3 ms·
Startups always claim the project will only take 2 hours, but doing a half-decent job takes more like 2 days, and in real-life you'd spend 2 weeks or more on it
by w0mbat 8y ago
Startups always claim the project will only take 2 hours, but doing a half-decent job takes more like 2 days, and in real-life you'd spend 2 weeks or more on it to do it properly (tests, localization, documentation, performance tuning, etc).
I am not sure how you are supposed to make a choice between doing it quickly and being called "sloppy", taking a realistic time and being called "slow", or any of the points inbetween.
- travisjungroth 8y agoI had a company give me an assignment to create an API for matching an order book. Business logic, web API, “must be production level code”, documentation, set up instructions, and tests. Estimated time: 2-3 hours. I did it in 6 because I enjoy that sort of work and considered myself fast. I sent it to them along with an email saying there was no way someone could do it in 3, let alone 2, and I wasn’t interested in moving forward.
- peteradio 8y agoWhy would you send it to them with no intention to move forward. They probably derived some benefit from their shitty maneuver.
- snazz 8y agoMaybe to rub it in that they were letting a good candidate slip out between their fingers?
- travisjungroth 8y agoYeah, that was definitely part of it. It was a mix of ego and desire to be helpful. I was going to finish the thing anyway, and I knew my feedback would be taken more seriously if I finished it first versus complained up front. One of the cofounders called and tried to get me to interview, but I explained that between this and the call I’d had with the other cofounder (“What is the lowest possible salary you’d be willing to accept?”) I wasn’t interested.
- Balgair 8y ago> “What is the lowest possible salary you’d be willing to accept?” Oh man, the 'Jerk' tax then automatically sets the salary up 15%. For just that comment alone.
- scarmig 8y agoThe best approach is to timebox yourself to 2 hours, and then spend 15 minutes sending it to them and letting them know the next several issues you'd address, along with rough estimates for each.