Python Learning

[Marko Rauhamaa]

Rhodri James <rhodri at kynesim.co.uk>:
> I haven't often been involved in hiring, but the few times I have we
> had more applicants than it was feasible to interview.

You don't have to interview them all. Once you encounter an excellent
candidate, you can close the deal. If you don't, you might lose them.
You don't have to find the one pearl in a thousand.

> We used CVs as the only thing we had to filter with, looking for
> *interesting* people.

For a developer position, we use a home assignment as a filter. There's
no knowing who completes the assignment, but (1) it gives an idea what
is expected of them and (2) it demonstrates interest from their part.

I only take a look at the CV when I arrive at the interview so I have
talking points with the candidate.

> Exactly what "interesting" meant was somewhat arbitrary; we put one
> person through to interview because she was a cellist, and that would
> have given us a complete string quartet (she didn't get the job,
> sadly).

We want to hire for the job and not bring in extracurricular activities.

However, one great way to stand out is a portfolio of GitHub projects.
Several people have gotten an offer largely based on those (after they
aced the technical interviews). For example, we just hired someone who
had written a game in sed. That doesn't make him an "interesting
person," nor do we look for game or sed developers. But that silly
exercise deeply resonated with our team. We expect to have great synergy
with him.


Marko