Comments on: Hiring Great Developers? http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/ Lidor Wyssocky's Blog on Optimizing Software Development Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:46:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.2 Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: 彼女 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-51475 Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:00:41 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-51475 彼女を作る具体的実践的方法 彼女の作り方研究会 　くちこみ　詐欺　口コミ　レビュー　クチコミ　評判 情報局 <a href="http://www.100lover.com/" rel="nofollow">彼女</a> 彼女を作る具体的実践的方法
彼女の作り方研究会
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]]> Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: Insurance Agents and Insurance Services http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-26428 Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:09:18 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-26428 <strong>Insurance Agents and Insurance Services</strong> I couldn't understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting Insurance Agents and Insurance Services

I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting

]]> Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: Ryan Elisei http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2201 Mon, 09 Oct 2006 14:33:29 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2201 *bump* Anon: (October 2nd, 2006 at 6:38 am) - Aparently coward-ware :-) *bump*
Anon: (October 2nd, 2006 at 6:38 am) - Aparently coward-ware :-)

]]> Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: Kamonohashi http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2142 Fri, 06 Oct 2006 07:08:49 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2142 sojapan, $50k? Mine is something like that, and I always thought it sucks... After all, why shouldn't it? I am a foreigner, I don't speak the language, I never went to any famous college, and my employer need to worry about my working visa each year and so on. One of my colleagues (also a foreigner) left for another company which pays him about $100K, at least that's what he says. sojapan, $50k? Mine is something like that, and I always thought it sucks… After all, why shouldn’t it? I am a foreigner, I don’t speak the language, I never went to any famous college, and my employer need to worry about my working visa each year and so on. One of my colleagues (also a foreigner) left for another company which pays him about $100K, at least that’s what he says.

]]> Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: John Price http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2111 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 17:57:48 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2111 As Goran says, I think the answer to the "hire the best" vs. "grow what you've got" lies somewhere between the two extremes. People seem to focus on one metric: "how good is this developer" and then suggest that (if you're in the "grow" camp) you should work to mentor them or (if you're in the "hire" camp) get rid of them and hire somebody better. The metric that people are neglecting is "how interested in becoming a better developer is this person?" A crappy developer who has no interest in becoming a better developer isn't going to be a good candidate for "growing". Even a developer with a lot of experience who isn't interested in improving themself probably isn't a great hire. On the other hand, an inexperienced college grad with a solid understanding of the basics and a genuine interest in becoming a professional is prime mentoring material. As Goran says, I think the answer to the “hire the best” vs. “grow what you’ve got” lies somewhere between the two extremes.

People seem to focus on one metric: “how good is this developer” and then suggest that (if you’re in the “grow” camp) you should work to mentor them or (if you’re in the “hire” camp) get rid of them and hire somebody better.

The metric that people are neglecting is “how interested in becoming a better developer is this person?” A crappy developer who has no interest in becoming a better developer isn’t going to be a good candidate for “growing”. Even a developer with a lot of experience who isn’t interested in improving themself probably isn’t a great hire. On the other hand, an inexperienced college grad with a solid understanding of the basics and a genuine interest in becoming a professional is prime mentoring material.

]]> Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: Ryan Elisei http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2109 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 13:22:46 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2109 The top 1% won't find you. You have to find them. If I want Linus Torvalds on my team, I'm going to have to hire charismatic, industry-famous experts to woo him. For the honor of lavishing him with gifts I would expect to pay 3-5x the market rate. If your regular technical project managers make $70k, expect to pay 210-350k for the cream of the crop. I would be surprised if anyone here could talk their boss into even $20k more than the market rate. If Jesus Christ walked in for an interview, about the only thing that would pique your boss's interest would his savings on health insurance. So my advice is, forget about purchasing the top 1%. Create a cool product and attract them. Create a culture that experts love to be around. The top 1% won’t find you. You have to find them.

If I want Linus Torvalds on my team, I’m going to have to hire charismatic, industry-famous experts to woo him. For the honor of lavishing him with gifts I would expect to pay 3-5x the market rate. If your regular technical project managers make $70k, expect to pay 210-350k for the cream of the crop.

I would be surprised if anyone here could talk their boss into even $20k more than the market rate. If Jesus Christ walked in for an interview, about the only thing that would pique your boss’s interest would his savings on health insurance. So my advice is, forget about purchasing the top 1%. Create a cool product and attract them. Create a culture that experts love to be around.

]]> Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: Goran http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2104 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 07:58:09 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2104 Opposing forces (hiring vs. raising) require to strike a balance. Obviously, hiring "only the top 1%" means nothing when everybody "hires top 1%" (they aren't). Anon end others, how on earth do you think to hire "only the best" if everybody else does it? What happens with average developers? They switch profession? If so, suddenly your "only the best" people are average, aren't they? Sorry, but your logic is flawed. Aanybody who says he "hires only the best" should take its head out of it's ... (Unless used as a marketing pitch, as Joel Spolsky brilliantly does). On the other hand, growing internally and not looking outside may mean missing out, as well. It may be you can hire good people who were "baked" may just be easier than baking them yourself from existing pool (andm maybe even failing at that). Cutting off dead meat is good as well, if you can spot it (yes, it's hard). So, it's a question of balance. See http://www.ericsink.com/articles/Choir.html. This one, IMO, hits it on the head. (Sink says there: "I want to speak of team talent in terms of a choir.") Opposing forces (hiring vs. raising) require to strike a balance.

Obviously, hiring “only the top 1%” means nothing when everybody “hires top 1%” (they aren’t). Anon end others, how on earth do you think to hire “only the best” if everybody else does it? What happens with average developers? They switch profession? If so, suddenly your “only the best” people are average, aren’t they?

Sorry, but your logic is flawed. Aanybody who says he “hires only the best” should take its head out of it’s … (Unless used as a marketing pitch, as Joel Spolsky brilliantly does).

On the other hand, growing internally and not looking outside may mean missing out, as well. It may be you can hire good people who were “baked” may just be easier than baking them yourself from existing pool (andm maybe even failing at that). Cutting off dead meat is good as well, if you can spot it (yes, it’s hard). So, it’s a question of balance.

See http://www.ericsink.com/articles/Choir.html. This one, IMO, hits it on the head. (Sink says there: “I want to speak of team talent in terms of a choir.”)

]]> Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: Mike-O-Matic » You Can’t Grow A Redwood With Dandelion Seeds http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2101 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 05:45:03 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2101 [...] Lidor over at The Mindset wrote a reaction article on just this topic. He asserts that companies should avoid drinking this punch, and instead focus on what they can do to raise the talent level of their current developers. People are the key to great software development. But people are not a commodity. They are… well, people. If you want a team of professionals, you can have one. But the only way to have more positions manned by professionals is to grow more professionals. [...] […] Lidor over at The Mindset wrote a reaction article on just this topic. He asserts that companies should avoid drinking this punch, and instead focus on what they can do to raise the talent level of their current developers. People are the key to great software development. But people are not a commodity. They are… well, people. If you want a team of professionals, you can have one. But the only way to have more positions manned by professionals is to grow more professionals. […]

]]> Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: Blog de AlejoLp » ¡¡No podía faltar!! http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2096 Wed, 04 Oct 2006 03:12:32 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2096 [...] Hiring great developers? [...] […] Hiring great developers? […]

]]> Comment on Hiring Great Developers? by: dennis http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2089 Tue, 03 Oct 2006 18:28:37 +0000 http://blog.qualityaspect.com/2006/10/02/hiring-great-developers/#comment-2089 What stats? Lines of code per day? I've noticed that the worse the developer, then longer the code. Bug count? One way to get a low bugcount is to avoid work. Number of fixed bugs? Poor developers start fixing a lot of trivial bugs to make the stats look good, while the good ones are spending days digging in to the hard ones. Stats are worthless. Does the person deliver on hard projects, that's the only stat that matters. What stats? Lines of code per day? I’ve noticed that the worse the developer, then longer the code. Bug count? One way to get a low bugcount is to avoid work. Number of fixed bugs? Poor developers start fixing a lot of trivial bugs to make the stats look good, while the good ones are spending days digging in to the hard ones.

Stats are worthless. Does the person deliver on hard projects, that’s the only stat that matters.

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