

Ask HN: Can you comment on my job posting for employee #1? - bradt

= PHP Developer =<p>Hi, my name is Brad Touesnard. I’m the founder of WP App Store (http://wpappstore.com), a marketplace which enables users to purchase and install themes and plugins from within WordPress. I’m looking for employee #1. That’s right, at the moment it’s just me and my wonderful advisors, Adii Pienaar of WooThemes and Carl Hancock of rocketgenius.<p>== Flexible, Proactive, &#38; Embraces Change ==<p>In addition to being a talented PHP developer, you should welcome taking on tasks outside of web development. In fact, you should identify and take on tasks without having to be asked.<p>Most people don’t like change. You should embrace it. You should be open to trying new things. This isn’t IBM, Microsoft, or another colossus. This is a nimble startup and things change quickly, including your role.<p>== Extraordinary Benefits ==<p>I believe that a healthy work-life balance is very important and key to creativity and overall happiness. And if you’re happy, I’m much more likely to be happy too. To promote a healthy work-life, I'm offering the following generous benefits:<p>Full salary for a 4-day work week. We won’t work Fridays.
15 vacation days + stat holidays + two weeks off at Christmas
Full coverage for medical, dental, and vision<p>== Developers, Developers, Developers ==<p>I’m seeking a PHP developer who loves working with WordPress. Ideally someone who keeps up with the latest WordPress core development by following along in Trac, submitting core patches, playing with nightlies, and reading release notes. Someone with a nice, healthy WP.org profile, with some plugin submissions. I’d also love to see some examples of more advanced theme and plugin coding, like adding custom URL rewrites, parsing requests, customizing the dashboard, and working with crons. Above all you need to show me you enjoy developing for WordPress.<p>== Requirements ==<p>* Expert PHP programming skills with intimate understanding of WordPress<p>* Superb English communication skills (spoken and written)<p>* Very good front-end development skills<p>* Good LAMP system administration skills<p>* Good UX and design sense<p>* Comfortable working remotely (there is no office)<p>== Nice-to-Have ==<p>* Located in AST time zone or a close neighbor<p>* UX and design skills<p>* Computer science degree or equivalent<p>* Experience working with AWS<p>== Responsibilities ==<p>* Work with me to develop the WP App Store’s systems (built on WordPress) and add new features for customers, publishers, and affiliates<p>* Examples of new features include product search, ratings &#38; reviews, new API endpoints, and an ad platform<p>* Engage with the WordPress community by writing blog posts, tweeting, contributing to WordPress core, and contributing to the WP.org repository<p>== Interview Me ==<p>Let’s say you accepted an offer for this position. You would be working with me daily, so I recommend learning as much about me as possible. You can find my complete autobiography at http://bradt.ca/about/ but feel free to dig deeper and ask lots of questions if we end up chatting.<p>This position starts as a 3-month contract with the potential to turn into a full-time position at the end of the contract. Should you accept an offer for this position, I reserve the right to say “make it so #1” as often as I like.<p>== Apply ==<p>To apply, please send an email to employee1@wpappstore.com with the following:<p>* A link to your resume (no attachments please)<p>* Your GitHub and/or WP.org account URL<p>* Why this job interests you<p>* Why you are good for this job<p>* A URL to something awesome
======
mootothemax
Overall, I like it: it's straight to the point and simple.

Two improvements I'd suggest:

\- It'd be good to have a bit more detail about what day-to-day
responsibilities are. How much of the WP work would be designing stuff vs.
coding? Will there be any server admin?

\- You need to indicate something about the money. The benefits look great,
but don't add up to much without knowing whether I can expect a mickey-mouse
rate or not ;) For the same reason, I wouldn't apply as the ad currently
stands.

~~~
bradt
Awesome points. I'll try to work in the day-to-day stuff. Good point about
money. I'd like to avoid mentioning specific numbers and "commensurate with
experience" is pretty lame. How about something like "Generous, competitive
salary"? Would that work?

~~~
mootothemax
_How about something like "Generous, competitive salary"? Would that work?_

Heh, it's definitely a tricky one to spell out, agreed :)

If it was me, I'd go with a more personal touch, something along the lines of:
"I know that good developers don't come cheap, and I'm happy to pay market
rates for the right person."

Only thing missing is whether you're talking about permanent employee rates,
or consultant rates, but it addresses the biggest of my concerns.

------
debacle
It's very vanilla. Nothing stands out to me as something you wouldn't see in a
Craigslist ad. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, though.

~~~
bradt
I started out with a bit of a running dialog format, but then realized if I
was looking for a job, I'd appreciated bullet points and the usual
"Requirements" and "Responsibilities" sections. Any specific suggestions to
make it less vanilla?

~~~
debacle
Like I said, I don't know if vanilla is a bad thing.

Personally, I think your biggest problem is going to be that WordPress is a
hunk of shit and the people who would make good first employees don't work
with WordPress because they don't have to - I, personally, have done about at
least 50 WordPress installs but I use it as little as possible because the
codebase is a festering mess.

I don't know how to get around _that_ problem, but if you figure it out I'd be
interested in hearing how.

~~~
Spoom
Yep, same here; been doing PHP development for around ten years and the few
times I've touched WordPress I've regretted it.

Plus, it seems like WordPress development is a rather crowded space... how are
you going to differentiate yourself? I see a little bit of wanting to "own the
market" here with the in-WP app store idea, but why would I go to you instead
of going directly to the developers of the plugin?

~~~
bradt
I'm not sure what you mean. The WP App Store is me, I am the developer of the
plugin.

