It's amazing how symmetric but decoupled the problem is with good people looking for great companies and great companies looking for good people. Adam Wiggins from Heroku described it like dating sites: in theory, there are plenty of people of all sexes looking for other people to date, copulate, or marry -- but in practice getting to a match is quite hard. We might have been talking about startup financing at the time, not hiring, but there the situation is similar. Is there a name for this category of problem?<p>For me, networking really is an under-appreciated skill for engineers. It makes finding something awesome much easier. Also, it seems like the best thing I ever did to increase the size of my network was do a startup. You're constantly talking to people about financing, biz dev, sales, or even just commiserating / celebrating with other founders.<p>Dropbox is looking to hire some great people. Dropbox is an awesome place to work with one of the best reputations in tech, which is great. But, it is still hard to hire. [obligatory self serving link: <a href="http://dropbox.com/jobs" rel="nofollow">http://dropbox.com/jobs</a> , ask me anything: ivan@dropbox.com ]
Caution: only works if you're a kick-ass programmer.<p>Strive to be that and getting a job becomes magnitudes easier. Sweet, successful side projects are the staple of a kick-ass guy. Glad I got some under my belt :)
<p><pre><code> 2. Observe the working conditions. They reveal a lot about the company's philosophies towards its employees.
You're looking for top notch monitors, chairs, desks, and computers. Look at how much space each programmer has and if the environment is quiet or not.
A top notch work environment is a good investment for maximizing the productivity of programmers and keeping them happy and healthy. Anything less than a top notch work environment is an indication that the company is overly focused on keeping costs low and is cheap with its employees.
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I would disagree with this point. While it is important to have quality monitors and computers, I don't think it is necessary for an early stage startup to go splurging money on nice desks and chairs. In fact, some might take it as a sign the startup is not spendthrift enough and thus more likely to not have enough runway.
Not wanting to sound too negative, but sometimes it's better not to have a job at a kcik-ass startup.<p>The author also commented/wrote in the past that he endured burn out multiple times and is constantly working >10 hours a day.
Great list. I would add that if a resume is required, a well designed resume is important especially if it's a front-end or generalist engineering role. Kick ass startups look through hundreds of resumes, and first impressions are a big deal.
Reading also this one now:
"My experience as the first employee of a Y Combinator startup"<p><a href="http://nathanmarz.com/blog/my-experience-as-the-first-employee-of-a-y-combinator-startu.html" rel="nofollow">http://nathanmarz.com/blog/my-experience-as-the-first-employ...</a>
>> Coworkers that are really smart that you can learn from?<p>So how do startups solve this paradox? - founders/current employees are always looking to hire someone better than themselves, while prospective employees are looking to work with smarter people than themselves at the same time.