IT/Software career thread: Invert binary trees for dollars.

Noodleface

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
38,590
16,630
I'd do what tenks said and look at personal projects, special projects in school, etc., that apply to your field (robotics?).

Also, the first step after that is to do phone interviews - gauge their interest, feel out their skills, see if they know what they're talking about.
 
ToeMissile

ToeMissile

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
<Gold Donor>
3,444
2,252
A friend of mine has a company that develops webinar software. He told me once about a guy that he had just hired who was at one time like the 3rd best uni-cyclist in the US. Obviously there isn't much overlap between programming/comp sci and unicycles, but it showed the guy was really dedicated and hardworking when it came to his passions/interests.

So kind of a weird, but it makes sense and always stuck with me.
 
Tuco

Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
<Gold Donor>
49,350
86,649
Voyce_sl said:
So can you even be sure they're at all interested in working for you?
Click to expand...
No, we can't. Allegedly they are still looking for work and their major is in our field though.


It was actually easier than I thought to weed them all down. Once I looked at the resumes there were some very specific things I can't go into that were missing from 70% of them. Of the remaining 30% only a few really focused on the aspects of what I want. I just thought it was a good thought exercise.
 
Tuco

Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
<Gold Donor>
49,350
86,649
ToeMissile_sl said:
A friend of mine has a company that develops webinar software. He told me once about a guy that he had just hired who was at one time like the 3rd best uni-cyclist in the US. Obviously there isn't much overlap between programming/comp sci and unicycles, but it showed the guy was really dedicated and hardworking when it came to his passions/interests.

So kind of a weird, but it makes sense and always stuck with me.
Click to expand...
The flip side to that is that from my experience someone who is super passionate about non-technical interests is less likely to be the guy to really pour himself into a problem, work a lot of hours, solve problems over the weekend etc. There's nothing wrong with dudes coming in and putting in a solid 40 hours then unicycling on the weekends, but the programmers that just like to nerd out hard 24/7 are much more productive.
 
moontayle

moontayle

Golden Squire
4,302
165
Tuco_sl said:
No, we can't. Allegedly they are still looking for work and their major is in our field though.


It was actually easier than I thought to weed them all down. Once I looked at the resumes there were some very specific things I can't go into that were missing from 70% of them. Of the remaining 30% only a few really focused on the aspects of what I want. I just thought it was a good thought exercise.
Click to expand...
I had some thoughts about winnowing but I felt it was pretentious given my experience. I hope I'll never be in a position of giving a "yea" or "nay" on someone but the way this gig is going, it's probably going to happen at some point.
 
Deathwing

Deathwing

<Bronze Donator>
17,128
8,128
Tuco_sl said:
The flip side to that is that from my experience someone who is super passionate about non-technical interests is less likely to be the guy to really pour himself into a problem, work a lot of hours, solve problems over the weekend etc. There's nothing wrong with dudes coming in and putting in a solid 40 hours then unicycling on the weekends, but the programmers that just like to nerd out hard 24/7 are much more productive.
Click to expand...
Is there data supporting this? I feel after ~8 hours, my productivity wanes, even for problems I genuinely want to continue working.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
38,590
16,630
I've just been listening to guitar shredding (Malmsteen, Rusty Cooley, etc) at work while coding. The frantic-ness of it really pushes me in a panic.
 
Cad

Cad

scientia potentia est
<Bronze Donator>
26,601
54,987
Tuco_sl said:
The flip side to that is that from my experience someone who is super passionate about non-technical interests is less likely to be the guy to really pour himself into a problem, work a lot of hours, solve problems over the weekend etc. There's nothing wrong with dudes coming in and putting in a solid 40 hours then unicycling on the weekends, but the programmers that just like to nerd out hard 24/7 are much more productive.
Click to expand...
I don't really find this to be true, I think it just depends on motivation. I've met some super dork committed tech guys who are lazy as fuck and produce shit. I've met guys who don't touch a computer once they leave work who totally shred it while on the job, and work hard as necessary. I don't even know if I'd see a trend between laziness and technical aptitude. The desire to work hard and do well at work is an attitude that doesn't correlate with interests, I think.
 
Noodleface

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
38,590
16,630
I would look for the people that have a passion for what you're working on rather than a passion for nerdy tech things. Sometimes they got hand-in-hand, but in general that's not always the case.
 
M

Maebe_sl

shitlord
67
0
Deathwing_sl said:
Is there data supporting this? I feel after ~8 hours, my productivity wanes, even for problems I genuinely want to continue working.
Click to expand...
I've seen people reference Henry Ford as the inventor of the 40 hours week. The claims have been he tested various working week hours.

From a MMO point of view, we all know the people who would lose focus after 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours etc and you'd know your own endurance.
 
Vinen

Vinen

God is dead
2,793
497
Noodlemod_sl said:
I've just been listening to guitar shredding (Malmsteen, Rusty Cooley, etc) at work while coding. The frantic-ness of it really pushes me in a panic.
Click to expand...
The fuck is this hipster shit.

My productivity increases if there is a beer fridge. 3PM and a beer = 2x the productivity of 9-3pm.
 
Khane

Khane

Got something right about marriage
20,823
14,611
I can't wait for the SJW crowd to jump on the term Whitepaper. It's only a matter of time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.