Hiring to create successful engineering teams with Anjuan Simmons

[00:03:48] Welcome and Introductions

Andrew Murphy: Hello, everybody, and welcome to Tech Leaders Launchpad Livestream. I'm Andrew. I'm a leadership trainer and coach specializing in the technology industry. I started this livestream series because 15 years ago I became a tech leader and there weren't a lot of resources, so I had to learn from my own mistakes. When you're a leader, your mistakes impact people, not just machines. Over the years, I've focused on sharing what I've learned so others can do better. Recently, I started Tech Leaders Launchpad to support other tech leaders, and this livestream is part of that mission, bringing my mentors and coaches to you. Today we're talking about hiring with Anjuan Simmons. Drop your questions on LinkedIn, YouTube, or Twitch, and we'll try to get to them. If you miss anything, it'll be recorded and newsletter subscribers will get the replay. Let's get started. Anjuan, welcome.

Anjuan Simmons: Hey, Andrew, I'm so happy to be here with you. Thanks for letting me come onto your show.

Andrew Murphy: You're very welcome! I saw Anjuan talk at NDC Porto on this very topic, including hiring, and thought, who better to have on? Let's start with a quick icebreaker: what's your favorite tech gadget that isn't your computer?

[00:06:07] Icebreaker: Favorite Non-Computer Gadget

Anjuan Simmons: Great question. I'm a gadget person—I love tech! My current favorite is something I bought for my recent trip to Australia—these Vitcher glasses. They're not AR, not like the new Apple ones, but when you put them on, they project a 120-inch floating screen only you can see. You can plug them into your phone or Steam Deck. On my long flight, I watched Netflix, played Baldur’s Gate 3, and it made the time fly by. They're not cheap, but worthwhile for frequent travelers.

Andrew Murphy: That's very cool! Planes are always cramped with laptops and iPads—it’s tough to handle food and devices. Those glasses solve that problem.

Anjuan Simmons: Absolutely. I wore them the whole time—no neck pain, no juggling screens and food. Not cheap, but a great investment for long flights. Also, you fly your nerd flag high with these.

Andrew Murphy: I have no problem flying my nerd flag! My T-shirts are always geeky.

[00:09:05] Anjuan’s Career Journey

Andrew Murphy: So, Anjuan, tell us about your career—highlights, and what you’ve learned along the way. I know you've worked at consultancies and product companies.

Anjuan Simmons: I graduated from UT Austin with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1997, started at Accenture (then Andersen Consulting) as a software developer—building enterprise apps: Oracle, SAP, CRM systems. That's where I learned teamwork, leadership, and hiring. I spent a decade at Accenture, then moved to Deloitte and Infosys—so a big chunk in consulting. Later, I heard about startups and moved into that space, blending the rigor from consulting with the hands-on approach of startups. Now, I'm a Staff Engineering Manager at GitHub. To be clear, I’m not here as an official rep of any company, but I’ll share what I’ve learned over the years about what works—and what doesn’t.

Andrew Murphy: My job here is to make all this advice actionable! So, I’ll push for tips over theory. I also share your background—I went from government to consultancy to startups. All have pros and cons; neither is superior, it’s about finding the right fit for your stage in life.

Anjuan Simmons: Absolutely. If you can, work at both a large company and a startup. Both provide useful skills—your career is stronger for it.

Andrew Murphy: Totally—experiencing both helps you lead diverse teams, too. If you’ve never worked in consultancy, it’s hard to empathize with that worldview.

Anjuan Simmons: 100%.

[00:13:16] Common Hiring Mistakes

Andrew Murphy: Let’s dive in: what are the common mistakes companies and individuals make in hiring?

Anjuan Simmons: There are many! First, companies often don’t tell candidates what the hiring process is. Applicants are left guessing about the steps and what’s expected. It’s an act of kindness—and better branding—to publish your hiring process. Most processes are similar: apply, recruiter screen, hiring manager screen, technical and behavioral interviews, then offer. Just make it transparent.

Second, many company websites don’t reflect the diversity of their teams. If your team is diverse, show it—people want to see themselves on your website. If you're still working on diversity, at least acknowledge it. Both of these are easy fixes: publish your process, and reflect your people on your site.

Andrew Murphy: That’s crucial—the structure and content of your interview process shows what you value. If you have a bunch of technical interviews for a leadership role, you’re signaling you prioritize technical skills, for example.

Anjuan Simmons: Absolutely! I’ll go a step further: companies should make their interview questions public. That’s radical, but it’s doable—I’ve got at least one company to implement it. This transparency shows what you value, helps non-native speakers prepare, and gives everyone a chance to present their best, not just those who are quick on their feet.

[00:20:15] Publishing Interview Questions and Diversity in Panels

Andrew Murphy: Some people say making questions public “spoils” the process, but realistically, good questions don’t have easy, memorized answers. In real jobs, you aren’t answering under pressure—few roles require you to give a perfect answer in 20 seconds. Why test for it in interviews?

Anjuan Simmons: Exactly. We don’t throw people into do-or-die situations—we give time and resources! The interview environment should reflect real work. Publishing questions also helps candidates whose first language isn’t English, or who aren't great at improvising. Two days after an interview, you always think of better answers. Let people show their best, not just their fastest.

Andrew Murphy: And diversity isn’t just for the website—reflect it in your interview panel, too. If your interviewers don’t match your public image, candidates can tell.

Anjuan Simmons: 100%. Especially for leadership hires, if diverse people are on the panel, it shows they succeed and advance in your company, not just get hired. It's a powerful signal that you walk the walk.

[00:24:07] Pre-Interview vs In-the-Room: What to Look for in Candidates

Andrew Murphy: We've talked a lot about the pre-interview stage. But once you're face to face—what do you look for? What key qualities do you want?

Anjuan Simmons: Past the nuts and bolts—years of experience, tech stack familiarity—I want to know: have you worked on teams? I ask “Tell me about your team”—I want to hear about cross-functional work, not just coding alone. Who else was involved? PMs? Designers? What was the team structure? Did you collaborate? Did you work in sprints? Did you deliver results that had impact, not just activity?

A lot of candidates describe activity, not outcomes: “I did X, Y, Z.” But I'm hiring for impact. Did you improve code review, reduce defects, improve time to production? Quantify your impact! I want people who can talk about actual change they enabled, not just tasks performed.

Andrew Murphy: That’s a great point for aspiring leaders—track your impact now (not just tasks!) so you have examples for interviews and reviews. I recommend brag documents focused on impact.

Anjuan Simmons: Absolutely—shoutout to Julia Evans for her iconic brag doc guide. Keep one live, update when you do something impactful, not just when review time rolls around.

[00:32:16] Balancing Technical Skills, Culture Fit and Diversity

Andrew Murphy: Balancing needed technical skills with culture fit—well, culture add—and diversity, how do you do it? How do you avoid hiring just more people who are like yourself?

Anjuan Simmons: “Culture fit” can be dangerous—if your culture is narrow you’re asking people to conform to what you need to change! Think culture-add: what strengths or perspectives are missing? This requires hard conversations and real honesty. Partner with recruiting, because great hiring requires casting a wider net—using new job boards, considering new communities, leveraging the recruiting team’s connections and perspectives.

Track and publish hiring summaries: show how many candidates applied, how many progressed, how diverse were the pools, etc. This builds trust inside and outside: the new hire wasn’t a “diversity hire”—they earned it. For the new hire, seeing that summary helps combat imposter syndrome, too.

Andrew Murphy: That’s so helpful for the candidate—they see the rigor and know they weren’t chosen just as a statistic.

Anjuan Simmons: Exactly. If you wonder if you’re a “diversity hire,” you’re probably not! Telling your story as part of a hiring summary invests in you and shows you're valued for your whole self and unique experience.

[00:40:20] Minority Tech: Anjuan’s Book

Andrew Murphy: You’ve focused a lot on diversity and inclusion. Tell us about your book!

Anjuan Simmons: It’s called Minority Tech (MinorityTech.com). I wrote it to show that you can absolutely exist as a minority in tech, and to help others navigate the path I took. I also wanted to show companies that hiring a minority in tech isn’t some novelty—you’re hiring a technologist with useful, unique perspectives. Inclusion isn’t just a marketing point; it’s about building truly innovative teams. The book lays out my experiences, challenges, and lessons, and I hope it helps others. Maybe I’ll write an updated version someday.

Andrew Murphy: If you do, you’re always welcome back to talk about what you’ve learned since—would love that.

Anjuan Simmons: I’d be happy to return!

[00:43:32] Hiring for New, Emerging Technologies

Andrew Murphy: Let’s shift to a big challenge—hiring for emerging tech. If something’s only existed a year, no one’s got years of experience. How do you approach that?

Anjuan Simmons: I’ll be honest—I’ve been around a while! But no matter how new a tech is, the fundamentals don’t change. There’s data, compute, logic, presentation. Even “brand new” things like Kubernetes build on old concepts—VMs, clusters, etc. So if you haven’t used The Latest Thing™, have you used its ancestor? Can you draw analogies? I also look for strong engineering best practices—test coverage, performance, code quality. And, crucially, a growth mindset—an openness to learning whatever comes next.

Andrew Murphy: Absolutely. Bootcamps are fantastic for bringing in diverse backgrounds, but people shouldn’t define themselves by one stack—say, “I’m a Ruby on Rails developer”—but rather, “I’m a developer who knows Ruby on Rails.” Be adaptable.

Anjuan Simmons: Exactly! Some of my best team members had careers in other fields. We all need to be ready to learn whatever languages or frameworks the job requires—and learning new ones only strengthens your skills. I actively encourage people to pick up new languages—it makes you better and more valuable.

Andrew Murphy: I love digging into why languages are designed the way they are—engineering is about tradeoffs, and each language reflects that.

Anjuan Simmons: Absolutely—every language is a set of decisions, and understanding that makes you a better engineer.

[00:51:41] Wrapping Up and Next Livestream

Andrew Murphy: Thank you, Anjuan! We’re nearly out of time—I can’t believe how fast this goes. You’re always welcome back. For everyone watching, our next livestream is March 8 with Michael Lopp (“Rands”), covering delegation and leadership. Join us on YouTube for the best experience, or stay on LinkedIn Live if you prefer. Check my LinkedIn for more resources, and subscribe to my newsletter for reminders and replays. If you want a 20-minute chat about tech leadership, scan the QR code on the screen. Anjuan, anything you want to share?

Anjuan Simmons: I’m easy to find online! Just search for Anjuan—A N J U A N—on any platform. Please reach out! I’d love to connect and keep the conversation going.

Andrew Murphy: Thanks, Anjuan, and thank you, everyone, for joining another Tech Leaders Livestream!