Reader,

A few years back, I partnered with a manager at Ally Financial who had been with the firm for years and was rolling out Cypress across multiple departments.

This wasn’t a short-term fix. These were long-term, contract-to-hire initiatives.

The manager already had a strong development lead in place. What he needed was QA talent that could truly match that level.

Early on, he walked me through upcoming projects and the friction points he expected to hit.
That context mattered and we created technical rubrics that help paint a clear picture of the caliber of engineer the team would need to succeed.

My req was at principal-level QA.
But before locking that in, I picked up the phone and introduced myself to the development lead. He was boots on the ground, and that conversation added nuance I wouldn’t have gotten from a req alone.

We ended up hiring two seasoned QA engineers who were a strong fit technically and operationally.

​

Then came the twist.

​

One more req opened up. When I asked about seniority, the answer was still “seasoned.”

But by this point, I had spent time with the team, understood the initiatives, and saw where things were heading. They didn’t actually need another top-tier engineer.

I tried to educate the client but was not quite in position.
I threw a few candidates his way but...

• interviews were stalling out
• feedback was "not strong enough" or "not a cultural fit"

...and that was starting to not add up.

​

I realized I was missing something, but didn’t know what.
Around the same time, I ran across an engineer working over at Wells Fargo.

Two years deep in his career, not “seasoned” on paper, but a near-perfect cultural and functional fit for what the team actually needed.

​

I just could tell he’d be a hire.

The challenge was I couldn’t get him a seat at the table. My relationship wasn’t there yet and initial feedback was “too junior” despite the fact I filled their business and in a positive position.

​

So I leveraged what I had built.

​

One of the engineers I had already placed at Ally conducted the technical screen and vouched for him. Eventually that endorsement led to an interview.

He completed 3 rounds of interviews. Ultimately, they pulled the trigger.

The win wasn’t luck. It was focus.

I knew where to spend my time on that req and what moves to make, which meant I didn’t waste cycles sourcing new candidates when the right match was already in front of me. That freed me up to work on higher-value strategy instead of more grunt work.

So how did I know I was investing my time in the right place?

• The rubrics I built with my manager and engineering friend to iron out req details
• Insider information from engineers in the dept.
• Using tenure as a baseline, not a verdict.

So my question is:​
If you don’t have engineering chops, how are you truly vetting technical depth against true requirement needs?

As AI demand flows into your reqs, the ability to position yourself to educate and manage the process will be everything.
Understanding how to build the right sourcing strategies and relationships so you can turn network into currency is key.

​

​

-Jaclyn

​
​