The Myth of the Lazy Developer

They’ll:

• Refactor legacy code for 12 hours straight
• Learn an obscure framework to unblock their team
• Debug a production issue at 2 a.m. if it matters

But they won’t:

• Spend 8 hours building an app for a company they’ve never met
• Grind through contrived leetcode problems from 2009
• Navigate a 6-round process with zero feedback or clarity

Why? Because good developers are ruthless about how they invest their time. And they’ve seen enough broken hiring funnels to know when it’s not worth it.

What “Dumb” Hiring Funnels Look Like

Here’s a peek at the hiring gauntlets you might be running—and why they don’t work.

❌ The 6-Hour Take-Home With No Guidance

You give them a vague prompt and expect a polished app with:  CI/CD

•  Tests
•  Responsive design
•  Bonus points for “delight”

And you wonder why 70% of candidates drop out before submission.

❌ The Blind HackerRank Screen

Your initial screen is a black-box test with irrelevant algorithms, timed to the second, and reviewed by… no one?

You don’t even give feedback. You’re not filtering for problem-solvers. You’re filtering for people who are okay being treated like bots.

❌ The 5-Round Interview Maze

Your loop includes:

• Recruiter screen
• Hiring manager
• Live coding
• Take-home project  
• Technical deep
• Culture interview

And sometimes a follow-up just for good measure.

This isn’t “thorough.” It’s hostile. Especially for senior engineers who’ve been through this 10+ times.

❌ The “Prove You Want It” Mentality

“If they really want to work here, they’ll put in the effort.”

No, they won’t. They’ll go to the company that respects their time. And they’ll tell their network not to bother applying to yours.

Who Are You Actually Filtering Out?

Your funnel isn’t filtering for the best—it’s filtering for:

• People who don’t have a full-time job right now
• People who have the privilege to spend nights and weekends on unpaid work
• People who are good at test-taking, not real-world
• People who are desperate enough to put up with it

Meanwhile, the engineers you actually want? They’re walking away silently and never looking back.

Who Are You Actually Filtering Out?

You don’t need to lower your standards. You need to raise your game.

Here’s how.

✅ 1. Keep the Bar High. Shorten the Path.

Great engineers want to be challenged—but they also want to move quickly.

Design a process that:

• Takes no more than 1–2 weeks
• Involves no more than 3–4 steps
• Gives quick, clear feedback at every stage

Fast ≠ sloppy. It just means you value their time as much as your own.

✅ 2. Replace Take-Homes With Working Sessions

Take-home projects are a black hole. Try collaborative sessions where:  

• A real-world problem is discussed
• The candidate codes with someone from your team
• You evaluate not just what they build, but how they think and communicate

This gives you more signal in less time—and shows them what working with your team might actually feel like.

✅ 3. Be Clear, Not Clever

Explain your process up front. Set expectations. Be honest about

• What you’re evaluating
• What kind of work they’ll do here  
• What happens next (and when)

Transparency builds trust. Trust builds engagement.

✅ 4. Tailor the Funnel to the Role

You don’t need the same loop for a junior frontend dev as for a staff-level platform engineer.

Build modular interview kits:

• Technical eval → real-world system design for seniors  
• Pairing or async code review for mids
• Portfolio deep dives or mentorship aptitude for tech leads

One-size-fits-all = one-size-filters-out.