Re:Ask HN: Would you hire a coder just by looking at GitHub ...
by mzarate06 on Monday October 07, 2013 @04:53AM
(#6507130)
No. I wouldn't hire anybody based solely on one signal.
Great hiring requires evaluating more thoroughly than that. Have no less than one conversation with any candidate you're considering. Get a feel for their history, how they communicate, if they've any experience or passion in your domain, etc. E.g. All else equal, I'd more likely hire a candidate for my music start up that had experience integrating music apis, was an avid music lover, etc. That's not required, but helpful.
And yes, I'd still have any candidate write code in an interview. Too many times simple sql queries, OO, or basic understanding of data structures have defeated candidates, despite code samples that implied otherwise. If a candidate can't write simple code to solve simple problems, they likely can't help the company solve much bigger problems efficiently.
Great hiring requires evaluating more thoroughly than that. Have no less than one conversation with any candidate you're considering. Get a feel for their history, how they communicate, if they've any experience or passion in your domain, etc. E.g. All else equal, I'd more likely hire a candidate for my music start up that had experience integrating music apis, was an avid music lover, etc. That's not required, but helpful.
And yes, I'd still have any candidate write code in an interview. Too many times simple sql queries, OO, or basic understanding of data structures have defeated candidates, despite code samples that implied otherwise. If a candidate can't write simple code to solve simple problems, they likely can't help the company solve much bigger problems efficiently.