

How to hire a Rails developer - matschaffer
http://matschaffer.com/2011/04/how-to-hire-rails-developer/

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thecoffman
I think your final point is the most valuable takeaway here. That's usually
the biggest differentiator to me between "good" and "great" developers. The
good ones are usually passionate about a particular technology and know it
like the back of their hand.

The great ones approach things from a the perspective of "what is the correct
tool for this job." They're not firmly in the Ruby, Python, Java, or .NET camp
- they approach each technology as a tool in a larger tool belt and bring out
the appropriate one for the task at hand. These people also tend to keep up on
the latest and greatest - much like people who collect and maintain a garage
full of physical tools - great programmers generally maintain a mental library
of great programming tools (languages, libraries, frameworks).

Partisan allegiance to any one specific technology rarely indicates overall
mastery of the field - at least in my experience.

There are obviously plenty of exceptions to what I've said - but this has been
my general observation.

~~~
ulf
This is a very big problem: the constant focus on tools and specific
technologies instead of looking at the people and their abilities.

A great developer will always be able to pick up a new
language/framework/paradigm quickly. So if you plan to have a longer
relationship with your hire, you can by all means afford not to check every
bullet point regarding technologies. By strictly requiring explicit experience
in the fields you are working in, the only thing you really accomplish is to
drastically reduce the number of possible applicants.

For example, since Django is still a lot less common than Rails, if you need a
Django developer and specifically require Django experience, you will not have
an awful lot of candidates. If you broaden your search to anyone with
experience with a web framework, you are almost guaranteed to attract some
more good candidates. Once you screen those, you pick the best. Best case:
he/she was already familiar with Django, congrats to you. Worst case: the dev
was not familiar with Django, but still a better fit than ALL the candidates
with Django experience. Sounds like win-win for me...

~~~
city41
I think us developers all tend to know this. But for some reason most
employers still don't get this. Almost all job listings look for candidates
with specific experience in technology X, rather than just all around smart
and able people. When I am job hunting these types of employers are an
immediate turn off for me, but they are by far the majority. I wish we could
succeed in convincing employers to look at the bigger picture.

~~~
hkarthik
While I agree that you probably miss out on finding a lot of great candidates,
there is a significant advantage in finding someone that already knows your
chosen platform.

Already knowing the OS and Tools allows a new hire to focus on understanding
the business domain quickly. For some companies, that's far more important
than raw technical ability.

~~~
ulf
The "quickly" argument is a strawman, if you plan on having a working
relationship that lasts longer than 3 months or so. If you just need someone
to upgrade your current Rails 2.3.8 project to 3.0.6 and then move along, by
all means get someone with Rails experience.

But if you intend to employ that person longer, the specific experience is of
diminishing importance.

~~~
phamilton
That's why I usually try to describe myself as a bard of programming. Pick a
language. Pick a framework. I know enough to get started, and I know where to
find answers to my questions.

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tomdeal
Interesting post, though I don't agree with the last point. A good rails
developer will present himself as a rails developer, even if he does other
things. A typical rails app includes html, javascript, maybe even xml or some
other fancy stuff, so a real rails developer is always a bit of an jack-of-
all-trades.

Btw, outside US, it seems like it is the other way round. I develop rails apps
and have trouble finding work at the moment.

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rjbond3rd
I don't think it's a good idea for non-technical founders to specify the
framework.

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hugh3
Step one: hire a good developer

Step two: give 'em a "Teach Yourself Rails" book

Step three: wait two months

~~~
JonnieCache
This is a very good point. It's absurdly easy to learn, even if you're still
learning programming. It must be a doddle if you're already extremely
experienced.

(This is not meant as a slight against rails. On the contrary.)

~~~
hugh3
_(This is not meant as a slight against rails. On the contrary.)_

Exactly. Rails is good because it's easy. That doesn't mean that just anybody
can write a great program using Rails, though, it merely means that who can
write the best program becomes about who is the best programmer, not about who
knows the most about Rails.

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Hominem
Thats a lot of effort to put into getting a rails developer. Just imagine if
you needed two or three.

I particularly like the last rule. Never hire anyone who claims to be a rails
developer, hire an erlang dev and you are set!

