4 ms·

As a person involved in hiring in my company, one of my goals is to remove biases for things that are not really related to the thing I'm evaluating, which is t

by exitb 3y ago

As a person involved in hiring in my company, one of my goals is to remove biases for things that are not really related to the thing I'm evaluating, which is the ability to do a given job. There are valid reasons not to have an interest in publishing your coding or writing work, there are lots of great developers that don't do that, so I don't feel like this should make a difference.

TheRoque 3y ago
The shouldn't in an ideal world, but on the other hand, it's obvious that it can. If you're looking for someone to perform a specific task, and you stumble on a blog post from him, or a project that showcases his passion and skill, it would be (IMO) pretty stupid to "remove the bias" and ignore this. At this point it's not even bias, it's just proof in front of your eyes that this guy has some knowledge and might be a good fit ( or whatever proof it is)
- wildrhythms 3y ago
  It's because information exposed in blog posts can be used to bias or discriminate, either intentionally or unintentionally. Consider a hiring manager finding a blog post from a month ago about the candidate having a newborn child; now the hiring manager has been exposed to information that can be used to justify discrimination.
sneak 3y ago
Being a great developer requires written communication skills as much as it requires software development skills. It's not bias to hire non-one-dimensionally. People are not cogs.
LanceH 3y ago
There are valid reasons not to post code or blog. True for some. Posted code or a blog may demonstrate knowledge and capability in the subject area for the potential hire. Also true for some. Demonstrating professional skills shouldn't be discounted just because someone else doesn't. It absolutely should make a difference if it's relevant even other people have reasons for not doing the same. Hiring is selecting the right person and not selecting the wrong person. It is not about sorting all people 100% correctly into hire/no-hire groups. A blog with code can tell a lot about a person. Do they understand the material? Can they write coherently about it? Can they target an appropriate level of audience with that? Maybe these can't be answered just by reading the blog, but it gives a lot to discuss in the interview process. Some people want to have the exact same interview process between all people. People are different, though. Locking the interview down to a single process doesn't allow for the variety of skills out there to shine individually. If that avenue is through a portfolio or blog, it's fair game.
gbalduzzi 3y ago
I completely agree that here are lots of great developers without a public figure. However, having one gives the interviewer some additional insights about you. While no candidate should be discarded for not having public code, I don't think dismissing it completely without even looking at it is correct, because you are discarding a great source of information about a candidate. Note that the insight could even be negative (such as a candidate applying to a senior position with sub-par public code recently written)

by exitb 3y ago

TheRoque 3y ago

The shouldn't in an ideal world, but on the other hand, it's obvious that it can. If you're looking for someone to perform a specific task, and you stumble on a blog post from him, or a project that showcases his passion and skill, it would be (IMO) pretty stupid to "remove the bias" and ignore this. At this point it's not even bias, it's just proof in front of your eyes that this guy has some knowledge and might be a good fit ( or whatever proof it is)

wildrhythms 3y ago
It's because information exposed in blog posts can be used to bias or discriminate, either intentionally or unintentionally. Consider a hiring manager finding a blog post from a month ago about the candidate having a newborn child; now the hiring manager has been exposed to information that can be used to justify discrimination.

sneak 3y ago

Being a great developer requires written communication skills as much as it requires software development skills. It's not bias to hire non-one-dimensionally. People are not cogs.

LanceH 3y ago

There are valid reasons not to post code or blog. True for some. Posted code or a blog may demonstrate knowledge and capability in the subject area for the potential hire. Also true for some. Demonstrating professional skills shouldn't be discounted just because someone else doesn't. It absolutely should make a difference if it's relevant even other people have reasons for not doing the same. Hiring is selecting the right person and not selecting the wrong person. It is not about sorting all people 100% correctly into hire/no-hire groups. A blog with code can tell a lot about a person. Do they understand the material? Can they write coherently about it? Can they target an appropriate level of audience with that? Maybe these can't be answered just by reading the blog, but it gives a lot to discuss in the interview process. Some people want to have the exact same interview process between all people. People are different, though. Locking the interview down to a single process doesn't allow for the variety of skills out there to shine individually. If that avenue is through a portfolio or blog, it's fair game.

gbalduzzi 3y ago

I completely agree that here are lots of great developers without a public figure. However, having one gives the interviewer some additional insights about you. While no candidate should be discarded for not having public code, I don't think dismissing it completely without even looking at it is correct, because you are discarding a great source of information about a candidate. Note that the insight could even be negative (such as a candidate applying to a senior position with sub-par public code recently written)