6 ms·
Please... No rockstars
- adrianwaj 16y agoKeep clear of VCs that think they're or behave like rockstars, but have no talent or track record.
- weeksie 16y agoYES. I want smart people on my team, but I NEED people that can actually work with a team. In my experience "Rockstars" are usually kids who have a knack for development and fragile egos.
- sherl0ck 16y agothen it's a ninja you're looking for. they could work alone, also could work in a pack. and they are awesome :).
- TotlolRon 16y ago"I just want incredibly intelligent, competent people who are opinionated but value each other as well." ah. Much simpler.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- acid_bath 16y ago> I think that a startup is not the place for that kind of person. I just want incredibly intelligent, competent people who are opinionated but value each other as well. Well good luck then to you, sir. If you find that Perfect Employee who's willing to start a job that might not exist in 6 months with below average pay and benefits (the standard startup MO), hire him or her immediately.
- djsiry 16y agoI did!
- jbr 16y agoThanks!
- stuff4ben 16y agoYou join a startup knowing those risks. And yet people still do it because we know that with that risk comes a potential reward at the end. BTW, he's not asking for the perfect employee, he's asking for what every company should be asking for. If not I question why you're hiring to begin with.
- acid_bath 16y agoReally? _Really?_ You really think that there exist enough "incredibly intelligent" people to fill every tech role in existence? Sure, every company can _ask_ for the top 1%, but unless they're delusional they're going to have to deal with the fact that some of the people they hire are just going to have to be average. Doubly so for a company offering no job security and long/chaotic hours for a very low chance of payoff in a few years. Trust me, I know the risks because I've worked almost exclusively with and for start-ups. To me it's completely self evident why startup culture attracts the crazies or "rockstar" programmers. Who else is going to gamble so much time and effort on a what's almost certainly a failed venture? Usually not the industry's top talent, unless they're one of the founders. Of course, I'm speaking very generally and making sweeping, stereotypes based on my own experience, which may not accurately reflect reality. --edit-- My post above sounds a bit more aggressive than I intended, sorry. All I'm saying is that "incredibly intelligent" programmers with good communication skills are rare and it's pretty unreasonable (IMO) for a startup founder to just expect them to show up just because he has an idea and a little bit of money.
- ido 16y agoInteresting, I thought start ups (at least of the VC-funded-grow-fast-and-sell-to-google/ms/oracle/ibm type) normally offer higher salaries than average to mitigate the longer working hours and lack of job security.
- nathanh 16y agoRockstars? What you really need is a ninja. <joking> This came up a litte while ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1248389 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1248389 Seems like to most people it means that whoever wrote the job post has unreasonable expectations. Also, rockstars make a lot of money. If a company really is looking for a rockstar, they better be able to pay for it.
- adrianwaj 16y agoIf Bono came to me looking for work, I'd find something for him to do. Same with Anthony Kiedes. Great PR.
- trafficlight 16y agoI wouldn't hire Bono. He wouldn't get anything done. He would just write songs about your problem, rather than actually doing something about it.
- LiveTheDream 16y agoIf your problem was obscurity, Bono just writing songs about it would actually be a solution.
- adrianwaj 16y agoLet me elaborate: This whole anti-rockstar programmer movement sees the glass half empty rather than the glass half full. Rockstar programming should be encouraged, not shunned. It would be wonderful to have a Lenny Kravitz or Mick Jagger despite being washed up and well passed their musical prime able to crank out good Python code. So why the development community energizing this ongoing global campaign against the "rockstar programmer" and thus discouraging any attempt by these rockstars to reinvent themselves and to find success in a respectable and head-down career change? I myself am all for it. In terms of employment, they'll be good for your firm and its morale: - entertaining lunch break stories, and "musical recesses" - Because they're usually older and not money driven but rather skills driven, easier to manage and remunerate. - You'll be seen as an equal opportunity employer and not age-biased. - Most importantly, the PR value of having your startup or firm name-dropped globally alongside your rockstar will be priceless, more than making up for novice skill sets. - Lastly, it's altruistic: getting rockstars off the stage and into the coding booth will be good for music: no more comeback hits. And we won't have these dinosaurs taking attention away from what would otherwise be standout emerging artists. Rockstar programmers, bring 'em on I say. Let's support the likes of Kylie Minogue and Steven Tyler in their learning to become Pythonistas or Rubyists, or whatever language they choose, whether that learning be done on the tour bus or tour jet. So on behalf of the development community everywhere, we're right behind you, and we'll help. They'll mitigate further hearing loss too.
- anatoli 16y agoBecause we all know that people are being literal when looking for a rockstar. Right? Have a little imagination. I'm not a huge fan of it, myself, but there are certain scenarios where using 'rockstar' or 'ninja' even makes sense -- asuming the rest of the posting is up to par.
- FBever 16y agoHow is "rockstar" positive in any sense of the word? And therefore, when is it ever relevant on a job description? I don't understand how rockstar became synonymous with highly competent/productive. It's almost the exact opposite of the accepted meaning.
- roc 16y agoTo me, saying "rockstar" would imply the following positives: an otherwise-inexplicable charisma, resonance-with and/or understanding-of what the average person wants, and an employer who pays commensurate with the employee, not the job "Rockstar" definitely carries the baggage of being highly-associated with douchebags and prima-donnas. But it's not all negative.
- cesare 16y agoC'mon. Who didn't dream of becoming a rockstar. The recording industry has used the same manipulation techniques to screw ingenuous people for ages.
- chc 16y agoIn the positive sense, it refers to somebody who is looked up to with awe and respect, like a rock star. For example, DHH had something of a rockstar air when Rails was the cool new kid because everyone was in awe of the guy who created this awesome framework. What they're trying to convey with "Are you a rockstar?" is "Does everyone you work with think you are amazing in an almost unattainable way?" It's still stupid, lazy phrasing IMO, but that seems to be people's meaning.
- bad_user 16y ago
- djsiry 16y agoGadzooks - I was wondering where all the traffic to my brand-new posterous was coming from. First time for me on Hacker News - thanks for all the comments (thanks fromedome for posting) Darryl founder/CEO NewsBasis
- jlees 16y agoI actually saw someone who was job-hunting self-describe with "My technical experience, business knowledge, and passion for technology make me a ninja-rockstar." Double bzzzt!
- mhd 16y agoI'm the Beethoven of programmers. I don't listen to what my co-workers are saying and I always leave unfinished work.
- angstrom 16y agoDon't forget 'deaf to everything going on around you'...another idiom falls.
- stretchwithme 16y agoI'm the Jesus/Darwin hybrid of programmers. I inherit all the right things from each class.
- j_baker 16y agoWere you really a good programmer, you'd have chosen to be a Jesus programmer with a Darwin mixin. But you didn't so now you have to worry about the diamond problem.
- ardit33 16y agoBasically what the author is saying he wants people what are smart a good, but humble, and not with narcistic traits. What a 'rockstar' type of title might attract people that may / may not, be good, but are highly narcistic: This paragraph is a classical npd trait: "Do these people really want to hire self-absorbed pricks who show flashes of brilliance but generally leave mayhem in their wake? That's what a rockstar is. Selfish, demanding, unreliable, and requiring others to lavish them with adoration or they will have a tantrum and walk off the stage in the middle of the concert. Then they overdose and end up on a reality show."
- synnik 16y agoIt is an idiom, not a metaphor.
- dannyr 16y agoI once met an angel investor who introduced himself as "Angel Investor to Rockstar Entrepreneurs." Then I said, "cool, I have to go to the bathroom." p.s. That angel investor is actually a regular poster here on HN.
- doki_pen 16y agoYou can call me whatever you think of as "the guy that's worth the most money". ;-)
- shalmanese 16y agoEh, it's a cheap form of social signaling which is performing it's function perfectly. Like how baby names move from high class to low class through diffusion, someone advertising for a rockstar 3 - 5 years ago was a good signal that you should consider applying and someone advertising for it now is a good sign that you shouldn't.
- jaekwon 16y agoI expect great developers to be able to rip through guitar hero at expert level. VIM does that to you.
- gvb 16y ago...but emacs users are better at chording. :-P