When a technical hire leaves or is let go within six months, the explanation is usually “not a good fit”. That phrase hides the real cause, which means the same mistake is made in the next search. In our experience, early failures come down to four reasons, and each can be checked before the offer goes out.
1. The job they joined is not the job they were told about
The interview described building new features. The job turned out to be fixing an old system. Or the role was described as leading a team, and the team has not been hired yet.
Nobody lied. The hiring manager described the job they hoped to offer in six months. But the person joined today’s job, and good engineers leave quickly when the work is not what they agreed to.
Check before the offer: describe an ordinary week in the role as it is now. What will they work on in month one? What is old, slow or messy? Then ask, “Does that sound like work you want?” Some candidates will step back. That is the process working.
2. The skill was real, but at the wrong level
A developer who did well in a large company had reviewers, testers, a platform team and a manager who broke the work into tasks. In a team of six there is none of that. The same person, with the same skill, can struggle badly.
It happens the other way too. Someone used to doing everything alone joins a large team and is frustrated by process, reviews and waiting for others.
Check before the offer: ask what support they had in their last role. Who decided what to build? Who reviewed their work? Who handled testing and releases? Then compare it honestly with what you can offer. If the gap is wide, ask how they would handle it and listen to how real the answer sounds.
3. They can do the work but not with this team
Technical work is group work. An engineer who writes excellent code and cannot take review comments, will not ask for help, or leaves colleagues guessing about progress will cost the team more than they add.
The opposite problem is as common: a capable person joins a team that is blunt, fast and informal, and reads it as hostility.
Check before the offer: let them meet the people they will work with, not only the manager. Ask about a disagreement in a past team and how it ended. Ask how they like to receive feedback. Tell them how your team gives it. Fit works in both directions, and candidates can only judge it if you show them the real thing.
4. Nobody was ready for them
Some failures have nothing to do with the hire. The laptop arrives in week two. There is no access to the code for days. The manager is travelling. Nobody has decided what the person should work on. A motivated person spends a month feeling useless, concludes the company is disorganised, and answers the next recruiter who calls.
Check before the offer: this one is a check on yourself. Can you name what this person will do in their first week, who will help them, and what “a good first month” means? If not, you are not ready to make the offer.
What the four have in common
None of these is about raw ability. In each case, a capable person and a reasonable company turned out to want different things, and nobody said so in time. Interviews are polite. Both sides present their best version. The fix is to be plainer, earlier.
What to prepare before day one
- Access and equipment ready on the first morning.
- A first task that is small, real and can be finished in the first week. Finishing something early matters more than what it is.
- A named person to ask questions, who is not the manager.
- A written 30, 60 and 90-day outline: three or four lines each on what you expect.
- A conversation at the end of week two: “What is different from what you expected?” Ask it while there is still time to fix the answer.
A final check before any technical offer
Before the offer goes out, answer four questions in writing. Have we shown them the job as it is today? Does their past support match what we provide? Have they met the team, and has the team met them? Are we ready for their first week? If any answer is no, fix that first. It costs a few days. A failed hire costs months.
