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When interviewing, one of things I deliberately look for is people who are not like the current team. People who are not a "cultural fit", whatever that even me

When interviewing, one of things I deliberately look for is people who are not like the current team. People who are not a "cultural fit", whatever that even means. I need people with different ideas, different experience; people who will approach the problems in a different way, fill in the blind spots and vulnerabilities the current team has. There's a trade-off to be made, sure, but professional adults can work together with people that are not the same as them, and a team composed of people who think differently and have different approaches and different experience is far more advantageous than a team of people who all think and work in the same way.

earljwagner 11y ago
What dimensions of difference do you look for?
- EliRivers 11y ago
  Some examples off the top of my head: Desktop applications experience vs. embedded software experience (I say "vs"; I don't mean they're opposed, but that someone with a lot of experience in one of those will think about things in a different way to someone with experience in the other; it's a spectrum along such a dimension). Pure software experience vs. designer/seller of hardware+software Computer Science degree vs. other technical degree (Maths, Physics, Engineering) Technical degree vs. arts degree Degree vs. on-the-job/self-taught Experience in big megacorps vs. experience in small companies Experience in established companies vs. experience in new businesses or startups Experienced vs. inexperienced (this one is more broadly "life " experience, and it could roughly translate to older vs. younger, but it's not quite that simple) Consumer apps experience vs. business-to-business Mobile devices experience vs. supercomputer number-crunching And so on. More, I expect. So, for example, if I had a team of Computer Science graduates, I might wonder if they're all thinking about problems through the lens of their classes on algorithms and data-structures and so forth, and maybe a mathematician would think about these same problems in a different way. If I had a team with a lot of people from global defence industry megacorps used to spending a decade on a project and ensuring that all reqts are solid up front, I might think that someone from a startup might bring a different approach to the software life-cycle (and, of course, vice-versa). Adding another person to a team who thinks the same just gives me more of the same. If I want to make fewer mistakes and have more novel ideas, I need to fill in gaps. Not every gap, and there's always a balance, but a professional adult can work effectively with people who are not the same as them. I'm not hiring in the hopes of creating a group of people who really like each other.

earljwagner 11y ago

What dimensions of difference do you look for?

EliRivers 11y ago
Some examples off the top of my head: Desktop applications experience vs. embedded software experience (I say "vs"; I don't mean they're opposed, but that someone with a lot of experience in one of those will think about things in a different way to someone with experience in the other; it's a spectrum along such a dimension). Pure software experience vs. designer/seller of hardware+software Computer Science degree vs. other technical degree (Maths, Physics, Engineering) Technical degree vs. arts degree Degree vs. on-the-job/self-taught Experience in big megacorps vs. experience in small companies Experience in established companies vs. experience in new businesses or startups Experienced vs. inexperienced (this one is more broadly "life " experience, and it could roughly translate to older vs. younger, but it's not quite that simple) Consumer apps experience vs. business-to-business Mobile devices experience vs. supercomputer number-crunching And so on. More, I expect. So, for example, if I had a team of Computer Science graduates, I might wonder if they're all thinking about problems through the lens of their classes on algorithms and data-structures and so forth, and maybe a mathematician would think about these same problems in a different way. If I had a team with a lot of people from global defence industry megacorps used to spending a decade on a project and ensuring that all reqts are solid up front, I might think that someone from a startup might bring a different approach to the software life-cycle (and, of course, vice-versa). Adding another person to a team who thinks the same just gives me more of the same. If I want to make fewer mistakes and have more novel ideas, I need to fill in gaps. Not every gap, and there's always a balance, but a professional adult can work effectively with people who are not the same as them. I'm not hiring in the hopes of creating a group of people who really like each other.