I in no way am trying to burn any bridges here. \u00a0As of 2012, I have participated in the web challenge for 4 years, and plan to for years to come. \u00a0It’s one of the greatest programs for non-profits that has ever been\u00a0conceived. \u00a0However, I feel I need to address the importance of first impressions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Pitch<\/h2>\n
I was first introduced to The Nerdery in 2008 when they ran a campaign where if you could solve a code challenge your reward was a cash prize.\u00a0 I gathered that this was really a two-fold publicity stunt:<\/p>\n
- \n
- To launch their new brand “The Nerdery” – rather than being known for their somewhat boring “Sierra-Bravo” incorporated name.<\/li>\n
- To solicit developers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
It was a clever idea, and while the prize wasn’t outrageous ($100 IIRC), it sounded interesting enough for me to try it.\u00a0 I assumed they were soliciting developers because at one of my earlier jobs we had a standard practice of sending job candidates a code challenge, and if they successfully completed it, we granted them an interview.<\/p>\n
I think any code challenge, with or with without a prize incentive, is worth examining.\u00a0 Some people (non-developers) wonder why.\u00a0 Mostly it’s to self-satisfy my ego – to prove that I can do it.\u00a0 Even if I don’t press one key, I’d still like to examine the problem.\u00a0 I might work out a viable solution in my head and that would be satisfaction enough.<\/p>\n
So, in the spirit of\u00a0intellectualism\u00a0(with the added bonus of some beer money), I thought this would be a worthwhile endeavor. \u00a0This is where the bait-and-switch happened.<\/p>\n
The Switch<\/h2>\n
To apply for the code challenge, I had to submit a r\u00e9sum\u00e9.\u00a0 It seemed fair, as I had assumed the end-goal was to use the publicity stunt as a\u00a0recruiting\u00a0tool. \u00a0This is where the stunt ends and the ruse begins.\u00a0 Upon learning that I was a local candidate, the “Client Relations Coordinator” wanted to schedule me to come in for an interview – no mention of the code challenge. \u00a0After informing her that I would only be interested in part-time and\/or telecommuting positions, she politely turned me down for the interview (and subsequently the challenge) by stating that<\/p>\n
We are hiring full-time, on-site developers for our Bloomington office […] to meet our growing business needs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It’s not really a big deal, but I somehow felt like I got scammed.\u00a0 Maybe I’m just giving them a bum rap because from my viewpoint all they did was take the “1) code challenge 2) interview” process and “flip-it and reverse-it.”<\/a>\u00a0 In their defense, at my old job we eventually changed our process the same way to get more candidates in for interviews – however, we weren’t selling it as a code challenge with a cash prize.<\/strong><\/p>\n
This all happened in 2008, and the only reason I’m posting this now is because I recently received a head-hunting email from The Nerdery inviting me in for an interview.<\/p>\n
Do you still have that code challenge? \u00a0I’d just prefer to do that instead, no cash prize needed.<\/p>\n
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Send to Kindle<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I feel the need to confess that I have somewhat of a love\/hate relationship with The Nerdery. \u00a0They do quite a bit of wonderful philanthropic things for the community including (but not limited to): The Overnight Website Challenge Generously hosting (and providing food for) several tech-based meetups including MSPWordPress I in no way am trying… Continue reading