---
title: "What 'The Software Craftsman' Taught Me About Responsibility and Hiring"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/what-the-software-craftsman-taught-me-about-responsibility-and-hiring-y0nzedzsl
source_url: https://tnakov.dev/what-the-software-craftsman-taught-me-about-responsibility-and-hiring
type: article
source: "Nakov's Blog"
published: 2026-03-03T15:11:09.212Z
updated: 2026-03-03T15:11:30.760Z
reading_time: 8
upvotes: 2
comments: 0
language: en
---

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# What 'The Software Craftsman' Taught Me About Responsibility and Hiring

**[Nakov's Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/tnakov)** · 8 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

A developer reflects on lessons from Sandro Mancuso's 'The Software Craftsman', focusing on two key takeaways: radical ownership over your code (the 'mirror test' — asking what you could have done differently before blaming others) and how these principles shaped a practical hiring framework. When unexpectedly needing to hire for a fast-paced project, the author prioritized attitude over technical skills, looking for ownership mentality, comfort with ambiguity, a constructive approach to legacy code, and honesty about limitations. Specific interview questions used to surface these traits are shared, along with honest self-reflection on applying the craftsman mindset personally.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://tnakov.dev/what-the-software-craftsman-taught-me-about-responsibility-and-hiring>

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