I'm kicking off a new weekly feature today where I compile together links that caught my interest over the past week that are at least somewhat tangentially related to my in-progress book.
Build Your Career: Michael Lopp (PeepCode)
Lopp, better known as Rands in some circles, has been a huge influence on me ever since I first stepped into management. This PeepCode course focused on managing your career as a developer is sure to be fantastic. Were I still developing, it'd plunk down the $12 immediately. I'd suggest you do the same.
Erlang at Basho, Five Years Later
Basho, the makers of the Riak database mention one key point in this blog post: That they sought out developers who knew the subject matter much more than developers who had experience with the specific programming language they were using (Erlang).
I go into this quite a bit in my book. More than knowledge of your specific programming language, you want to look for developers who have knowledge of and experience with multiple languages. You want folks that are curious and able to pick up new concepts and languages quickly, so it makes sense to find folks who have demonstrated that ability already.
21 Months In: How to Manage a Remote Team
I don't currently manage a remote team, but this post is filled with practical advice and tips for how you should go about it. Fantastic list of tools in the middle of the post as well.
Hiring Managers: Don’t Try to Find the Perfect Employee!
I mentioned this post on Twitter the other day, but it bears repeating:
Nice thoughts here, but entirely too much reliance on recruiters and job ads. http://t.co/5qXspnHlSb There's a better way.
— Chris Vannoy (@chris_vannoy) June 25, 2013
So What Can I Do About These Douchebags?
I have an entire chapter of the book titled "The Douchebag Test," so you know I'm on-board with this. Hire good people first, then move on to the good developer question.
On a final note:
Not being a dick is a competitive advantage.
— Adam Debreczeni (@heyadam) June 28, 2013
Book update
I'm a good bit through the book right now, covering things like:
- Why you shouldn't use recruiters
- How to get away without doing traditional interviews
- What sort of questions to ask in your un-interview
- And many more
You can sign up for updates on the book below. As a special bonus, I'm also working on an email course for subscribers that will walk through finding, hiring and managing outside development firms (freelancers, consultants and the like). It's almost done now and filled to the brim with hard-learned lessons and tips.
