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Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

jobs.wibidata.com

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Re: Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

#41

Post by madaxe »

TillE wrote: post #22
Osmium wrote: post #17

I say this partly in jest but... it's nice to see a lean startup using its limited resources correctly by creating levels for Portal 2. For all I know, this could've been an employee's pet project, but if not I'm not sure I see the value. Also, the jobs homepage lede is a little grating: "We're seeking brilliant people ..." [Click "I'm brilliant" to continue] Because who doesn't think they deserve brilliant people? N…

This whole obsession over Super Ninja Rockstar MegaUltraDevelopers is getting to be a bit much. Everyone says they want the top 0.1%, which they just aren't going to get. Maybe it's because I don't consider myself "brilliant". I'm a reasonably intelligent guy with a good education, loads of experience, and a diverse skillset. But I'm not a genius. Very few are. You've gotta be realistic, and I get the impression that…

The best hires are fresh CS/maths grads with little commercial experience and a burning desire to learn.

All you have to do is provide an environment in which they can, provide a raise as and when they "level up", provide infinite caffeine, interesting problems, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Re: Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

#42

Post by MartinCron »

rhizome wrote: post #35
partisan wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some places mention that they have an XBox on site for you to play with, but that's usually just a red flag for me. I love playing games, but if I am going to be at work long enough to feel the urge to play then I am at work way too long. These are probably the same places that think adding an extra hour to your work increases your productivity by 16%.

"XBox on site," says to me, "we're (hiring) young people."

And you can make the inverted inference: "we're not hiring older people"

Re: Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

#43

Post by teh_klev »

TillE wrote: post #22
Osmium wrote: post #17

I say this partly in jest but... it's nice to see a lean startup using its limited resources correctly by creating levels for Portal 2. For all I know, this could've been an employee's pet project, but if not I'm not sure I see the value. Also, the jobs homepage lede is a little grating: "We're seeking brilliant people ..." [Click "I'm brilliant" to continue] Because who doesn't think they deserve brilliant people? N…

This whole obsession over Super Ninja Rockstar MegaUltraDevelopers is getting to be a bit much. Everyone says they want the top 0.1%, which they just aren't going to get. Maybe it's because I don't consider myself "brilliant". I'm a reasonably intelligent guy with a good education, loads of experience, and a diverse skillset. But I'm not a genius. Very few are. You've gotta be realistic, and I get the impression that…

I'm in agreement here. I wonder how many solid and experienced devs are put off applying for these jobs by this current fad. I consider myself a fairly good dev with a broad range of skills in development and devops, but as soon as I see "Super Ninja Rockstar" etc I roll my eye's and skip to the next job listing.

I wonder how many companies miss out on actual "Super Ninja Rockstar" devs, who are in reality modest individuals, because of this type of wording?

Or maybe I'm just a boring old mid-40's fart.

Re: Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

#44

Post by sramsay »

madaxe wrote: post #41
TillE wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This whole obsession over Super Ninja Rockstar MegaUltraDevelopers is getting to be a bit much. Everyone says they want the top 0.1%, which they just aren't going to get. Maybe it's because I don't consider myself "brilliant". I'm a reasonably intelligent guy with a good education, loads of experience, and a diverse skillset. But I'm not a genius. Very few are. You've gotta be realistic, and I get the impression that…

The best hires are fresh CS/maths grads with little commercial experience and a burning desire to learn. All you have to do is provide an environment in which they can, provide a raise as and when they "level up", provide infinite caffeine, interesting problems, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I assume you're basing that on your direct experience with twenty-five year veterans who have used their complete mastery of a popular toolchain to ship a couple of dozen production systems to customers who were in turn delighted by the quality of the work and the high level of professionalism.

Re: Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

#46

Post by matthuggins »

madaxe wrote: post #41
TillE wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This whole obsession over Super Ninja Rockstar MegaUltraDevelopers is getting to be a bit much. Everyone says they want the top 0.1%, which they just aren't going to get. Maybe it's because I don't consider myself "brilliant". I'm a reasonably intelligent guy with a good education, loads of experience, and a diverse skillset. But I'm not a genius. Very few are. You've gotta be realistic, and I get the impression that…

The best hires are fresh CS/maths grads with little commercial experience and a burning desire to learn. All you have to do is provide an environment in which they can, provide a raise as and when they "level up", provide infinite caffeine, interesting problems, and the rest, as they say, is history.

"Best" in what sense?

Re: Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

#47

Post by madaxe »

sramsay wrote: post #44
madaxe wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best hires are fresh CS/maths grads with little commercial experience and a burning desire to learn. All you have to do is provide an environment in which they can, provide a raise as and when they "level up", provide infinite caffeine, interesting problems, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I assume you're basing that on your direct experience with twenty-five year veterans who have used their complete mastery of a popular toolchain to ship a couple of dozen production systems to customers who were in turn delighted by the quality of the work and the high level of professionalism.

Show me a 25 year master in web technologies.

I'm basing it on personal experience of having grown a company from nothing without funding to an enterprise carrying over £1bn of client commerce in 6 years. But what would I know.

Oh, and 100% client retention and no marketing except word of mouth. I'd say that's satisfaction.

Re: Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

#48

Post by madaxe »

matthuggins wrote: post #46
madaxe wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best hires are fresh CS/maths grads with little commercial experience and a burning desire to learn. All you have to do is provide an environment in which they can, provide a raise as and when they "level up", provide infinite caffeine, interesting problems, and the rest, as they say, is history.

"Best" in what sense?

Productivity, enthusiasm, willingness to learn new tricks (get 'em in knowing PHP, watch 'em learn C, Java, and ASM as they go deeper into our stack), and willing to take the risk of sticking their neck out with outlandish but brilliant ideas.

Re: Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

#49

Post by jtbigwoo »

teh_klev wrote: post #43
TillE wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This whole obsession over Super Ninja Rockstar MegaUltraDevelopers is getting to be a bit much. Everyone says they want the top 0.1%, which they just aren't going to get. Maybe it's because I don't consider myself "brilliant". I'm a reasonably intelligent guy with a good education, loads of experience, and a diverse skillset. But I'm not a genius. Very few are. You've gotta be realistic, and I get the impression that…

I'm in agreement here. I wonder how many solid and experienced devs are put off applying for these jobs by this current fad. I consider myself a fairly good dev with a broad range of skills in development and devops, but as soon as I see "Super Ninja Rockstar" etc I roll my eye's and skip to the next job listing. I wonder how many companies miss out on actual "Super Ninja Rockstar" devs, who are in reality modest ind…

Or maybe I'm just a boring old mid-40's fart.

That's part of it, right? I assume that all these silly requirements and hoops are really saying, "We want the best of the best as long as you're under 30."

Re: Startup using a custom Portal 2 level to recruit engineers

#50

Post by danielweber »

drivingmenuts wrote: post #24

On a side note: I wish startups would start putting the company location somewhere in an easily accessible place. This would allow me to decide if an application is a valid option due to geography.

Not for this, but this is usually my #1 complaint with job postings on VC. Location is really the single most important thing, say it right away, preferably in the title.
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