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I'm hiring but I've seen a lot of disappointing FE applications. These are a few things I like to see in junior candidates. - They have built something that lo

I'm hiring but I've seen a lot of disappointing FE applications. These are a few things I like to see in junior candidates. - They have built something that looks good and works. Even if it's small, I can click around for more than a minute without breaking something. It works in chrome and firefox. It isn't super ugly, or too flashy. - They know how the web works. They know what HTTP is, what HTTPS is, they know what TCP is. Maybe they even know a little bit about handshakes, or http2. - They know a bit about how browsers work. They know that layout and styling are different things, they know a few API methods that are provided by the browser as opposed to a library. Maybe they even know that some of those methods are blocking and what that means.(1) What really sells a candidate for me is that they are really interested to work for us and not just some company and that they are intellectually curious. If I can nerd out with someone on a call about anything it's a huge win. (1) - Read this, don't worry if most of it is over your head -https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/performance/rendering/?hl=en https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/performance/r...

asimuvPR 10y ago
OT: Those are some neat robots. I spent a bit of time researching warehouse robotics and the whole thing is fascinating. Do you have more info about them aside from the one on your website? I'm intrigued.
rfrey 10y ago
Ha! I was fully mounted and strapped in on my high horse thinking, "Oh man, another 'you have to be PASSIONATE about my disrupt-random-industry startup" guy. Then I looked at your site, and man, that looks like a fun place to work, with subject matter to really dig into. Ahhh... go ahead, screen for passion, you get a pass. :)
tinalumfoil 10y ago
> They know how the web works. They know what HTTP is, what HTTPS is, they know what TCP is. Maybe they even know a little bit about handshakes, or http2. People hire front-end developers that don't know HTTP(S) is? It's literally in your browser's URL bar at every waking moment you browse the web. Even if you're exaggerating, I don't get how one comment down is someone who'd only be impressed if they saw "a re-creation of Slack or Gmail that is comprehensive and actually looks and feels like the real thing, and handles errors correctly, and handles off-line mode, and has the performance of the original" and you're impressed with knowing what a blocking function is. I'm not a front-end developer, but I come out of these threads more confused with what employers are looking for than going in.
- iandanforth 10y ago
  I'd say their standards are too high, they'd say mine are too low. :) In some ways it's like high-school vs college, they both have juniors but they are is worlds apart. This is true for companies as well. Our FE needs are relatively straightforward, the hard bits are all in our robots. In other companies FE is the product and hiring people who have no experience just isn't an option.
aphextron 10y ago
I always have no problem with any of this stuff, and then when I get into an onsite interview they expect me to regurgitate a BFS algorithm on some arbitrary graph on a whiteboard in front of three people, then I get silently judged and asked to leave. Meh.
- manish_gill 10y ago
  BFS is fairly simple.

asimuvPR 10y ago

OT: Those are some neat robots. I spent a bit of time researching warehouse robotics and the whole thing is fascinating. Do you have more info about them aside from the one on your website? I'm intrigued.

rfrey 10y ago

Ha! I was fully mounted and strapped in on my high horse thinking, "Oh man, another 'you have to be PASSIONATE about my disrupt-random-industry startup" guy. Then I looked at your site, and man, that looks like a fun place to work, with subject matter to really dig into. Ahhh... go ahead, screen for passion, you get a pass. :)

tinalumfoil 10y ago

> They know how the web works. They know what HTTP is, what HTTPS is, they know what TCP is. Maybe they even know a little bit about handshakes, or http2. People hire front-end developers that don't know HTTP(S) is? It's literally in your browser's URL bar at every waking moment you browse the web. Even if you're exaggerating, I don't get how one comment down is someone who'd only be impressed if they saw "a re-creation of Slack or Gmail that is comprehensive and actually looks and feels like the real thing, and handles errors correctly, and handles off-line mode, and has the performance of the original" and you're impressed with knowing what a blocking function is. I'm not a front-end developer, but I come out of these threads more confused with what employers are looking for than going in.

iandanforth 10y ago
I'd say their standards are too high, they'd say mine are too low. :) In some ways it's like high-school vs college, they both have juniors but they are is worlds apart. This is true for companies as well. Our FE needs are relatively straightforward, the hard bits are all in our robots. In other companies FE is the product and hiring people who have no experience just isn't an option.

aphextron 10y ago

I always have no problem with any of this stuff, and then when I get into an onsite interview they expect me to regurgitate a BFS algorithm on some arbitrary graph on a whiteboard in front of three people, then I get silently judged and asked to leave. Meh.

manish_gill 10y ago
BFS is fairly simple.