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The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

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5 Best Strategies To Get Your First Programming Job

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Reading Time: 8 minutes

A First Programming Job Requires Experience, But… How?

A question that aspiring young developers ask me all the time is: How do I get the first programming job that I need to build the experience required by most programming jobs?

It appears like a chicken and egg problem. You need work experience to get your first job, but you can’t get that experience without the first job. It might seem like an impossible riddle. In reality, it is far from impossible.  Here are five strategies that will not fail you.

Strategy #1 – Acquire Experience Well Before You Finish School

I worked a lot while I was still in school, and it made my life much easier later. Before finishing my studies, I accumulated a substantial number of professional programming experiences that made me into a senior developer even before I was interested in a full-time job. ... 

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The Fallacy of Extreme Tech Interviews

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Reading Time: 6 minutes

Life of a software engineer.

It must have been more than 15 years ago. I was working as a developer for a company in Seattle. I spent my days writing code, designing technical solutions, leading projects, and interviewing job applicants for engineering positions. I loved my job. The interviewing part was a nice distraction from hours of uninterrupted programming sessions. It was more enjoyable than the average meeting, more social than coding, and I got to meet lots of interesting and like-minded people.

On a gloomy evening of February, my calendar informed me that I had one more thing to do before going home. I had almost forgotten. I had to interview someone for a Senior Software Engineer position. His name was Bob. ... 

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6-Step process to hire happy software developers and create fans

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Reading Time: 7 minutes

Software development interviews don’t have to suck

If there was a yearly contest to proclaim the industry with the most abusive interview process, software development would win every year. Interviewers ask candidates to jump through hoops to prove their worthiness. I have been in interviews with me on one side of the table, 12 engineers on the other side taking turn asking coding questions. In a different occasion, a screener asked me to code on a voice-only phone call; that was followed by 3 rounds of 6 hours interview loops. Such drills are ridiculous, abusive, and prove weakness and insecurity in the hiring process. A strong hiring manager needs to have the skills to decide much faster if a candidate is a good fit. There is no reason to torture job applicants, other than being insecure and unable to make a decision. ... 

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The Economy of Software Development

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

Meetings are unpopular

In development organizations, software engineers often question why they need to spend time in meetings and tracking their work. They label time spent not coding as “ritualistic overhead”, “agile bureaucracy” and a waste of time. This point of view is natural, as developers learn to write code by themselves. To a developer writing code alone, any distraction is a waste of time. Phone calls, idle chats, bathroom breaks, or anything that is not writing code, interrupt the flow. ... 

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The Art of Screening Candidates

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

Hiring great tech talent is the foundation for strong teams. The importance of fine-tuning the interview process and the quality of the interview loops should be of great concern for all hiring managers and organizations. Screening candidates is a very important aspect of any interview.

In a world where a full technical interview can cost your team 4 to 10 man-hours, mastering the art of screening candidates is key to reduce costs, scale hiring efforts, and quickly sift through many promising resumes. ... 

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