21–30 of 30 posts
The Portland startup where I work just hired 3 jr. devs. Our goal was 2 seniors and 2 juniors but we didn't get any viable senior candidates. Most candidates were eliminated at the code challenge stage. So that'd be my tip: if you have to complete a code challenge, make sure it's the best code you've ever written. Even if it's a trivial task, things like full test coverage and demonstrating that you know some OOP bes…
How old were these two?
We're a 5 person team at Ayalo ( http://ayalo.co ) with one junior dev; we've had trouble making it work so I'll share some reasons why: - Lack of confidence in his deliverables. The worst is being told its done because it works on local and for small data sets (he's in charge of internal analytics) and then when we try it on production with a months worth of data it crashes. - Having to constantly remind him of the…
If I may so, you've identified this, but a 5 person team is way too small to have a junior dev unless they really know what they are doing. You're really doing a disservice to him because you're expecting way more than he can deliver and you don't have the resources to help him develop his skills. I've seen this situation before and it's frustrating for all parties. In regards to the OP, he should target larger compa…
We're a 5 person team at Ayalo ( http://ayalo.co ) with one junior dev; we've had trouble making it work so I'll share some reasons why: - Lack of confidence in his deliverables. The worst is being told its done because it works on local and for small data sets (he's in charge of internal analytics) and then when we try it on production with a months worth of data it crashes. - Having to constantly remind him of the…
I feel like including the company name and then proceeding to trash your employee was a poor choice.
I interviewed a few candidates from NYC-based developer bootcamps and the experience scared me away from even trying to interview any more. The people I interviewed (admittedly only three, but the ones who I thought had the strongest resumes out of their cohorts), were unable to complete even basic real-world programming tasks during the interviews. I would literally sit them down, show them my code base, and ask the…
Stop calling yourself a Jr. developer. Instead just send in your resume to places that are looking for Rails developers and include anything you've built so far. That said, if you get an interview I'm not saying to misrepresent yourself. But you're focusing on your inexperience right now. Your resume should focus on what you've accomplished, not on what you haven't.
The Portland startup where I work just hired 3 jr. devs. Our goal was 2 seniors and 2 juniors but we didn't get any viable senior candidates. Most candidates were eliminated at the code challenge stage. So that'd be my tip: if you have to complete a code challenge, make sure it's the best code you've ever written. Even if it's a trivial task, things like full test coverage and demonstrating that you know some OOP bes…
You make it unclear what your skills are. Being a bootcamp, I assume you've got RoR or Node.js as your stack? You also don't specify where you are applying. Startups or corporates? I've also never heard of any major tech companies in OR, so perhaps you may need to consider relocating. If I was in your position, I would go for some company like Oracle/RackSpace/RedHat. Do the ugly grunt work for a year or so and gain…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel like including the company name and then proceeding to trash your employee was a poor choice.
Noted, I was worried it would come off like that, my mistake. We're completely transparent with him and he appreciates the clarity into where he actually stands in terms of skill and what needs to be improved. To be clear, though, I meant those points to be more general; framing it around him as the example was the poor choice. I've worked with other devs with a similar level of experience and those are just things I…
I interviewed a few candidates from NYC-based developer bootcamps and the experience scared me away from even trying to interview any more. The people I interviewed (admittedly only three, but the ones who I thought had the strongest resumes out of their cohorts), were unable to complete even basic real-world programming tasks during the interviews. I would literally sit them down, show them my code base, and ask the…
I'm all about hiring new devs and giving them a chance, but if I meet someone who strikes me as somewhat shy about speaking up its definitely a red flag.