On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2021. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Nael ↗
In their words
I was looking at that at Perpetua just last week — our average right now is about 22 days.
I don't think it's good advice to hire for culture fit, for a variety of reasons. But I think a big part is, every person you bring to the team is going to change your culture.
I did 550 interviews this year, year to date. So there's still more to come.
Quick answers
Who is Nael El Shawwa?
A Toronto product and engineering leader with about two decades in advertising, retail and finance software, and a co-founder of #DevTO. He was VP of engineering at Perpetua, worked on Flashstock before its sale to Shutterstock, and led product engineering at Veriday and BMO.
What did he say about hiring for culture fit?
That it is common advice and bad advice. Every hire changes a team's culture, so the question is not whether someone matches what is already there but what direction they move it in — hire for culture add, and assess how the organisation changes with that person in it.
What is his favourite interview question?
Weaknesses — specifically whether a candidate is aware of their own and what they have done about them. He frames an interview as finding whether a team's strengths cover a candidate's weaknesses and vice versa, and says a rehearsed answer like "I'm a perfectionist" ends the conversation for him.
What did he say about the pace of hiring?
Both extremes. Perpetua's average from first contact to offer was about 22 days when he checked in late 2021, and he had run 550 interviews that year to date — but his most memorable hire took four years from meeting the person at a #DevTO event to the timing finally working for both of them.