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Aww, thanks for the constructive criticism! Despite your comment, I think we're kind of getting at the same point - if you have a great place to work and focus

by RTigger 14y ago

Aww, thanks for the constructive criticism! Despite your comment, I think we're kind of getting at the same point - if you have a great place to work and focus on building a team that works well together, you're going to have more success as opposed to hiring someone with X years of Ruby experience just because they know how to code. Focus on cultural fit, the technical stuff can be taught. Signed, nameless derp

kahawe 14y ago
Constructive criticism: I am not sure yet another "how to hire a hacker" article is really all that necessary because there is no shortage of similar advice and I think all the characteristics typically listed in those articles how to identify and pick that one über-hacker with pinpoint accuracy are not really that much better than the pre-dotcom-bubble myth of selecting the one with the geekiest tshirt, simply because there is too much you do not and cannot know or predict or foresee in that situation. So common sense should dictate you are much better off relying on qualified recommendations from your people because they know more about the person they recommended, maybe they have even worked or studied with them - this gives them much more insight than you could possibly hope to get in your first encounter with that person, no matter how smart and elaborate your "detection mechanism" is. And this saves you a lot of time and money. But on focusing on cultural fit, we certainly agree. - another nameless derp
- RTigger 14y ago
  Fair enough - as someone else pointed out in the blog comments, there's not a lot of "actionable" items in this post short of seeing if people work on side projects, which in itself isn't an indication of someone you should hire. Word of mouth however is a pretty reliable way of finding solid developers provided you start with a good developer or two to begin with, and is a great way to build your team and culture - odds are if your team is recommending someone, they'll fit in with and extend the culture your company is going for. We saw an example of this when we opened our Vancouver office - after a few key hires we were able to attract a lot of talented developers who fit in nicely.
  - tonyarkles 14y ago
    Kind of OT but... Are you still around Saskatchewan at all? We met many years ago, I ran power for ArcticLan and TCU in maybe 2003-2004? Always interesting to see other Canadian prairie folks around here :)
    - RTigger 14y ago
      Yep - had a two year stint in Vancouver but moved back last year. Good to hear from you! Drop me a DM on twitter if you're around :)

by RTigger 14y ago

kahawe 14y ago

Constructive criticism: I am not sure yet another "how to hire a hacker" article is really all that necessary because there is no shortage of similar advice and I think all the characteristics typically listed in those articles how to identify and pick that one über-hacker with pinpoint accuracy are not really that much better than the pre-dotcom-bubble myth of selecting the one with the geekiest tshirt, simply because there is too much you do not and cannot know or predict or foresee in that situation. So common sense should dictate you are much better off relying on qualified recommendations from your people because they know more about the person they recommended, maybe they have even worked or studied with them - this gives them much more insight than you could possibly hope to get in your first encounter with that person, no matter how smart and elaborate your "detection mechanism" is. And this saves you a lot of time and money. But on focusing on cultural fit, we certainly agree. - another nameless derp

RTigger 14y ago
Fair enough - as someone else pointed out in the blog comments, there's not a lot of "actionable" items in this post short of seeing if people work on side projects, which in itself isn't an indication of someone you should hire. Word of mouth however is a pretty reliable way of finding solid developers provided you start with a good developer or two to begin with, and is a great way to build your team and culture - odds are if your team is recommending someone, they'll fit in with and extend the culture your company is going for. We saw an example of this when we opened our Vancouver office - after a few key hires we were able to attract a lot of talented developers who fit in nicely.
- tonyarkles 14y ago
  Kind of OT but... Are you still around Saskatchewan at all? We met many years ago, I ran power for ArcticLan and TCU in maybe 2003-2004? Always interesting to see other Canadian prairie folks around here :)
  - RTigger 14y ago
    Yep - had a two year stint in Vancouver but moved back last year. Good to hear from you! Drop me a DM on twitter if you're around :)