Almost 20 years in the tech industry, and I’m still amazed on how flawed the interview process is. Why are we hammering candidates with leet code questions, or some other bullshit process that tries to classify the person in a very sintethic way?

In my humble experience both as an interviewee and an interviewer the best to scout for the very best is by doing a very simple question: “Out of all the work you’ve done so far, what is the single project you’re most proud of, and why?”

It sounds almost too simple, but it opens the door to everything you actually need to know:

• Execution & Logic: How do they structure a problem, navigate obstacles, and bring an idea to life?
• Collaboration: Do they say “I” or “We”? How do they navigate team dynamics when things get tough?
• Definition of Success: Do they measure success by business impact, personal growth, or vanity metrics?
• Self-Awareness: Can they talk openly about what went wrong, what they learned, and what they’d do differently today?

By anchoring the conversation on their absolute best work, you get to see them at their highest energy and deepest level of detail. The best interviews rarely feel like interrogations. They feel like a great coffee chat: two people digging into a subject they’re passionate about.