

Why the myth of the “10X” programmer is so destructive - yulaow
http://readwrite.com/2015/05/08/average-developer-10x-programmer-myth/#

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MichaelCrawford
"look like a programmer".

A while back I bought this really nice pin-stripe suit. I really liked it, I
looked really sharp in it and it was really comfortable. One time I wore it
while walking a mile in a driving rainstorm, but it dried and looked good as
new after I spent an hour inside a fast food joint.

So I started wearing it to job interviews. There is no doubt in my mind, that
my interviewers did not believe I could possibly be a coder.

Computer programmers don't wear suits, you see.

Eventually I gave it to the poor. I had the idea it would help someone else
get a job, doing something other than coding.

~~~
gregjor
In some places they do. Maybe you haven't interviewed at a bank or a
government agency.

Interviewing 101: Dress like your future colleagues, up one notch. If you
don't know how they dress at the place you want to work show up at lunch time
in the parking lot to see what people are wearing. If your interview outfit is
too far out of line you look like a bad fit, and not just for programmer jobs.

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gregjor
Two problems (at least) with this argument.

There's no objective or consistent measure of performance. A programmer may be
super productive in one context but average or even a dud in another.
Productivity is heavily influenced by factors beyond the individual,
especially co-workers and the work environment.

Performance does not necessarily follow a bell curve distribution. For some
skills a power law better describes the distribution of high and low
performers. See [http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2014/02/19/the-
myth-o...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2014/02/19/the-myth-of-the-
bell-curve-look-for-the-hyper-performers/)

