

Why don't software communities serve as job hubs? - josh_fyi
http://blog.fiveyearitch.com/2013/06/why-dont-software-communities-serve-as.html

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markhagan
It is fairly simple: having a GitHub account and being active on StackOverflow
don't appeal to the majority of developers. Those sites will capture far less
than 1% (made up, but probably close) of developers making them not the best
location for hiring managers to look.

IMO, if you want to find developers to hire then LinkedIn and recommendations
from other developers are still the best route. Having a successful GitHub
project doesn't always translate to "great team developer" as different skills
are required for each. Being helpful on StackOverflow for a very specific
thread doesn't always mean you are a master of your craft. Having both
experience and recommendations from the industry and category being hired for
is more of a "guarantee".

Disclaimer: I use both GitHub and SO.

~~~
josh_fyi
> GitHub ... and StackOverflow don't appeal to the majority of developers.
> Those sites will capture far less than 1%

Yes, exactly. That's what the proposal at the OP link is aimed at: Letting
experienced developers sign up to be poached, but using their affiliation with
an online community as proof of their seriousness.

That's less valuable than a good GitHub repository, but the usual interview
process can take it from there.

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jstclair
Just one caution - when I was helping to set up a local user group, a lot or
companies wanted a guarantee that no poaching would occur, and tried to make
that a condition of their participation.

Of course, we couldn't do that, but at the same time, we wouldn't make it a
prominent part of the user group's mission either.

So, great initiative, but if you're gonna bring this into your community, just
consider the effects (if any) on corporate sponsorship.

~~~
josh_fyi
How did that work?

Usually user groups are independent initiatives by developers, with at most a
room or minor funds provided by a sponsoring company or two.

Companies can't keep their employees from going to the Ruby/Java/C++ User
Group in their spare time.

So what was the situation there?

~~~
jstclair
We were pretty successfully rather quickly, and the attendees quickly grew
past most local company's ability to host our meetings. Costs in Norway for
rooms/food & drink is higher than normal; plus, we tried to bring in a lot of
external speakers. So, all in all, we were pretty dependent upon a decent
amount of funding.

I wasn't suggesting that companies we were working with would stop people
coming; but at least when we were starting, getting people to actually attend
was a struggle. Building the community can require a bigger outlay that people
assume - it's not just "meet up and they will come". So, I'm just saying that
some communities might want to think twice about this.

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twic
StackOverflow does have Careers 2.0: <http://careers.stackoverflow.com/> . Is
StackOverflow a "software community" for the purposes of this article? I used
StackOverflow a lot at one point, and i got a job out of Careers 2.0, so it
looks roughly like it to me.

I suspect Five Year Itch probably see Careers 2.0 as a competitor, or at least
a resident of a nearby niche, so they may have a deliberate blind spot towards
it.

~~~
josh_fyi
Sure, Careers 2.0 is good. The jobs space is _very_ big, plenty of space for
everyone.

Among other differences, Careers 2.0 focuses on StackExchange karma, which is
useful, but not everyone wants to go in that direction.

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rparente
If people want to do open-source as a way to get a job, they should be
contributing.

But not every GitHub account gets job offers. If you're an acitve part of a
community, then absolutely, it would be for their good and yours if they can
help you get a job.

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mehmedrecip
You know, open-source sites and User Groups already get job postings.

But I like your idea: The programmers should say "come, make me an offer", so
long as you can make sure the offers are good.

~~~
mandytolliver
The job market is messed up. Why can't hackers do something about it, at least
for the jobs that WE want???

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amys
They just don't have the time or the tools. But if you can make it easy for
them, then wow! This is a big win for everyone.

Resumes, recruiters, job ads -- yuck! Hacker communities -- yay!

