Dropbox (YC S07) looking for Android Developer

Post by amichail » Wed, Nov 11, 2009, 4:09 AM UTC

nixme wrote: post #7

shaddi wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair enough, but I have to agree with the GP. Sure, your average MIT grad may be pretty good, but some of the most talented and impressive people I know come from (decently ranked but not super prestigious) state schools. Hiring from one population is going to lead to homogeneity, and if I were doing the hiring my first cut would be based on proven accomplishments, not school. In short: no, not everyone is equally sk…

In short: no, not everyone is equally skilled, but you're going to miss a lot of gems if you only hire from MIT's peer institutions. You are correct, but that doesn't matter. Hiring filters are intentionally excessively restrictive because a bad hire is much worse than losing out on a few good individuals. Remember that in our industry (and probably others), even a full-day interview tells you very little about a can…

Post by aristus » Wed, Nov 11, 2009, 4:20 AM UTC

mattrepl wrote: post #9

huangm wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your problem is that you're taking job postings personally. Dropbox isn't posting a job posting to make an objective statement about what makes someone good. They're posting it to fill a position in their company. Your bachelors degree institution also isn't just a pedigree. You can't perpetually argue that 'everyone is equal'. People aren't equal, and where you went to school is a useful signal. Beyond all this, the…

There is probably a correlation between top-tier CS pedigree and performance, but using it as a filter for joining a startup is detrimental. The chance you're missing a "diamond in the rough" is high, and those are exactly the folks you want. If you're Google and have tons of résumés to sort, then fine; but in this case it seems a good way to miss a great hire.

Post by sown » Wed, Nov 11, 2009, 4:45 AM UTC

huangm wrote: post #5

sown wrote: post #4

>* Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from a top-tier institution. I always hated this requirement. I'm sorry if I don't have the right pedigree to satisfy people like this. I'm sorry I didn't go to the "right" school, wasn't born into the right family or just a failure in their eyes.

Your problem is that you're taking job postings personally. Dropbox isn't posting a job posting to make an objective statement about what makes someone good. They're posting it to fill a position in their company. Your bachelors degree institution also isn't just a pedigree. You can't perpetually argue that 'everyone is equal'. People aren't equal, and where you went to school is a useful signal. Beyond all this, the…

Post by sown » Wed, Nov 11, 2009, 4:58 AM UTC

kirubakaran wrote: post #16

sown wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not arguing that everyone is equal. What I am saying is that it is almost but not quite discrimination. I can't control with total fidelity what school I get in no matter how good a student I might be -- ie, if I'm good enough to go to MIT I can go to MIT. They can't let in anyone who is good enough to go to MIT because there is only so much space. And besides, I don't have the money to go there nor did I have th…

This is why the best bet for people like us is to found our own startup. It is easier to please the customers than the gatekeepers. It has always been that way and always will be. Remove the proxies and profit. IMHO it is not productive to rant about people looking for credentials. They are just trying to reduce their search space.

Post by spicyj » Wed, Nov 11, 2009, 5:45 AM UTC

phreanix wrote: post #18

Kinda related, but why is dropbox.com or getdropbox.com coming up as attack site? I'm using Firefox.