Hiring & Acceptance Test

I came across this posting on a Yahoo! group recently and it was too good not to pass it along.  It is about writing an acceptance for hiring a senior developer in the spirit of Extreme Programming.


class SeniorDeveloperAcceptanceTest extends TestCase{
   Developer candidate;
   Collection team;

   public void setUp() {
      candidate = new Developer();
      team = YourCompany.getTeam();
   }

   public void testTechnicalSkills() {
      assertTrue(candidate.isJavaExpert());
      assertTrue(candidate.canDesignLargeApplication());
      assertTrue(candidate.canReduceTechnicalDebt());
      assertTrue(candidate.practiceTDD());
   }

   public void testTeachingSkills() {
      assertTrue(candidate.canImproveTeamSkills());
      assertTrue(candidate.canArgueAboutAgility());
   }

   public void testHumanBehavior() {
      assertTrue(candidate.canPairProgram());
   assertTrue(candidate.canIntegrateWith(team));
   assertTrue(candidate.hasPositiveAttitude());
   }

   public void testMethodologySkills() {
      assertTrue(candidate.knowExtremeProgramming());
      assertTrue(candidate.canImproveTeamVelocity());
   }
   }


10 Tips For Success Career

I found an old email in my mail box dated back in 1999, but the content is still pretty applicable. The content of the email contains 10 tips for a successful career. Since I haven’t really taken all those tips seriously over the years, it is no surprise that my career is not as successful as it can be Looking back though, I can see that I unconsciously practiced some of those tips and I can totally say the pay off is good and led to unexpected pleasant surprises. So for the next 5 years, I am planning to take these tips seriously and constantly going back to them for reminders.

Here are the tips:

1. Don’t wait for permissions
2. Don’t burn bridges
3. Respect others
4. Be a team player
5. Be Flexible
6. Have confidence in your decision
7. Learn technologies
8. Find a champion
9. Be both patient and tenacious
10. Thinks two steps ahead

There is one tip that I would like to add:

11. Have a health disregard for the impossible

Love to hear your career tips.

Annual Health Check On Your Career

Everyone who is working for some else should perform an annual health check on their career. The beginning of a year is a perfect time for do this. So what does an annual career health check consist of? Well, I can’t really tell you that, but there are three fundamental question you should ask:

1. Does your current employer help you build your skills?
2. Will your current employer continue to challenge you and give you opportunities to grow?
3. Does your current employer show appreciation for you work?

I think the above three questions is a good start.