Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Judys Book Is Hiring

Judy's Book is looking for a K.A.T.N. Windows developer (bonus points if you are instantly familiar with this acronym).

From time to time when we have been out looking for developers we have asked ourselves whether we should be looking for a more senior, or a more junior person. we often frame this issue as a trade off between the candidate who can jump right in without without adjustment, but is less flexible and the candidate who might need to study up a bit, but is more flexible.

These are valid personal traits to examine - but make a poor hiring 'framework', because there is an implicit assumption of averageness. Many less-experienced people can jump right in and contribute right away, and many more-experienced people are flexible. In a startup, the peaks to climb are high enough that we can't afford anyone not fulfilling both categories.

When Dave put the word out internally, he made sure to emphasize that we want the right person for the money - junior or senior.

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