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> In the end, I guess maybe the problem for me is that the whole "How to Hire a Programmer" idea itself strikes me as somewhat misguided. A guide to "hiring a <

by jbri 15y ago

> In the end, I guess maybe the problem for me is that the whole "How to Hire a Programmer" idea itself strikes me as somewhat misguided. A guide to "hiring a <fill_in_the_blank>" is only ever going to filter for cookie-cutter representations of <fill_in_the_blank>, whatever that profession may be. If your team needs a programmer, and you're looking to hire a programmer, then it doesn't matter how knowledgeable, well-rounded, or otherwise interesting someone is, if they're not actually capable of programming. I don't think anyone would consider it a failing of the interview process if they were looking for an accountant and their hiring process weeded out the people who couldn't actually do accounting.

shioyama 15y ago
> I don't think anyone would consider it a failing of the interview process if they were looking for an accountant and their hiring process weeded out the people who couldn't actually do accounting. Not to knock the accountants, but I think programming involves a lot more creativity and open-ended thinking, and I'm not at all convinced that a focus on "hoop"-like testing brings out those aspects of a potential candidate. (As noted in my other replies, I didn't mean to imply that programming skills are not important for a programmer to have.)