4 ms·

The One Question to Ask Developers Before You Make a Hire Decision

11 points by DustinOfDenver 11y ago

circlefavshape 11y ago
/me sighs Come on. Isn't this getting old for anyone else? Do you check if your dentist goes to dentist meetups, or extracts teeth in his spare time? All you're doing with this question is asking "are you one of us".
- asdfologist 11y ago
  Agreed. It's irrelevant and no one's business what I do in my spare time.
- buserror 11y ago
  Well, the thing is, perhaps your dentist is an average dentist, but nobody has the data to know that. Perhaps ALL dentists are pretty average, save for perhaps a few who go to conferences, have a blog, go on dentistry techy-forums in their spare time, or buy random dentistry gadgets to try them etc etc. For example, my local butcher is a 'geek butcher'. He tries new cuts, goes to butchery meetups at food festivals, try tosource new things, etc; result is that he's really good at what he's doing, and he gets quite a few loyal customers.
- emil0r 11y ago
  Well... it is thinking collective :)
- binarymax 11y ago
  I understand where you are coming from, but the dentist analogy does not fit. Software development is a creative endeavor in a constantly changing field, and unless I'm asking my dentist to do experimental tooth enhancements, I wouldn't consider her job nearly as creative. I would never hire (and have never hired) a designer who didn't have a portfolio. I would never hire a developer who didn't have any code to show me. Most code available to show is only open source these days - as companies don't want their employees showing proprietary source to 3rd parties.
  - asdfologist 11y ago
    > I would never hire a developer who didn't have any code to show me. I would never work for such an employer.
    - binarymax 11y ago
      Fair enough. But how am I supposed to know if you can actually write code and do the job? I've hired over 40 people and given hundreds of interviews over the course of my career. I learned early on that unless I can see some examples, then it is a random draw. The truth is that people give false impressions of their abilities on their resume (whether intentional or not). As a development manager who still writes code, I have deep perspective of both sides of the table. I would never work for an employer who didn't want to see any code - because who knows what kind of talent I'd be working with?
      - DustinOfDenver 11y ago
        Agree - code (the thing they built) + passion (they built it because they wanted too) + inquisitive (found a problem and developed an answer) A person doesn't have to posses all these things to write good code. But they would be a great fit on the teams I like to work with.
- notauser 11y ago
  My medical friends spend quite a lot of unpaid time studying, or at conferences. The accountants I know spend a lot of unpaid overtime meeting clients (networking being the key professional skill for Big 4 accountants). Pretty much every profession has some kind of out-of-hours way of progressing their career which some people chose to engage in and some people don't. The problem is that in every field you are competing against people who are willing to work 18+ hours a day, 7 days a week pushing their career forward. You either need to match that or find some other way to compete that doesn't require as much of a time commitment. Or be happy that the market is hot enough that even without working too hard you can still get a pretty good job!
- gommm 11y ago
  Yes I definitely do check if my dentist go to conferences, presents or teaches. Ever since a dentist fucked up and caused me a lot of pain and to spend a lot of money to fix the damage, I've become very careful about how I chose health care professionals. And while I don't know enough about dentistry to judge seeing a dentist go to conference documents himself on the newest techniques and teach or present at conferences is a good signal to find out if he is good. There are people who are passionate about what they do and they are people who don't care all that much in almost every case the passionate ones will be better.
  - falcolas 11y ago
    You missed the important part of that statement, the "in their spare time". Learning and practicing on the job is one thing, expecting it in the remaining 1/3 of your life is too much.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
    - DustinOfDenver 11y ago
      If you LOVE something - you do it in your "spare" time. That was the core of my point. I will take a dentist, butcher, developer who LOVES their work in such a way that the line between work and fun is blurred over someone who is working for the weekend - any day! You can be a fine developer who just clocks in and out. But if I had a choice (and sometime I don't). I would choose the guy who loves what they do and does it in their "spare" time.
  - circlefavshape 11y ago
    > in almost every case the passionate ones will be better My experience has not borne this out, either in development (which I've been doing professionally for almost 20 years) or in music (which I've been doing amateur-ly all my life). Passion is a very weak indicator of skill, community involvement is even weaker
    - 11y ago
- ryanackley 11y ago
  A better analogy is if you were a dentist who owned his own small business. What kind of dentist would you prefer to hire? Keep in mind you will pay this person out of your own pocket. If they completely suck at dentistry, you'll most likely have lost tens of thousands of dollars by the time you figure it out.
IgorPartola 11y ago
This one weird trick to hiring great developers. The manager asked the job candidate one question. You won't believe what happens next. Startup hires an unemployed developer. The reason will shock you. Sorry, I couldn't resist.
- pc86 11y ago
  When I read #1? Wow.
- DustinOfDenver 11y ago
  lol - perhaps consider a job in growth hacking ;-)
VikingCoder 11y ago
I've been a paid, professional software developer since 1995. In all of that time, I've been between jobs for a total of 4 weeks. And during all of that time, I've had employment contracts that said my work was for-hire, and the company owned all of the software that I wrote, even on my own computer on my own time. So, the answer to your question is, I haven't written anything I can legally describe to you without permission, since 1995. Is that seriously the ONLY question you want to ask me?
- DustinOfDenver 11y ago
  Your description of the companies you worked for - tell me a lot. Not that you are not a great developer, but the types of employers you like and filter you use to select your next job - that too is important.
  - VikingCoder 11y ago
    So then the title should be "One of the Questions..."
kabouseng 11y ago
What about young developers who haven't done any side projects, just trying to skill up at their company or spent all their time graduating? What about older developers who worked before Github and so had their own projects dissolved to obscurity? What about developers who don't do side projects but give 120% to the company product, even at home? (Some of us actually enjoy working on the products we build during the day :D ) You'll get exactly the same mileage by just asking the potential hire to tell you about something they built - full stop. You'll be able to gauge passion, if they actually did the work, how it solves a problem. You just won't be able to play with it, but I suspect the minimum of side projects is in any case live, and more about scratching an itch. And even with non-disclosure agreements etc they'll be able to tell you enough of the technology to be able to make a call.
- DustinOfDenver 11y ago
  "What about developers who don't do side projects but give 120% to the company product, even at home?" Excellent point! I would hope that would be the response to the question... It would still provide the value the question seeks.
rm999 11y ago
I've built up a solid work-life balance with an amazing girlfriend, a wide variety of interesting (and close) friends, and some cool hobbies. I'm content with not being considered by employers who don't respect that.
jawns 11y ago
"It would be useful to keep a diary, but I don't like writing unpaid. I don't like writing checks without getting paid." — Christopher Hitchens, 2010 I understand the rationale behind asking what you've built without being paid, but if you're hoping, by that question, to identify people who are really smart ... then isn't it really smart to figure out how to get paid for your work, rather than doing it unpaid?
- DustinOfDenver 11y ago
  That is why I don't ask for "open source" contributions. Ideally, the candidate built their project to make money! Christopher Hitchens- "Long describing himself as a socialist and a Marxist..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens I am a hardcore capitalist so he need not apply for my gigs :-)
mratzloff 11y ago
> What are your interests? > you don’t care that they like cats – what you want to hear: they love their hoodie and their code Well, speak for yourself. I look for people with outside interests beyond just programming. If the only thing they have going for them is their code, their ego and emotions are way too wrapped up in what they produce. They can't take criticism about their work as well as someone who has other things going on in their life. I'm not saying passion is not valuable; it is, but there needs to be a balance. I understand that hiring someone with no life or interests outside of code and your company is a great way to build a cult, but a great way to build a company is by ensuring that it has a culture. That happens by hiring interesting people that have shared values and outside interests.
- WorldWideWayne 11y ago
  It sounds like everything is just black and white for you too though. I assure you that it's possible for someone to only have one great passion without being an egotistical narcissist.
  - DustinOfDenver 11y ago
    My hope that someone who is passionate - cares more about building the best product they can (than even I do). As a result, they should welcome "valid" criticism.
anders30 11y ago
In my experience interviewing candidates, cultural fit largely outweighs other technical merits. I try to keep this in mind when I'm asked for my opinion. While the questions in this article appear biased towards a 60/40 work/life balance, I would say they're spot on in detecting a very specific cultural fit. If nothing else, these questions would get a candidate talking. They're a little on the aggressive side for my interviewing style, but I imagine they're quite effective. Keep in mind, the job candidate should also be interviewing the company. If someone were to ask me what unpaid work I have done in the past, I would consider the cultural ramifications of the question. In this case, I would need to be okay with an aggressive internal culture. Come to think of it, it's important to realize that when you interview candidates you may very well be the first impression of the company. Articles like these offer a glance of a company/interviewer without having to go through the trouble of applying. I would really like to find a way to study the effectiveness of interviewing styles. I wonder what metrics would even apply?
- DustinOfDenver 11y ago
  Great comments! I agree. A number of commenters have said, I would not want to work for a company like that and I think that is good. Who wants to take a job to, only 6 months later, realize they did not like the culture. However, the point about 60/40 work life balance is not 100% accurate. I am constantly reading Product Management literature not for work - but because I love it. I am finishing the Disney Biography because I love learning about leadership styles. In other words, I do a job that complements my "spare" time activities... and ANYONE who manages that is a good hire. This is not to say - go to these things FOR work - that is not the gal/guy I am looking for. You should not do things FOR work that you are not paid to do (that is not fair). But, if you love the work you do and that extends into your life - all the better.
  - anders30 11y ago
    My statement on the 60/40 work/life balance was a conclusion based on my own bias, which I forgot to specify. Thank you for your feedback! You are correct that the best hires tend to pursue employment that complements their "spare time activities".
scarface74 11y ago
My answer to that question would be, when I am at work I give 120% of my effort to my job. I build skills and I do research the latest trends in the industry. However I believe a good work life balance is important. When I leave work, I spend quality time with my family and at the gym. When I was looking for a job eight months ago. I had interviews with 10 different companies in the course of three weeks. I was not offered one job probably because of the attitude I expressed above. I accepted a job where the manager emphasized his belief in a work life balance. It's a buyers market for qualified experienced software developers. I won't jumped through unnecessary hoops to get a job.
lotsofcows 11y ago
The one question to ask interviewers: "Do you ever use the word 'passion' to refer to anything other than sex?" ...I'll make an exception for religious feelings too.

/me sighs Come on. Isn't this getting old for anyone else? Do you check if your dentist goes to dentist meetups, or extracts teeth in his spare time? All you're doing with this question is asking "are you one of us".

asdfologist 11y ago
Agreed. It's irrelevant and no one's business what I do in my spare time.
buserror 11y ago
Well, the thing is, perhaps your dentist is an average dentist, but nobody has the data to know that. Perhaps ALL dentists are pretty average, save for perhaps a few who go to conferences, have a blog, go on dentistry techy-forums in their spare time, or buy random dentistry gadgets to try them etc etc. For example, my local butcher is a 'geek butcher'. He tries new cuts, goes to butchery meetups at food festivals, try tosource new things, etc; result is that he's really good at what he's doing, and he gets quite a few loyal customers.
emil0r 11y ago
Well... it is thinking collective :)
binarymax 11y ago
I understand where you are coming from, but the dentist analogy does not fit. Software development is a creative endeavor in a constantly changing field, and unless I'm asking my dentist to do experimental tooth enhancements, I wouldn't consider her job nearly as creative. I would never hire (and have never hired) a designer who didn't have a portfolio. I would never hire a developer who didn't have any code to show me. Most code available to show is only open source these days - as companies don't want their employees showing proprietary source to 3rd parties.
- asdfologist 11y ago
  > I would never hire a developer who didn't have any code to show me. I would never work for such an employer.
  - binarymax 11y ago
    Fair enough. But how am I supposed to know if you can actually write code and do the job? I've hired over 40 people and given hundreds of interviews over the course of my career. I learned early on that unless I can see some examples, then it is a random draw. The truth is that people give false impressions of their abilities on their resume (whether intentional or not). As a development manager who still writes code, I have deep perspective of both sides of the table. I would never work for an employer who didn't want to see any code - because who knows what kind of talent I'd be working with?
    - DustinOfDenver 11y ago
      Agree - code (the thing they built) + passion (they built it because they wanted too) + inquisitive (found a problem and developed an answer) A person doesn't have to posses all these things to write good code. But they would be a great fit on the teams I like to work with.
notauser 11y ago
My medical friends spend quite a lot of unpaid time studying, or at conferences. The accountants I know spend a lot of unpaid overtime meeting clients (networking being the key professional skill for Big 4 accountants). Pretty much every profession has some kind of out-of-hours way of progressing their career which some people chose to engage in and some people don't. The problem is that in every field you are competing against people who are willing to work 18+ hours a day, 7 days a week pushing their career forward. You either need to match that or find some other way to compete that doesn't require as much of a time commitment. Or be happy that the market is hot enough that even without working too hard you can still get a pretty good job!
gommm 11y ago
Yes I definitely do check if my dentist go to conferences, presents or teaches. Ever since a dentist fucked up and caused me a lot of pain and to spend a lot of money to fix the damage, I've become very careful about how I chose health care professionals. And while I don't know enough about dentistry to judge seeing a dentist go to conference documents himself on the newest techniques and teach or present at conferences is a good signal to find out if he is good. There are people who are passionate about what they do and they are people who don't care all that much in almost every case the passionate ones will be better.
- falcolas 11y ago
  You missed the important part of that statement, the "in their spare time". Learning and practicing on the job is one thing, expecting it in the remaining 1/3 of your life is too much.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - DustinOfDenver 11y ago
    If you LOVE something - you do it in your "spare" time. That was the core of my point. I will take a dentist, butcher, developer who LOVES their work in such a way that the line between work and fun is blurred over someone who is working for the weekend - any day! You can be a fine developer who just clocks in and out. But if I had a choice (and sometime I don't). I would choose the guy who loves what they do and does it in their "spare" time.
- circlefavshape 11y ago
  > in almost every case the passionate ones will be better My experience has not borne this out, either in development (which I've been doing professionally for almost 20 years) or in music (which I've been doing amateur-ly all my life). Passion is a very weak indicator of skill, community involvement is even weaker
  - 11y ago
ryanackley 11y ago
A better analogy is if you were a dentist who owned his own small business. What kind of dentist would you prefer to hire? Keep in mind you will pay this person out of your own pocket. If they completely suck at dentistry, you'll most likely have lost tens of thousands of dollars by the time you figure it out.

IgorPartola 11y ago

This one weird trick to hiring great developers. The manager asked the job candidate one question. You won't believe what happens next. Startup hires an unemployed developer. The reason will shock you. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

pc86 11y ago
When I read #1? Wow.
DustinOfDenver 11y ago
lol - perhaps consider a job in growth hacking ;-)

VikingCoder 11y ago

I've been a paid, professional software developer since 1995. In all of that time, I've been between jobs for a total of 4 weeks. And during all of that time, I've had employment contracts that said my work was for-hire, and the company owned all of the software that I wrote, even on my own computer on my own time. So, the answer to your question is, I haven't written anything I can legally describe to you without permission, since 1995. Is that seriously the ONLY question you want to ask me?

DustinOfDenver 11y ago
Your description of the companies you worked for - tell me a lot. Not that you are not a great developer, but the types of employers you like and filter you use to select your next job - that too is important.
- VikingCoder 11y ago
  So then the title should be "One of the Questions..."

kabouseng 11y ago

What about young developers who haven't done any side projects, just trying to skill up at their company or spent all their time graduating? What about older developers who worked before Github and so had their own projects dissolved to obscurity? What about developers who don't do side projects but give 120% to the company product, even at home? (Some of us actually enjoy working on the products we build during the day :D ) You'll get exactly the same mileage by just asking the potential hire to tell you about something they built - full stop. You'll be able to gauge passion, if they actually did the work, how it solves a problem. You just won't be able to play with it, but I suspect the minimum of side projects is in any case live, and more about scratching an itch. And even with non-disclosure agreements etc they'll be able to tell you enough of the technology to be able to make a call.

DustinOfDenver 11y ago
"What about developers who don't do side projects but give 120% to the company product, even at home?" Excellent point! I would hope that would be the response to the question... It would still provide the value the question seeks.

rm999 11y ago

I've built up a solid work-life balance with an amazing girlfriend, a wide variety of interesting (and close) friends, and some cool hobbies. I'm content with not being considered by employers who don't respect that.

jawns 11y ago

"It would be useful to keep a diary, but I don't like writing unpaid. I don't like writing checks without getting paid." — Christopher Hitchens, 2010 I understand the rationale behind asking what you've built without being paid, but if you're hoping, by that question, to identify people who are really smart ... then isn't it really smart to figure out how to get paid for your work, rather than doing it unpaid?

DustinOfDenver 11y ago
That is why I don't ask for "open source" contributions. Ideally, the candidate built their project to make money! Christopher Hitchens- "Long describing himself as a socialist and a Marxist..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens I am a hardcore capitalist so he need not apply for my gigs :-)

mratzloff 11y ago

> What are your interests? > you don’t care that they like cats – what you want to hear: they love their hoodie and their code Well, speak for yourself. I look for people with outside interests beyond just programming. If the only thing they have going for them is their code, their ego and emotions are way too wrapped up in what they produce. They can't take criticism about their work as well as someone who has other things going on in their life. I'm not saying passion is not valuable; it is, but there needs to be a balance. I understand that hiring someone with no life or interests outside of code and your company is a great way to build a cult, but a great way to build a company is by ensuring that it has a culture. That happens by hiring interesting people that have shared values and outside interests.

WorldWideWayne 11y ago
It sounds like everything is just black and white for you too though. I assure you that it's possible for someone to only have one great passion without being an egotistical narcissist.
- DustinOfDenver 11y ago
  My hope that someone who is passionate - cares more about building the best product they can (than even I do). As a result, they should welcome "valid" criticism.

anders30 11y ago

In my experience interviewing candidates, cultural fit largely outweighs other technical merits. I try to keep this in mind when I'm asked for my opinion. While the questions in this article appear biased towards a 60/40 work/life balance, I would say they're spot on in detecting a very specific cultural fit. If nothing else, these questions would get a candidate talking. They're a little on the aggressive side for my interviewing style, but I imagine they're quite effective. Keep in mind, the job candidate should also be interviewing the company. If someone were to ask me what unpaid work I have done in the past, I would consider the cultural ramifications of the question. In this case, I would need to be okay with an aggressive internal culture. Come to think of it, it's important to realize that when you interview candidates you may very well be the first impression of the company. Articles like these offer a glance of a company/interviewer without having to go through the trouble of applying. I would really like to find a way to study the effectiveness of interviewing styles. I wonder what metrics would even apply?

DustinOfDenver 11y ago
Great comments! I agree. A number of commenters have said, I would not want to work for a company like that and I think that is good. Who wants to take a job to, only 6 months later, realize they did not like the culture. However, the point about 60/40 work life balance is not 100% accurate. I am constantly reading Product Management literature not for work - but because I love it. I am finishing the Disney Biography because I love learning about leadership styles. In other words, I do a job that complements my "spare" time activities... and ANYONE who manages that is a good hire. This is not to say - go to these things FOR work - that is not the gal/guy I am looking for. You should not do things FOR work that you are not paid to do (that is not fair). But, if you love the work you do and that extends into your life - all the better.
- anders30 11y ago
  My statement on the 60/40 work/life balance was a conclusion based on my own bias, which I forgot to specify. Thank you for your feedback! You are correct that the best hires tend to pursue employment that complements their "spare time activities".

scarface74 11y ago

My answer to that question would be, when I am at work I give 120% of my effort to my job. I build skills and I do research the latest trends in the industry. However I believe a good work life balance is important. When I leave work, I spend quality time with my family and at the gym. When I was looking for a job eight months ago. I had interviews with 10 different companies in the course of three weeks. I was not offered one job probably because of the attitude I expressed above. I accepted a job where the manager emphasized his belief in a work life balance. It's a buyers market for qualified experienced software developers. I won't jumped through unnecessary hoops to get a job.

lotsofcows 11y ago

The one question to ask interviewers: "Do you ever use the word 'passion' to refer to anything other than sex?" ...I'll make an exception for religious feelings too.