, and keep them close.