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By: Dave Albert
Date: Started 2017-08-05
Title: Tips on hiring programmers
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Thought I'd share a few tips I've found helpful when hiring.


What I Do
=========

I've spent loads of time in the past talking to candidates, and that doesn't
really let you know how well they code.  Instead my new approach is to spend 
about 15 to 20 minutes talking and that gives me an idea if they are a fit at 
all.  Communication, initial attitude, experience type, etc.  Then I give them a
simple project (see below) that I watch as they code.  I make sure to let them
know that this is a simple project, but to write it exactly like they would a
production application.


Example Project
===============

For an iOS developer write me an iOS app like you would for production that:

* Has 3 input fields for numbers from a user
* Has 1 display field
* The user can choose to add or multiply the numbers together
* Feel free to ask as many questions as you need


What I Look For
===============

* Do they ask questions
* Are they good questions
* Is the business logic in a separate class
* With 3 fields, did they use an array or three separate variables
* Tests? Write them or mention them?
* How much reuse is there in the ViewController (or room for)



Wrap Up
=======

This has given me so much more insight into if they can write good code than
hours of discussions. You still want more than this, but I find it more useful
than FizzBuzz as they can Google that if you're not watching.  Also building
apps has a lot more mundane diligence than mathematical tricks like you might
find on project Euler in my experience.



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- Dave
  dave (dot) albert (at) gmail (dot) com
  [twitter] @dave_albert
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