NYCPHP Meetup

[Kristina Anderson]

Hi Dan --

I feel that in some cases, it may be appropriate to ask for code 
samples.  In the case where it is a full time role and company policy 
is that people are asked to submit code samples as part of the hiring 
package, then OK.

But someone posting some BS few thousand buck gig asking for a 
freelancer?  

The way I look at things, if you go to hire a lawyer or a doctor, you 
might ask around and see if anyone has gotten good service from them.  
You might ask them to recommend some satisfied former clients for you 
to speak with before hiring them.  Might even ask them how many spleens 
they have removed before in their career.  Great.  But are you going to 
sit there and say "send me one of your other client's documents so I 
can see if you know how to file a case" or "let me watch you remove 
someone's spleen so that I  know you are a real doctor"...umm.

And by the same token I'm a professional person providing services, my 
services just happen to be debugging code, and I've been called in 
enough times to fix code that others wrote that didn't work, and 
successfully done so, to know that I am good at what I do.  (My 
sometimes boneheaded code mashups in posts here notwithstanding! :))
I'm not saying I'm the best in the world, but I've been around the 
block a few times and paid my dues.

And when you are choosing clients, sometimes you have to look for signs 
that they might be difficult to work with.  If I have to start trying 
to prove to a client at the outset that I'm not a complete and utter 
idiot, then that could be a red flag....?  A huge part of a successful 
project is good will and open communication between client and 
programmer.

In my opinion, reducing the job role of a programmer/systems 
analyst/application developer/etc to a "task oriented" role where you 
go in and take tests and get asked basic stupid questions about HTML 
elements and if statements (and maybe whether you can remember to put 
mocha in the latte) denigrates the nature of the work we do and the 
character and intellect it takes to be successful in this field.  And 
that is something that I have found is far too common an occurrence.


-- Kristina

> Hi Kristina:
> 
> On Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 03:20:42PM -0700, Kristina Anderson wrote:
> > 
> > she responded saying "send a code 
> > sample"...and I emailed her back saying, I have 10+ years of 
> > experience, I don't feel I am in a position to have to prove to you 
> > that I can write code.  
> 
> Asking for code samples is completely reasonable.  It shows how you 
think 
> and how you code.  This is helpful for two reasons.  First, it's a 
way to 
> back up the statement that one has been coding for 10 years.  Second, 
> just because someone has been doing something for 10 years doesn't 
mean 
> they do a good job.
> 
> --Dan
> 
> -- 
>  T H E   A N A L Y S I S   A N D   S O L U T I O N S   C O M P A N Y
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