Month: January 2014

How to ace our coding assignment

Posted on January 29, 2014 in Agile Methodology

Dear Ruby Developer applicant,

I would like nothing more than to contribute to your success!  Here is my guidance on how to completely ace our coding assignment:

  1. Follow the instructions:  You wouldn’t believe how many candidates are disqualified by not following the instructions, or by building tons of extra features.  Show us that you can code to a shared specification.
  2. Focus on efficiency:  Nested if statements can totally solve the problem, but are not very impressive.  For perspective, I wrote nested if statements when I was learning Visual Basic in 10th grade.  Show us that you can innovate on a simple problem with an elegant solution.
  3. Write tests:  We like lazy developers, and lazy developers write tests so that they don’t have to waste time debugging code later.  Show us how you will be a steward to our technology and to your co-workers.

Most importantly, HAVE FUN and good luck!

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Above all else, it’s about the relationship

Posted on January 15, 2014 in Authenticity

Taxi Magic is hiring, and it’s an exciting time to be here!  Given all the interviews that we’re conducting, I thought it would be appropriate to provide some advice (the best candidates might find this blog post, right?)

The average candidate will try to demonstrate how their skills fit the job.  In reality, this strategy is sure to seem bland (all the other candidates are doing it).

The standout candidate focuses on what the job interview is actually about:  demonstrating your ability to be a partner.

Being a partner goes beyond saying that you’re a team player.  It’s about showing that you’re human, and that you care; You care not just about the work, but about the other humans in the room.

Alternatively, you could apply to companies that pretend that the work is completely impersonal (widget, meet cog), but why would you ever want to do that?

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