It’s dark and starting to get a little cold so I don’t feel like wandering around for too long. I manage to find somewhere open on a square near a tram stop.
The restaurant is pleasantly busy. There’s a family and a few couples. There are also three men, other than me, dining alone.
How do you interview people for developer and technical jobs? This is an enduring question, and one with many angry factions.
It’s too big a subject to tackle in its entirety and I have no intention of trying. Instead, I want to talk about one aspect: should you ask Computer Science questions or not?
In one corner are the people who argue that you never need to implement a linked list or write Quick Sort in real life, so asking you to do that in an interview is unreasonable and excludes good candidates. They argue that there are more important things to consider, such as the use of applications frameworks or design or working with other people.
For this weeks PhotoFriday theme, “Eyes,” I was very tempted to use the image I took for the “Extreme Closeup” challenge but then realised that it was only a couple of months ago, a bit too soon to use it again.
Instead I picked the above picture of Lena, which was taken in my first time working in a studio. It’s actually a crop of a picture I normally use in black and white.
It’s been over five years since I last told you about my favourite computer and programming related books (don’t believe the date on that article. It’s been edited lightly a couple of times since I first posted it).
Having said that, some things have not changed. The vast majority of books on the shelves of your local retailer are very specific. Publishers seem to eschew broad, generally useful texts in preference for yet another beginners guide to Microsoft Word or C++ (or, more likely, Visual C++ 2005 Special Easter Edition SP2). I do not understand this. Sure, there’s a genuine need for “how to” books for specific technologies but is it not more useful to learn how to solve problems in general rather than how to solve a particular problem with a particular product?
This chap is a professional camel handler that led my animal, dancing, singing and laughing all the way through Wadi Rum in Jordan. This weeks PhotoFriday theme being “Professional” I thought this image was appropriate.
Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “My Little Secret.” I’m entry number 185.
Like most people, most of my photography tends to happen when I travel. I do like to branch out from time to time though, this time into portrait photography. This picture is from my first (and currently only) experience in a studio and is of a model called Lena. She was professional, fun and very keen on motor racing.
This is a cropped version of the original. I usually use the full-size, black and white version which is not suitable for work.