Why (some) US-LatAm tech hires fail in their first year. And how to avoid the pitfalls.

Hiring developers from Latin America can be a game-changer—but only when done right.

If you’re like many hiring managers, you’ve likely encountered this scenario: a candidate looks perfect on paper, aces the interview, and seems ready to hit the ground running. But once they’re on board, they struggle to adapt to your team’s unique challenges, communication styles, or business context.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone—and it’s not always the candidate’s fault. We’ve been there, too, and learned the hard way how costly these mismatches can be. That’s why we’ve developed rigorous processes to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Here’s a look at some practical steps you can take to increase the success rate of your LatAm hires.

Ask the right questions during the interview

Surface-level technical and cultural questions won’t cut it. You need to dig deeper to uncover how well a candidate can handle the realities of working with a US-based team. Here are some questions that have worked for us:

1. “What’s your strategy for staying visible and maintaining influence when working remotely with US stakeholders who may have different communication styles?”

• What it reveals: Their self-awareness and ability to manage cross-cultural relationships.

2. “Share an experience where you joined a US team as the newest member and had to advocate for a technical decision that went against the preferred approach. How did you handle it?”

• What it reveals: Their strategic thinking, adaptability, and ability to manage up.

3. “What’s the biggest assumption about technical work you had to unlearn when collaborating with US teams?”

• What it reveals: Their adaptability and openness to new ways of working.

4. “How have you handled working with a team spread across three or more time zones? Walk me through your specific strategies.”

• What it reveals: Their practical experience with asynchronous work beyond just saying, “I’m flexible.”

Set up your organization for success

Hiring isn’t just about finding the right candidate—it’s also about ensuring your organization is ready to support them. These are some of the questions we ask our clients to assess how prepared they are:

1. “Walk me through your onboarding process for remote team members. How does it differ from local onboarding? What resources will our candidate have access to?”

• Why it matters: Highlights gaps in remote integration planning and documentation. You might expect to hear about shadowing, social integration exercises, access credentials, documentation, checkins.

2. “What metrics or deliverables will define success for this role at 30, 60, and 90 days? How were these benchmarks developed?”

• Why it matters: Ensures expectations are realistic and account for ramp-up time in a cross-cultural context.

3. “Tell me about a time when cultural or communication differences caused misalignment with a remote team member. How did you handle it, and what changes did you make afterward?”

• Why it matters: Shows the organization’s capacity to learn and adapt.

4. “Who will be directly responsible for this person’s growth and integration? How much time is allocated to mentoring remote team members?”

• Why it matters: Uncovers if real support systems exist beyond formal policies.

Nobody likes surprises

We all want smooth hiring processes and successful hires. Asking the right questions—both to candidates and within your own organization—can dramatically reduce unpleasant surprises, whether it’s during onboarding or months down the line.

#LatinAmerica #TechHiring #RemoteWork #LatamTech