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David Heinemeier Hansson

What David Heinemeier Hansson thinks about hiring

@dhh · 154 positions · 10 changes of mind

Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals, and creator of Omarchy.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

David Heinemeier Hansson did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

7 dated positions, 2024 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what David Heinemeier Hansson has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingThe current tech layoffs are pandemic over-hiring correcting itself, with AI as the convenient excuse.

    Their wordsAnd I think what we're seeing right now with some of the layoffs is a testament to that, not AI. It's just that during the pandemic, a bunch of overhiring went on, and now AI is a convenient excuse to slim down. But I do also think AI is going to expose some roles as just not being productive ways for humans to spend their time, and therefore we must come up with new ways of spending their time.

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com 26th of 41 in this recording

    Interesting
  2. 5 months earlier

  3. Our readingOpen hiring calls rarely find programmers who last; the warm referral of someone you worked beside for two years has by far the best hit rate.

    Their wordsIf we look at the long-term success rates, we have had more long-term employees from I've worked with this person for 2 years, we should hire them than we have from the open calls.

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com 16th of 20 in this recording

    Interesting

  5. Our readingDoing your best at a bad job is not for the boss: it is how the warm referral that gets the next job is earned, and slacking there cheats only yourself.

    Their wordsThere is no shortcut here. You simply just have to be good. And you will not get good if you do not practice. And if you think your place of employment is not worthy of your best, you're cheating yourself.

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com 17th of 20 in this recording

    Interesting
  6. 9 months earlier

  7. Our readingThe superpower in hiring is evaluating work product directly, and it belongs only to leaders who actually know things, which is Elon Musk's real secret.

    Their wordsI think part of the secret there is that Elon actually knows things. And when you know things, you can evaluate the quality of work products. And when you can evaluate the quality of work products, you can very quickly tell who's full of shit and who will actually take you to Mars.

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com 29th of 36 in this recording

    Interesting

  9. Our readingHiring a programmer turns on two things, the cover letter and a real programming test, never the resume, school, grades or pedigree.

    Their wordsthe main pivot point for getting hired was not your resume, was not the schooling you've had, it was not your grades, was not your pedigree, it was how well you did on two things. A, your cover letter. Because I can only work with people remotely if they're good writers.

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com 30th of 36 in this recording

    education

    Interesting
  10. 10 months earlier

  11. Our readingAn AI-written cover letter reads as slop to the person receiving fifty of them, so do not send one.

    Their wordsI can tell when AI wrote your thing because it uses the same phrases in the same setup as all the other ones

    ↗DHH Is Right About Everythingyoutube.com 10th of 8 in this recording

    AI writing

    Interesting

  13. Our readingOpen source is the cheat code for a junior getting hired: code others can review beats any credential.

    Their wordsI do think open source is a cheat code and that doesn't mean that everyone has to have

    ↗DHH Is Right About Everythingyoutube.com 11th of 8 in this recording

    open source

    Interesting