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Ask HN: Who's Hiring?

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Re: Ask HN: Who's Hiring?

#121

Post by plinkplonk »

LukeG wrote: post #47
icky wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Start with simple and fast screens, then progress to more fine-grained tests. A simple programming question will filter out a huge chunk of the candidates (i.e., those not smart enough to code or to cheat), then email screen, phone screen, and then an in-person interview. You should also figure out _exactly_ what qualities are most important in a candidate, and which ones you're willing to overlook. Generally, I test…

We'd love to talk to companies that use coding tests in the hiring process. Do they work? How well? Any insight into the design of good filters screens?

Thoughtworks uses a (very simple) coding problem as the first step of the interview process. When I interviewed there, I found the problem too simple and was doubtful as to its value till I saw how it worked from the inside (after joining Thoughtworks).

Vast hordes of candidates with err "augmented" resumes get filtered out, as do "experienced" programmers (sometimes calling themselves "architects" and such) who haven't coded in (literally) years.

I would have thought more people would look up the solution online , but apparently even that effort is too much.

So, overall I would say a coding problem is an excellent idea. I am not sure how valid is the "tell me your program letter by letter over the phone" approach yahoo, google etc seem to take in their phone screens.

Re: Ask HN: Who's Hiring?

#123

Post by alanlewis »

dustineichler wrote: post #52
alanlewis wrote: post #26

We are (Ning): http://about.ning.com/jobs.php Software developers (front end PHP focused and backend distrubuted Java focused) and QA engineers are especially needed.

Probably an offline question, but how is Ning to work for?

I can give you the summary online: "pretty darn cool". For the complete dish, feel free to contact me.

Re: Ask HN: Who's Hiring?

#124

Post by alanlewis »

brianm wrote: post #92
brianm wrote: post #91

We're hiring at Ning, more or less all roles: front and back end engineering, operations, product mgmt, UX, QA, various management roles. On the eng side we have java, ruby (not rails (okay, there is one rails app)), c, php, and whatever-or-not, the focus is on getting the job done with the right tool for the job not the language or framework. http://about.ning.com/jobs.php Email me if I can answer any questions -- m…

Just saw Alan's post -- hi Alan!

Hi Brian. We should chat more in this comment section, because going down the hall to converse in meatspace is so time consuming.

Re: Ask HN: Who's Hiring?

#126

Post by byrneseyeview »

mpk wrote: post #94
wheels wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just for the record, if I were looking for a job, and you used hero (or ninja, or rockstar) in the title, I wouldn't take you guys seriously. This seems to be a common sentiment.

I disagree. Words like 'hero', 'rockstar', 'ninja' convey a certain attitude. They also imply that the applicant (if qualified and hired) can take the technology in a new direction. Basically, these words often mean a senior position, at a (relatively) small company, for low pay. If you don't mind the pay-cut, you can probably leverage your work there and make a name for yourself.

If you don't mind the pay-cut, you can probably leverage your work there

Ooooh. Give up something concrete for weasel-word rewards? How can I lose?

Re: Ask HN: Who's Hiring?

#127

Post by mechanical_fish »

wheels wrote: post #93
LukeG wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who's seen approx. 73,801 job postings, I prefer just about anything to "software engineer." Just for flavor.

In the common case, if you've looked at thousands of job listings, you're probably not a programming hero.

It sounds like you didn't live through the dotcom boom, when you couldn't go to the movies without seeing several ads begging for developers.

If the bust hadn't come along, sooner or later they'd have made a deal to print the help wanted ads on individual cans of Mountain Dew.

Re: Ask HN: Who's Hiring?

#129

Post by donw »

palish wrote: post #105
justin wrote: post #44

Justin.tv is hiring the best and the brightest to hack on our awesome live video site. In fact, we have almost as many graduate degrees as we do college drop outs! If you're a sysadmin, network engineer, or programmer, you can find work here: http://www.justin.tv/jobs

"In fact, we have almost as many graduate degrees as we do college drop outs!" Hmm... This post is difficult for me. On one hand, I don't want to negatively impact Justin.tv. On the other hand, I feel obligated to let everyone know that if you don't have a college degree or other qualifying credentials, you probably won't get hired there. I went in for an interview, and as far as I could tell, I passed. But afterward…

It really is a pity, too -- I have two college degrees, and wish they had been printed on toilet paper, because then they might be useful.

Re: Ask HN: Who's Hiring?

#130

Post by donw »

raffi wrote: post #86
sokoloff wrote: post #27

Here's a related question: I'll posit that there is a higher density of "very desirable" top-notch hackers being thrown into the job market than at any other time in my 15-year career. You know the people: the ones that rarely hit the normal job market because with one or two emails, they can line up their next gig in an afternoon throught their network or friends-of-friends. For those of us who are hiring, what stra…

Show some respect during the interview process. Possibly make their point of contact an engineer rather than an HR person. I interviewed with a company that had a technical recruiter who knew technology and I was very impressed by them for that. Also keep in mind, how you run the interview process says volumes about what its like to work in your company. Taking > 2 weeks between responses shows lack of interest. Maki…

I also feel the need to comment about respect. I'm working now, for a great start-up in Palo Alto. Before starting here, though, I turned down an offer with a company that's actually profitable, because they were not just rude, but incredibly arrogant as well.

Insulting your candidates, and then calling them back begging them to come in for another interview, and then ignoring their availability... this is not a way to encourage people to work for you.

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