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What have you developed in your spare time?

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Re: What have you developed in your spare time?

#51

Post by bh42222 »

trustfundbaby wrote: post #48
bh42222 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm not just that good of a developer. The last time I did something in my spare time was college. Ever since I have not gone more then a few precious weeks without being employed as a software engineer full time. And I had to fight for those weeks BETWEEN jobs! Once I'm done with work, finding myself in front of a computer again, is the last thing I want to do. I have lots of projects I plan to get to when I'm…

Maybe I'm not just that good of a developer. -------------------------- I should have realized that once you start subjectively talking about developer proficiency, people get defensive. Side projects, in my opinion, are an indicator of developer skill, passion and drive ... they are not the only indicator. Now if you and a guy come into my office looking for a gig and you all compare equally on paper and I like you…

I don't hire anyone without a code sample. The difference between my crutch and your crutch is that mine makes no implication that you're not at good as someone who codes in their spare time.

Re: What have you developed in your spare time?

#52

Post by synnik »

garindra wrote: post #43
synnik wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is always dangerous to assume what answers are desired by an interviewer. Interviews are not just to get the job - it is to determine whether or not you would even want the job in the first place. So in this particular case, I would answer something about how I have taught my kids multiple languages, taught them kung fu, helped them to develop their own hobbies and become their own people, while at the same time w…

A question : are you in the Computer Science field? While I think that the way you would answer may work beautifully in other fields, we also have to think about the employer's best interest and the field we're talking about here. Employer's best interest, across most if not all fields, is primarily to hire people that have skills that will be useful in creating advantage of the company as a whole. In the case of Com…

I am a software developer in the energy industry. So whether or not that is Computer Science is up for debate. I do need to have my skills up on the technology in use, and I most definitely need to have a solid understanding of technology. But I do not need to know the latest and greatest flavors of it.

Re: What have you developed in your spare time?

#53

Post by MrScruff »

garindra wrote: post #43
synnik wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is always dangerous to assume what answers are desired by an interviewer. Interviews are not just to get the job - it is to determine whether or not you would even want the job in the first place. So in this particular case, I would answer something about how I have taught my kids multiple languages, taught them kung fu, helped them to develop their own hobbies and become their own people, while at the same time w…

A question : are you in the Computer Science field? While I think that the way you would answer may work beautifully in other fields, we also have to think about the employer's best interest and the field we're talking about here. Employer's best interest, across most if not all fields, is primarily to hire people that have skills that will be useful in creating advantage of the company as a whole. In the case of Com…

Most people writing here are not generally practicing computer science, but rather focusing on software development. For me, good communication skills, an ability to understand project requirements and a focused and responsible attitude are often worth more in an employee than an exhaustive knowledge of design patterns.

Re: What have you developed in your spare time?

#54

Post by brlewis »

dsmith_hacker wrote: post #45
dsmith_hacker wrote: post #37

I think there is a difference between hiring students and hiring professionals. From my experience (currently in school), my peers that have side projects (including myself) enjoy programming for the challenges and would be, IMHO, better employees. The students that don't have side projects tend to be in school to JUST GET A JOB. They don't experiment with code and generally don't have a passion for it. In the end, I…

Not a valid opinion? Isn't there a difference between hiring a newly-graduated student vs an experienced programmer?

Perfectly valid opinion and interesting to read. HN downvoting has become very random.

Re: What have you developed in your spare time?

#55

Post by orangecat »

mrcharles wrote: post #35
andywood wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think side projects are mutually exclusive with work-life balance. Granted, I don't have children; but aside from that, I think I've been living a very full and action-packed life. Time-consuming outdoor hobbies, girlfriends, friends, going out, travelling - check. I also waste sickening amounts of time on sites like this one, and playing video games. Yet I've found plenty of time over the years to work on tw…

I do agree with you, but my reaction is that what I do on my own time is my business and has absolutely no bearing on anything else, and that asking about it is borderline invasion of privacy. Maybe I work on stuff I don't want to talk about all night long, or maybe I don't work on anything at all when I get home because what I'm doing at work fulfills me. Either way, it should have no bearing on an interview.

Either way, it should have no bearing on an interview.

It shouldn't automatically disqualify you, but if you've created something fantastic as a side project, should that really not factor into the decision at all?

Re: What have you developed in your spare time?

#56

Post by andywood »

bh42222 wrote: post #47
andywood wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think side projects are mutually exclusive with work-life balance. Granted, I don't have children; but aside from that, I think I've been living a very full and action-packed life. Time-consuming outdoor hobbies, girlfriends, friends, going out, travelling - check. I also waste sickening amounts of time on sites like this one, and playing video games. Yet I've found plenty of time over the years to work on tw…

Time-consuming outdoor hobbies, girlfriends, friends, going out, travelling - check. I also waste sickening amounts of time on sites like this one, and playing video games. Serious question. Are you one of those people that have a genetic mutation which allows them to be well rested on much less sleep then the rest of us? I do tend to think of that as just plain genetic superiority. (Assuming the current studies whic…

I don't think so. I usually sleep 7-8 hours. It really is just rotating priorities around. Like, I don't have to do any one of those things every single day. Some days are "work" days, where I pick something to work on. I don't always work on the same thing. Sometimes I set aside a week to hide in my house for the sake of finishing something - but it's only a week, and I still take breaks to do other things. Over years, big things get done.

Re: What have you developed in your spare time?

#57

Post by capdiz »

Its more liking asking a football player what he does in his spare time. I wouldnt expect him to say i play football. Its his passion and its only right he gets paid for it. Since i already have fun doing it, i would consider going out for a bottle of beer something i do in my spare time. The contribution to open soure answer shows more less of a passion for what one does. More of need to see continuity in ones field.

Re: What have you developed in your spare time?

#58

Post by count »

raganwald wrote: post #32
count wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should hiring anybody being fair and objective? Life isn't fair and objective, business isn't fair and objective. I want the best person I can get (for a very, very subjective definition of 'best') for the cheapest I can get and keep them (both employed and happy). That's not fair , that's life.

I don't recall saying anything about fair . As for objective, what I said was for those people who refute the question objectively on the basis of false negatives, I challenge them to come up with an alternative that has zero false negatives. This was simply an observation about the difficulty of being objective without excluding qualified applicants. In fact, I expclitly allowed for the possibility of saying that yo…

I think so - I don't see any way for hiring to be objective, unless it was completely random (and does that even count?).

So, lets go with violent agreement.

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