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The real reason you can't hire developers....

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Re: The real reason you can't hire developers....

#81

Post by hackinthebochs »

kls wrote: post #51
giltotherescue wrote: post #14

Your salary expectations are awful high for a telecommute position. Next time you could consider letting them warm up to you before throwing that out. Also, how can you have expertise in "a bunch of other stuff"? The point of expertise is focus. Maybe the 40/50 are reading your email. How do you know they are not deciding up front that you're not the right fit?

I don't know where this assumption is coming from, The author is a senior ROR developer, which is very hot in the market, almost as hot as JavaScript, I earned 220k last year, all remote, doing hot technologies. Given his ROR experience $115k is a bargain whether remote or on-site. I am beginning to suspect a lot of people are underselling themselves in the market given the responses to the compensation amount.

>I earned 220k last year, all remote

Are these short or long term contracts? Or a permanent position?

Re: The real reason you can't hire developers....

#82

Post by soofaloofa »

mkopinsky wrote: post #79
up_and_up wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"80% did not respond at all" This is prob the biggest point. Whats the problem? Even MEGA corp knows about autoreply emails.

When I was looking for a job I got some of those autoreplies, and IMO, they are worth nothing. I already got confirmation that the form (in some giant enterprisey applicant tracking system) was submitted, sending me an email does nothing for me. If you would let me know when a human sees my resume, that would perhaps be meaningful, but there's no way they'd go for that level of transparency.

I love getting auto-replies because a lot of times the application process is to send an e-mail to jobs@example.com. Getting a reply that your resume arrived intact is always reassuring.

Re: The real reason you can't hire developers....

#83

Post by kls »

hackinthebochs wrote: post #81
kls wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know where this assumption is coming from, The author is a senior ROR developer, which is very hot in the market, almost as hot as JavaScript, I earned 220k last year, all remote, doing hot technologies. Given his ROR experience $115k is a bargain whether remote or on-site. I am beginning to suspect a lot of people are underselling themselves in the market given the responses to the compensation amount.

>I earned 220k last year, all remote Are these short or long term contracts? Or a permanent position?

Long term contract, I just passed over a perm gig for $140k + benefits and options which would be close to the same in terms of total compensation. I mainly do very large JavaScript apps with Dojo and jQuery, I also do iPhone and Android development. Ruby and ROR are similar in compensation to those technologies.

Re: The real reason you can't hire developers....

#84

Post by GFischer »

thoughtsimple wrote: post #64
gatlin wrote: post #23

I applied to a kind-of sinking ship in Palo Alto last year. Got through a few interviews, answered all the questions right, and was gently let down. It was a stab in the dark. My friend who worked there (and, in fact, recommended me) told me the developer doing the interviews has never actually recommended a single candidate and is no longer allowed to do interviews. This could still mean that I'm stupid and incompet…

I recently had an interview with a company that involved 6 people interviewing me serially. That sort of thing is grueling in the best of cases. But this one went south with the third interviewer. He seemed to me be someone with something like Aspergers syndrome. He talked in a monotone, fidgeted constantly and was rocking back and forth. While I have no problem working with anyone technically competent, this person…

Why do you think someone with Asperger's shouldn't conduct an interview?

I can see talking in a monotone and fidgeting as an annoyance, but was it show-stopping?

The refusal to answer why your response was (in his opinion) wrong is definitely a problem.

I'm worried about this because I've been unofficially diagnosed with Asperger's (I believe I'm not, but I'm definitely borderline / close) and I intend to run a company. I do fidget and miss some clues, but I'd have answered if someone asked me why I believed an answer is wrong.

Edit: I'm sorry if I came across in such a way to merit a downvote. I was genuinely interested in the answer. I'd also appreciate an explanation of what sounded "wrong" in my post.

Re: The real reason you can't hire developers....

#85

Post by bbperkspot »

jqueryin wrote: post #25

If you want to steal some of the best talent in the industry, open yourself up to the idea of letting them telecommute or work remotely. Offer up a 3 month introductory period to ensure there's a mutual fit and they actually do the work as promised. Don't make them shitty offers because they aren't on site; there is fudge room depending on their cost of living. If you're in the valley, get your head out of your ass.…

Except telecommuting someone you don't know is a HUGE risk. Hiring is an expensive, activity that doesn't reward taking risks.

We have one telecommute worker and he is about 60% as effective as he was onsite. That's somebody we had onsite for six months before he started telecommute. YMMV, but that's why companies don't like telecommuting.

It isn't that we have our heads in our asses, we just know it is a poor substitute for having you onsite and we avoid it if we can.

Re: The real reason you can't hire developers....

#86

Post by thoughtsimple »

SeoxyS wrote: post #47

For what it's worth, I'm involved in the hiring process at chartboost.com. (Company tripled in employee size the past couple months!) When we get a resume / inquiry from somebody who wants to work remotely, it's instant rejection. Telecommuting is a long debate whose scope is outside of this discussion, but for a lot of companies that's a tough sell. Especially at 115k.

He clearly said that he targeted companies claiming that they accommodate telecommuting.

>Especially at 115k.

If you think $115k is a lot for a senior position in SF, you are going to have trouble finding good people.

Re: The real reason you can't hire developers....

#88

Post by thoughtsimple »

GFischer wrote: post #84
thoughtsimple wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently had an interview with a company that involved 6 people interviewing me serially. That sort of thing is grueling in the best of cases. But this one went south with the third interviewer. He seemed to me be someone with something like Aspergers syndrome. He talked in a monotone, fidgeted constantly and was rocking back and forth. While I have no problem working with anyone technically competent, this person…

Why do you think someone with Asperger's shouldn't conduct an interview? I can see talking in a monotone and fidgeting as an annoyance, but was it show-stopping? The refusal to answer why your response was (in his opinion) wrong is definitely a problem. I'm worried about this because I've been unofficially diagnosed with Asperger's (I believe I'm not, but I'm definitely borderline / close) and I intend to run a compa…

Sorry, I may not have been clear in my description. I didn't notice much of anything when he came in. It was after the interview started and he asked this question that he thought I answered incorrectly that the trouble started. That's when I started noticing the somewhat odd mannerisms and the fact that I couldn't get a technical discussion about the question started.

Like I said, I'm used to working with all types of developers. I usually get along well with my colleagues. I have no trouble with any kinds of quirks--I probably have some myself. The issue was that this person was not capable of running an interview. He couldn't deal at all with a minor conflict on a technical question. This kind of thing can lead to a company not getting good results from the recruiting process which is what the OP is about.

Re: The real reason you can't hire developers....

#89

Post by up_and_up »

Some take-home points/assumptions based on comments and further thoughts etc (not saying I agree with these at all):

1. Remote 2. Putting a CTO role on your resume (even for side project) disqualifies you from consideration for Sr. Developer positions.

3. Positions advertised as "remote friendly" probably aren't.

Re: The real reason you can't hire developers....

#90

Post by kfcm »

Here's some news for you: the vast majority of companies don't respond, and it cuts across all economic sectors and positions (tech, non-tech). Myself, friends and colleagues have determined companies which do respond are the (rare) exceptions.

Rack this up to such a large influx of resumes for each announced position that responses just aren't feasible, to HR folks who can't be bothered to lift a finger after seizing hiring control away from the managers.

To me, this is just indicative of how a company treats its employees.

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