3 ms·
>Do you use source control? >Do new candidates write code during their interview? The author suggests removing these two rules because they're ubiquitous, tha
by allwein 10y ago
>Do you use source control?
>Do new candidates write code during their interview?
The author suggests removing these two rules because they're ubiquitous, that everyone does them.
I hate to inform the author, but he's sadly mistaken. There are plenty of companies still out there that aren't doing these things, especially with interviews. Also, I think the ubiquity of them is a reason to include them, because it helps draw attention to those companies that are deficient in some way.
- kmonsen 10y agoYes! If you interview for a company and they don't use source control that is a giant red flag.
- edroche 10y agoI generally think the same these days, but it made me recall 10-15 years ago when I was consulting and considered a company having no source control a place where I could provide immediate value. Now it just scares me right out the door.
- jthol 10y agoIt's funny how quickly that's gone from, "Oooo I can help you!" to "you guys are helpless."
- kmonsen 10y agoThe value is also depending on them understanding why it is useful. And if they do, would they not use it already?
- robotresearcher 10y agoThey are in a mess, they hire you as a consultant, you explain VCS, they get it, everybody wins. They didn't have to understand in advance. They just had to be smart enough to know they needed help.
- mbesto 10y agoI was literally going to say the same thing. The reason these questions are in there is to whittle out people immediately. And yes there are developers and companies out there who do exist that do not use any VCS. Probably the better thing to ask a candidate as a follow-up question is why is version control important.
- rachbowyer 10y agoI believe this question is as valid today as it was in 2000. From the beginning of my career (in 1993) everyone company I have worked for has used source code control. Not to do so was even in 1993 a huge red flag. Sadly there were companies in 1993 and also today that don't. The tools have got better in some ways and also worse (e.g. complexity of git). But before subversion there was cvs, rcs and visual source safe.
- rb808 10y agoI still dont see this as a red flag. Even if source control isn't used yet, you can add it once you start - it isn't expensive or complex any more. That's what makes you a valuable hire.
- theandrewbailey 10y agoIt should be a red flag. It can easily be that everyone that suggested it got shot down for 'disrupting the process', or that they couldn't find it in the budget or schedule to implement it.
- acobster 10y agoThis. One of my most frequent freelance clients was a web developer who farmed some modules out to me to be implemented. From what I could tell, he used FTP for deploying changes, and did not use any kind of version control. I kept him on as a client because I needed the work, but this lack of proper tooling caused numerous headaches. In retrospect, it probably would have benefitted both of us to condition any work for him on his adopting source control for that project.