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There seems to be a total flaw in this article.This strategy would make sense if you are hiring someone just to code aka pure code monkey. On the contrary it m
by UsNThem 17y ago
There seems to be a total flaw in this article.This strategy would make sense if you are hiring someone just to code aka pure code monkey.
On the contrary it makes sense to hire someone who is "good (tending to) very good" in his 9 - 5 job and then spends time after work creatively pursing other interests. These people have the most wide ranging spectrum of ideas / creative in their thought and just make more interesting co-workers to have !
I find this useful - Many times, I apply my comp sci ideas and solutions to solve other mundane ( non work )problems.
My 2 cents
- raganwald 17y agoHow do I go about meeting such people? the flaw in the article I see is that it suggests there is a dichotomy between monster.com and networking. Are there other ways to find qualified people that will locate these brilliant programmers who don't do anything programming-related outside of work?
- techiferous 17y agoYou can start by not driving them away. Seriously. There are a lot of really good programmers who don't tinker or blog in their spare time. If they come across an employer who makes a categorical statement that "their kind" is not employable, do you think they'll even bother to send in their resume? As another commenter noted, tinkering with programming on the side is a positive indicator, but not tinkering is not a negative indicator. Good programmers notice the logical mistake here, and it is off-putting.
- raganwald 17y agoYour intent is laudable, but your argument seems to miss what I actually said, which was that I personally would never meet them, not that they weren't qualified or weren't employable. I can't hire someone I don't interview. My experience is that "hiring practices" is a very touchy subject. No matter how precisely you express yourself, people will take things personally because their self-worth is loosely connected to whether other people value their potential inclusion in a team. So I'm not even remotely surprised to find comments like yours.
- techiferous 17y ago"Your intent is laudable, but your argument is flawed." Yes, you are correct. In my passion I got carried away and started constructing a strawman. My apologies! "What I said was that I personally would never meet them, not that they weren't qualified or weren't employable." True. I think it touched a nerve with me because I've seen job posts specifically state that they would not consider any programmer who does not have a blog (!). Thanks for bringing up the subject; it's a good one. :)
- raganwald 17y agoNow that I think about it, I'm upmodding your original point. Whether the argument was flawed or not, the very fact that hiring is a touchy subject makes your point necessarily valid: While there may or may not be merit in my practices, blogging about them may be a poor idea.
- ZeroGravitas 17y agoOne possible flaw/getout is that "Conferences. Open source. Blogging. Twitter." are happening more and more during work time. As is this comment for me.
- techiferous 17y agoAgreed. Consider software design patterns, which were inspired by the (brick-and-mortar) architect Christopher Alexander. That means that someone would have had to stop programming and learn about architecture for this cross-pollination to happen. :)