Thank you for writing this! I appreciate the specific details and clarity. Although I’m not a Developer nor an employer of Developers, I do interact with a lot of Developers. Based on my experience, I think good Developers have a low tolerance for ambiguity—the code can’t “sort of” work and “maybe meet some” requirements. The code needs to work for specific use cases.
Likewise, honesty, transparency and clarity on behalf of potential employers is probably really helpful to Developers in understanding fit (or lack thereof).
Perhaps I’m completely wrong. I’m curious what Developers themselves think. Are there wildly chaotic, high tolerance for ambiguity Developers? Do they thrive in opaque surroundings?
It is VERY COMMON for developers to hear ambiguous sentences from employers, such as:
“we have the best people”
“we work on cutting edge tech”
“our work processes are tidy and very important for us”
“we help everyone grow”
And for the developers to believe this, sign with that employer, and then to be (I don’t have the word.. shaken? terrified?) of discovering the reality of the company.
So to your question, I am sad to say that these ambiguous “sales” sentences seem to work, commonly once per developer.
To the employers, I will say: The next step is for the developer to be sad, to pretend that everything is ok, and then you have whatever problems you get when you hire someone who has serious second thoughts about being there. It is better to be transparent from the beginning! (I think!)
To the employees: I am happy to help you find questions that will give you unambiguous information about whether this work place fits what you are looking for or not (assuming the employer is not willing to very blatantly lie, which most won’t, I think)
Thank you for writing this! I appreciate the specific details and clarity. Although I’m not a Developer nor an employer of Developers, I do interact with a lot of Developers. Based on my experience, I think good Developers have a low tolerance for ambiguity—the code can’t “sort of” work and “maybe meet some” requirements. The code needs to work for specific use cases.
Likewise, honesty, transparency and clarity on behalf of potential employers is probably really helpful to Developers in understanding fit (or lack thereof).
Perhaps I’m completely wrong. I’m curious what Developers themselves think. Are there wildly chaotic, high tolerance for ambiguity Developers? Do they thrive in opaque surroundings?
It is VERY COMMON for developers to hear ambiguous sentences from employers, such as:
“we have the best people”
“we work on cutting edge tech”
“our work processes are tidy and very important for us”
“we help everyone grow”
And for the developers to believe this, sign with that employer, and then to be (I don’t have the word.. shaken? terrified?) of discovering the reality of the company.
So to your question, I am sad to say that these ambiguous “sales” sentences seem to work, commonly once per developer.
To the employers, I will say: The next step is for the developer to be sad, to pretend that everything is ok, and then you have whatever problems you get when you hire someone who has serious second thoughts about being there. It is better to be transparent from the beginning! (I think!)
To the employees: I am happy to help you find questions that will give you unambiguous information about whether this work place fits what you are looking for or not (assuming the employer is not willing to very blatantly lie, which most won’t, I think)