Alternatively, are there any "fun" job titles that are actually decent? Our founders are trying to think of something to call themselves that's not as boring as CEO/CTO/etc.
I'm Vice-President in Charge of Crayons.
Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
71–80 of 126 posts
Re: Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
#72I find it funny that, typically, these companies want 'rock stars,' but are unwilling to pay a commiserate rate. If you really believe you want a star, say John Resig or someone similar, you better have a kick-ass project and be prepared to pay for him ... otherwise, you're just hoping you can get someone good on the cheap.
Work environment is also a big issue. I've known great developers (a few of which have written code every Python developer uses every day) who've made their employment decisions based on how they'll be treated, who they'll be working with, and with what tools they'll be working (and even what they'll be working on....Open Source development has a strong allure for many developers, beyond mere money). Aeron chairs hav…
which is the name of your company :) ?
Re: Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
#73I wrote a blog post on the very topic of so-called "rock star" job postings: http://coderific.com/blog/post/564
Re: Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
#74Re: Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
#75I totally agree 100%. If I see rockstar or ninja, I skip right past your ad. You want to get my attention? Tell me you're looking for a professional, and you're going to treat me like one. I want to know that I get 8 hours a week to work on opensource. I want to know that you're looking for craftsman, not ego maniacs. Mostly, I want to know that I'm not working with a group of people that saw the word rockstar and th…
I usually ignore almost all the text in a job ad, because the vast majority of them all say the same thing. You want my attention? Give me an interesting puzzle to solve. Actually, I find that the coding questions a company gives you can say a lot about the company. I really liked FriendFeed's interview problems, even though I struggled with them, because I saw them and went "Wow, these two questions test for nearly…
Out of curiosity, where can I view FriendFeed's interview problems? I'd like to see them and gauge my current state.
Re: Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Work environment is also a big issue. I've known great developers (a few of which have written code every Python developer uses every day) who've made their employment decisions based on how they'll be treated, who they'll be working with, and with what tools they'll be working (and even what they'll be working on....Open Source development has a strong allure for many developers, beyond mere money). Aeron chairs hav…
which is the name of your company :) ?
Virtualmin. We'll be hiring for a couple of positions a little later this year (primarily related to our new cloud computing products, rather than what you see on our website today). Feel free to send over your resume.
Re: Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
#77Clearly we need to develop some new titles 1) Code Baristas 2) Python Jockeys 3) CrackerJack Developers (retro!)
Code Visionary
Re: Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
#78I totally agree 100%. If I see rockstar or ninja, I skip right past your ad. You want to get my attention? Tell me you're looking for a professional, and you're going to treat me like one. I want to know that I get 8 hours a week to work on opensource. I want to know that you're looking for craftsman, not ego maniacs. Mostly, I want to know that I'm not working with a group of people that saw the word rockstar and th…
What about a "great hacker"? Here is a position we advertised in a local LUG. While writing it up I kept asking myself if I would reply to an email like this. Feel free to take it apart: http://lists.clug.org.za/pipermail/clug-work/2008-July/00062...
Pretty good listing.
I noticed that the posting following yours was looking for a 'Python Ninja and Sensei'. What's next? Python Sumo?
Re: Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
#79Job ads are usually full of cliches. The interesting thing to me is how much they've have changed. Ten years ago it was "team player." Now it's "rockstar." Silly as it is, that's at least a sign of progress. It means employers have now realized that you want the smartest programmers, rather than obedient ones. I suspect Google's example is the main reason for this change. Or evolution.
So from your perspective the companies that use "rockstar" and similar terms are probably better for hackers than a standard job posting? Since they are at least looking for the right type of programmers... I can see that perspective.
It's always possible that some horrible HR person posted the job. I've talked to some horrible HR people at Microsoft and Google in the past (when they were "cool" places to work with super smart types).
I think the most obvious move is to interview and talk to the people you will be working for/with. In many cases the specific project or team is as important as the company.
The job ad is just to get that initial interest. To get you to commit to sending a resume or taking a phone call.
Re: Ask YC: "Rock Star" Job Titles
#80i completely agree that you should probably avoid these places... at that point the company is trying too hard to be cool and therefore they are inherently uncool (to me at least) - not to mention, this probably reflects on the project / product they're building and who wants part of something that isn't awesome??
the other thing about 'rock star' and 'code ninja' that particularly turns me off is that it reminds me of that guy from payperpost who is annoying... i would really hate working for that guy, and in the few times i've seen him he never fails to say something like that...
one last thing i'll add is that i saw a job posting a grockit the other day and thought it was pretty interesting...while i wasn't enamored with their 'agile development practices' the way they probably want developers to be, i really liked their openness about what they offer in terms of comfort, health, and fun. very straightforward and very honest, which is really what i'd be looking for.