Link: A guide to hiring programmers
It’s always a good thing to read around and see what people are saying are good ways to (try to) hire people. Professional columnists are one thing. They often blur the line between what one should be doing as a hiring manager and as a candidate. I put a some stock in blogs because it’s typically from the viewpoint of someone with first hand experience. Here are some highlights that I REALLY agree with:
- Finding good programmers is hard in any language. And that a good programmer can be as effective as 5-10 average programmers.
- Average pay rates between equivalent programmers are out of sync and are based more on the language used than the skill of the programmer.
- You don’t need to hire an expert in language X, you can and should look for expert programmers that are willing to learn language X. An expert can easily cross over from being a novice in any language in a matter of a few weeks.
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Another obvious reason is that experts in any field are small in number, so your possible talent pool is limited. This leads managers and HR departments to settle for average or even below average developers. I believe this is the single biggest mistake a technology oriented company can make, regarding developers…
It’s a great read, and from my experience, I share a lot of underlying philosophies. Especially about separating the NEED for someone for someone who really wants and cares about the job. Motivated people with expertise are far more valuable for everyone on the job.