>The best developers I hired were far from ideal candidates.
The author seems to be suggesting that there is a negative correlation between a candidate’s CV and previous accomplishments and their future accomplishments without offering any evidence. How many of Google’s top developers fit in this bucket? Many of the top devs I’ve met were prodigies—it wasn’t a misfit toys story that the author claims. Sorry, it’s a nice story and it may be true but this is a pretty bold claim.
How many prodigies exist ? How much demand is there for developers in the market at present ? Does the demand for developers match the number of prodigies available at any given time ? Some prodigies know their strengths early and some prodigies are to be discovered. I think the author refers to the latter.
I see this trope trotted out so often with nothing to back it up that I can't help but wonder if there isn't a hidden agenda behind it:
"The best devs I've ever worked with didn't have a CS degree"
"The best devs I've ever worked with didn't have a degree in anything"
"The best devs I've ever worked with had no prior experience"
"The best devs I've ever worked with were drug addicts I found at the methadone clinic"
"The best devs I've ever worked with were wild bushmen in the jungles of Africa who had never encountered any technology more complex than flint and tinder"
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 24.6 ms ] threadThe author seems to be suggesting that there is a negative correlation between a candidate’s CV and previous accomplishments and their future accomplishments without offering any evidence. How many of Google’s top developers fit in this bucket? Many of the top devs I’ve met were prodigies—it wasn’t a misfit toys story that the author claims. Sorry, it’s a nice story and it may be true but this is a pretty bold claim.
"The best devs I've ever worked with didn't have a CS degree"
"The best devs I've ever worked with didn't have a degree in anything"
"The best devs I've ever worked with had no prior experience"
"The best devs I've ever worked with were drug addicts I found at the methadone clinic"
"The best devs I've ever worked with were wild bushmen in the jungles of Africa who had never encountered any technology more complex than flint and tinder"
Errm....citation required please? otherwise I may take offence.