Hiring software developers is difficult

I always laugh when job adverts state that they want a "go-getter", a "people person", someone who is "dynamic", someone who wants to work more than an 8 to 5, a "team player" or "good communicator".

These requirements are always so incredibly vague - have you ever read an advert where someone is looking for a dynamic team player and thought, "Wow! That describes me to a T - I should apply for this job!"

Now, obviously soft skills do matter, and will be evaluated when the decision on whether to hire you is made.
 
Ancalagon said:
I always laugh when job adverts state that they want a "go-getter", a "people person", someone who is "dynamic", someone who wants to work more than an 8 to 5, a "team player" or "good communicator".

These requirements are always so incredibly vague - have you ever read an advert where someone is looking for a dynamic team player and thought, "Wow! That describes me to a T - I should apply for this job!"

Now, obviously soft skills do matter, and will be evaluated when the decision on whether to hire you is made.
Click to expand...

Imagine an ad where someone decided that none of these skills were actually desirable:

"We are looking for someone who gives off a general air of bloat, likes inertia more than people, and mumbles incoherently in a foreign tongue. A candidate should only apply if their age is either a square, or prime."
 
noxibox said:
None of this backs up your claim that "Most of the time, people that fit into this environment at also of a similar age." or "A 50 is also less likey to take on being told by a 30 year old that his work is "****"".
Click to expand...

All my team leaders have been significantly younger than I am, and I don't have a problem with that. I can't tell you what it's like to be told your work is **** by someone way younger , because its never happened. However, I would feel crap being told my work is **** regardless of the age of the person doing the telling.

I have worked with idiots under 30 and over 50. I have worked with idiots under 50 and over 50. I have worked with smart people under 30 and over 30. I have also worked with smart people under 50 and over 50.

Age doesn't make a difference. People who think it does are the ones who fall into the above idiot categories :)
 
cguy said:
Imagine an ad where someone decided that none of these skills were actually desirable:

"We are looking for someone who gives off a general air of bloat, likes inertia more than people, and mumbles incoherently in a foreign tongue. A candidate should only apply if their age is either a square, or prime."
Click to expand...

You miss my point.

Why state such things at all? You will find out what the person is like when you meet them anyway. Putting that you are looking for a dynamic go-getter on your advert is not going to increase your chances of getting a dynamic go-getter. It has no bearing on the candidate.

Do employment agencies screen people on whether they are dynamic go-getters or team players? No, they dont.

Why put something meaningless like that on either a job advert or a CV? Waste of space and time.
 
Ancalagon said:
You miss my point.

Why state such things at all? You will find out what the person is like when you meet them anyway. Putting that you are looking for a dynamic go-getter on your advert is not going to increase your chances of getting a dynamic go-getter. It has no bearing on the candidate.

Do employment agencies screen people on whether they are dynamic go-getters or team players? No, they dont.

Why put something meaningless like that on either a job advert or a CV? Waste of space and time.
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm not disagreeing with you at all. Just highlighting your point. I.e. If it's not a technical skill, and the opposite is absurd, then there is no point in listing it in the first place. It's like requiring that the candidate is alive.
 
Got ya.

Yeah, its pointless, as are HR questions such as "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?", and "Name one of my your weaknesses"
 
Ancalagon said:
Got ya.

Yeah, its pointless, as are HR questions such as "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?", and "Name one of my your weaknesses"
Click to expand...

Wouldn't say those are pointless questions.
 
They are pointless, because everybody lies when they answer them.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
BS answer:
Still working hard at your company, loving every day, having been promoted to management or architecture role because I am so awesome.
Real answer:
I'd rather be sitting on my private beach with all the millions I've made - wouldnt you? Failing that, I really have no idea where I will be. I might be working for you, and I might not. I might not even stay in software development - anything is possible.

What is your biggest weakness?
BS answer:
My attention to detail - I sometimes take more time to get things done, because I am thorough and like to make sure it is done right. See what I've done there? I've turned a negative into a positive, arent I clever?
Real answer:
Youtube, facebook, and 9gag of course!

The answer to #1 is largely irrelevant to whether you should be hired, and nobody is going to be honest about #2.
 
10 MOST STUPID interview questions

Another silly one they used to ask at companies producing military equipment - "Are you a communist?" - "Do you mean Leninism, Trotskyism, Stalinism or Maoism?"

Chevron said:
But WHY? You guys must have a reason?
Click to expand...
They're meaningless, they don't provide useful information and if someone asks them it's either because they're operating under the illusion the answers are useful or they don't really know what to ask. They may of course be useful if the goal is test improvisational or lying skills. If someone plans their answers it means they can't improvise and need to practice their lies, but the interviewer won't really know if they've prepared. In general it should just make the interviewee wonder if the interviewer is playing with a full deck.
 
"Where do you want to be in five years" is a great question for two good reasons:

1. They determine whether a candidate plans ahead.
2. They see if a candidates preferred future role matches the plan of the company. If a company wants a developer who wants to grow technically they won't hire someone who would rather be a people manager.
 
Ancalagon said:
They are pointless, because everybody lies when they answer them.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
BS answer:
Still working hard at your company, loving every day, having been promoted to management or architecture role because I am so awesome.
Real answer:
I'd rather be sitting on my private beach with all the millions I've made - wouldnt you? Failing that, I really have no idea where I will be. I might be working for you, and I might not. I might not even stay in software development - anything is possible.

What is your biggest weakness?
BS answer:
My attention to detail - I sometimes take more time to get things done, because I am thorough and like to make sure it is done right. See what I've done there? I've turned a negative into a positive, arent I clever?
Real answer:
Youtube, facebook, and 9gag of course!

The answer to #1 is largely irrelevant to whether you should be hired, and nobody is going to be honest about #2.
Click to expand...

Damm i was just browsing 9gag while reading your post ^_^
 
noxibox said:
For £800 maybe a reasonable 2 bedroom flat. Small houses can cost £200,000 or more to buy.
Click to expand...

It does depend on where as well. I paid £975 s month for 1 bed flat in London, which was 1 tube stop away from Canary Wharf. I now pay £475pm for 1 bed flat which is twice the size of the London flat on the coast near Dover.

Also you need to look at other factors as well. Mortgage rates in the UK are lower than SA. This means you can afford to finance more. Also things like cars and consumer electronics are cheaper, because of the size of the market. I bought a 1.8 Vauxhall Insignia Sri for £17500. The car was 8 months old. I was able to pay it off in 3 years. I clear £1300 every month. I was able to pay £6900 cash for a brand new Huandai i30 runabout for my wife.

South Africa has become relatively expensive and IT salaries are not that great. And from reading posts on mybb(I'm sure, I hope, they aren't representative), employers seem like make ********s. :)
 
Think very carefully about whether you want to work for a company that asks these and other well-known ridiculous interview questions. If you really need the job your best bet is to try to gather some insider information and tell them what they want to hear. Otherwise something you make up on the spot is as good as something you've genuinely thought about.

BobsLawnService said:
"Where do you want to be in five years" is a great question for two good reasons:

1. They determine whether a candidate plans ahead.
2. They see if a candidates preferred future role matches the plan of the company. If a company wants a developer who wants to grow technically they won't hire someone who would rather be a people manager.
Click to expand...
What did they plan ahead, their answer, their improvisational skills, their lying ability or the job they'll be doing? Better hope it's one of the first three.
The company can't in fact make those kind of long term plans any more than the employee, so it indicates that the company/interviewer lives in a fantasy world. Damn why did we hire all these people who only wanted to grow technically and now we need people managers? We hired all these people and they said they wanted to grow technically, so the next person we hire must be someone who wants to be a people manager. Luckily no-one ever changes their mind and the company knows exactly what it is going to need in five years.

But we've had this argument on this forum before and it's clear some people will cling to the "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" cult no matter what.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X