The archive
Issue #017
Hiring Horror Stories 7 min read· 9 Sept 2026The Certification Illusion
An impressive resume. Microsoft Certifications. Cisco Certifications. Confidence that made it feel like he was doing us a favor. Then I gave him a simple task and watched him stare at a screen for three hours. The truth was worse than the resume.
CTO takeaway
The lesson, minus the scar tissue.
- Always test practical skills. Resumes lie. Certifications can be faked. Actual ability can't.
- Watch out for 'related courses' on a resume. It's a red flag for 'I didn't actually pass the exam.'
- Confidence is not competence. Some of the most confident candidates know the least.
- A trial period is your best filter. You'll learn more in one hour of work than in ten interviews.
- If someone doesn't understand why configuring a server is part of the job, they don't understand the job.
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A comic, a story and a takeaway every other week. Written for founders who inherited a codebase they didn't choose.
