hiring web coders -- howto? 1

[theEclipse]

Hello-

I am an expirenced web programmer and the firm I work for is seeking new programmers in my area. My boss asked if I could find some people that I liked and pass them on to him.

I have no problem coming up with the people, but how am I to sift through them to find out who is going to benefit our company and who is going to tell us they can help?

The biggest thing that I want to stay away from is somebody that is going to be gung-ho for about a week and then not accomplish anything. We want somebody reliable.

The people that I will be recomending are in my local area but are contacting me via email.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Robert Carpenter
"Disobedience to conscience is voluntary; bad poetry, on the other hand, is usually not made on purpose." - C.S. Lewis (Preface to Paradise Lost)
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http://www.robertcarpenter.net

 

[LadySlinger]

Are these people that you know or ones that are contacting you through a job posting/recruited?

If the latter, then ask for references. Check into the ones that you think are good. Also check their resume for spell checking, grammarical errors etc. If they really want the job and are consider themselves reliable, then they will take the time to have their resume proof-read prior to submitting it. Also see if they include a cover letter or if their objective is details. Lack of a Cover letter or a vague objective can help deduce if they applied to the job and didn't care, or if they really want to advance themselves by indicating what their current career goals would be if they were to be hired in by your org.

Also, are you getting to meet the people in preliminary interviews? Check for non-verbal communication, such as their dress of clothes, did they overdress for the job or came in business-casual? Did they arrive to the interview on time, early or late?

Just some things to think about.

 

[Dollie]

Instead of trying to read into the future to see if they are still going to be gung-ho after a week, you first need to know if they're even going to be able to do the job. Asking applicants for code examples should be standard, IMO. You should be able to look at some of their past work. If they come in for a preliminary interview, a basic "test" of their coding skills may show you all you need to know.

We had a hard time finding a good web developer, and some of the people coming in proved that many people put experience on resumes that they do not have. The testing amplified it. When a developer applicant has to google for help in creating a simple firstname/lastname form with a submit button.... well, sheesh. (Always test on a machine that does not have internet access is what we learned!)

Hope this helps!

 

[theEclipse]

Thanks--both of you.

Thats kind of the idea that I had already. Though I had not thought of asking for some code samples. I am mainly recruiting through "social networking" (many of the people interested are friend-ofa-friend types.

Thanks again for your input.

Robert Carpenter
"Disobedience to conscience is voluntary; bad poetry, on the other hand, is usually not made on purpose." - C.S. Lewis (Preface to Paradise Lost)
ô¿ô

http://www.robertcarpenter.net

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

Always test on a machine that does not have internet access is what we learned!

Yes - that's a good one. I've had many interview tests, and only once did I need to look online (for some obscure syntax I hardly ever use). I suspect that people who are only blagging it will panic when they find they have no access to look things up.

I would advise specifically asking for people who can hand-code, rather than using Dreamweaver, Homesite, Frontpage, etc. Ask them what editor they prefer to use, and see what they say.

Asking for past work, or any fun / hobby / snippet sites is always a good idea, although the absence of these shouldn't rule someone out (some people may do lots of intranet or confidential work).

Hope this helps,
Dan

[tt]Dan's Page [blue]@[/blue] Code Couch

http://www.codecouch.com/dan/

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[theEclipse]

Dan-

I didnt even think about asking what editor they use to make their webpages, and that is something that I really value too.



Robert Carpenter
"Disobedience to conscience is voluntary; bad poetry, on the other hand, is usually not made on purpose." - C.S. Lewis (Preface to Paradise Lost)
ô¿ô

http://www.robertcarpenter.net