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ZenPayroll is hiring: https://zenpayroll.com/careers https://zenpayroll.com/careers I'm a software engineer at ZenPayroll, and it's truly an awesome place to w

ZenPayroll is hiring: https://zenpayroll.com/careers https://zenpayroll.com/careers I'm a software engineer at ZenPayroll, and it's truly an awesome place to work. The founders and team have taken great care to build an amazing company culture, and I'm really excited to see us grow over the next few years.

Xdes 13y ago
The lack of remote opportunities is disappointing.
- hox 13y ago
  The lack of remote opportunities at every Bay Area company, save for a few prominent ones, is disappointing. I live in the area but am frustrated by the commute, but also cannot afford the premium of living in SF. But I should stop before this turns into a full on rant...
- ryanSrich 13y ago
  I really don't know what it's going to take to get some of these startups to give remote working a try. I currently work remotely for a mid-west startup and it's completely changed the way I work, and for the better. I feel like a have more control over my schedule which in turn gives me a better sense of ownership over what I create. If you've ever done freelance work it's very similar in that it gives you freedom to create your own schedule while providing a more stable form of income. That's not to say I wouldn't go back to freelancing I'm just enjoying the current situation I'm in.
xauronx 13y ago
How elitist is the hiring process? I'm always really hesitant to apply to places like that. I'm consistently one of the best developers at my job, I'm really good at getting shit done, and have a ton of faith in my ability. However, as soon as I think about applying at a "trendy" start up, I envision someone grilling me for hours to hand write sorting algorithms on a white board. I have no interest in that, and I feel that it has very little bearing on how good someone is at software development.
- tyre 13y ago
  My name is Chris, also an engineer at ZenPayroll. We're not interested in a candidate's ability to write sorting algorithms, because those aren't the kind of problems we're solving. Our technical interviews are working on a problem with an engineer. We care a hell of a lot more about how you think than regurgitating Big O notation. We work in Ruby and CoffeeScript, but we've hired engineers without direct experience in either because we knew they could translate their ample programming knowledge. We're looking for smart people that want to do the best work of their lives. That sounds like bullshit, but we're pretty serious about that. Turns out you can hire smart, passionate people and they'll naturally do awesome things. For a more in depth look at how we think about hiring, you can check out: ZenPayroll Is Not Hiring Hackers https://zenpayroll.com/blog/zenpayroll-is-not-hiring-hackers/ https://zenpayroll.com/blog/zenpayroll-is-not-hiring-hackers... The Value of Cultural Interviews https://maddo.xxx/thoughts/how-to-conduct-cultural-interviews https://maddo.xxx/thoughts/how-to-conduct-cultural-interview... If you have any questions, shoot me an email. I'm chris@
  - xauronx 13y ago
    Thank you for the thorough reply. I appreciate that you guys recognize sorting algorithms are not the daily work of an engineer. Working on a problem with another engineer is actually what I consider to be the "perfect" interview. Aside from getting a developer in for an entire week as a trial run, I feel like that's probably the best way to see if they're fit for the team and capable of the work. The question is whether or not I'm a "hacker" :)
  - RogerL 13y ago
    Do you have any evidence for the claims in The Value of Cultural Interviews? Because, to be honest, I looked at your Careers page and it made my skin crawl. Everyone looked the same, everyone was in the same age demographic, everyone had similar hobbies, you want to be their family (I have a family, thank you, and I work for you to do something interesting and to support my real family). More to the point (yes, I worry that I'm not being pointed enough ;) ) I have worked with plenty of people that weren't a 'cultural' fit with me, and we did great things. So, I have evidence in direct contradiction of your claims.

Xdes 13y ago

The lack of remote opportunities is disappointing.

hox 13y ago
The lack of remote opportunities at every Bay Area company, save for a few prominent ones, is disappointing. I live in the area but am frustrated by the commute, but also cannot afford the premium of living in SF. But I should stop before this turns into a full on rant...
ryanSrich 13y ago
I really don't know what it's going to take to get some of these startups to give remote working a try. I currently work remotely for a mid-west startup and it's completely changed the way I work, and for the better. I feel like a have more control over my schedule which in turn gives me a better sense of ownership over what I create. If you've ever done freelance work it's very similar in that it gives you freedom to create your own schedule while providing a more stable form of income. That's not to say I wouldn't go back to freelancing I'm just enjoying the current situation I'm in.

xauronx 13y ago

How elitist is the hiring process? I'm always really hesitant to apply to places like that. I'm consistently one of the best developers at my job, I'm really good at getting shit done, and have a ton of faith in my ability. However, as soon as I think about applying at a "trendy" start up, I envision someone grilling me for hours to hand write sorting algorithms on a white board. I have no interest in that, and I feel that it has very little bearing on how good someone is at software development.

tyre 13y ago
My name is Chris, also an engineer at ZenPayroll. We're not interested in a candidate's ability to write sorting algorithms, because those aren't the kind of problems we're solving. Our technical interviews are working on a problem with an engineer. We care a hell of a lot more about how you think than regurgitating Big O notation. We work in Ruby and CoffeeScript, but we've hired engineers without direct experience in either because we knew they could translate their ample programming knowledge. We're looking for smart people that want to do the best work of their lives. That sounds like bullshit, but we're pretty serious about that. Turns out you can hire smart, passionate people and they'll naturally do awesome things. For a more in depth look at how we think about hiring, you can check out: ZenPayroll Is Not Hiring Hackers https://zenpayroll.com/blog/zenpayroll-is-not-hiring-hackers/ https://zenpayroll.com/blog/zenpayroll-is-not-hiring-hackers... The Value of Cultural Interviews https://maddo.xxx/thoughts/how-to-conduct-cultural-interviews https://maddo.xxx/thoughts/how-to-conduct-cultural-interview... If you have any questions, shoot me an email. I'm chris@
- xauronx 13y ago
  Thank you for the thorough reply. I appreciate that you guys recognize sorting algorithms are not the daily work of an engineer. Working on a problem with another engineer is actually what I consider to be the "perfect" interview. Aside from getting a developer in for an entire week as a trial run, I feel like that's probably the best way to see if they're fit for the team and capable of the work. The question is whether or not I'm a "hacker" :)
- RogerL 13y ago
  Do you have any evidence for the claims in The Value of Cultural Interviews? Because, to be honest, I looked at your Careers page and it made my skin crawl. Everyone looked the same, everyone was in the same age demographic, everyone had similar hobbies, you want to be their family (I have a family, thank you, and I work for you to do something interesting and to support my real family). More to the point (yes, I worry that I'm not being pointed enough ;) ) I have worked with plenty of people that weren't a 'cultural' fit with me, and we did great things. So, I have evidence in direct contradiction of your claims.