Sleep Debt

For an online course homework assignment, it was requested that I interview a couple developers (luckily I was able to interview a few of my friends) using a specific set of questions (I also had the option of adding more questions yet I wanted to keep the questions simple as I knew my friends were busy).

Here is the list of questions:

1. How did you learn to code?
2. What advice would you have for someone learning to code for the first time?
3. Would you work with me on a project? Why/why not?
4. What qualities do you look for when hiring a developer?
5. If you and I were to work together, what skills do you think I most need to improve right now?

My first friend and coworker that I interviewed was Ilin. He recently started with us and I have already worked on a couple of projects with him. He was initially surprised that I am asking him these questions and his unease was put to rest once I explained what the responses were being used for.

Without further ado, here is my interview with Ilin:

• Jerome: How did you originally learn to Code Ilin?
• Ilin: I started off by reading programming books and then started to pick the brains of my co-workers. From there I attended training sessions, university classes, and took online courses.
• Jerome: What advice would you have for someone learning to code for the first time?
• Ilin: I would make sure that the person actually likes programming. I would have them work on a small project and see if they enjoy finding the solution and putting to use what they learned.
• Jerome: Would you work with me on a project? Why/why not?
• Ilin: Yes. In my option you are easy to communicate with and learn quickly when you don’t know something.
• Jerome: I hope I won’t disappoint you in the future Ilin…some of the more difficult concepts I am learning are acting as roadblocks. For the next question, what qualities do you look for when you hire a developer?
• Ilin: Apart from having the knowledge, I look to see if the person is a team player, goal-oriented, and loves to learn!
• Jerome: Last question, if you and I were to work together again, what skills do you think I most need to improve right now?
• Ilin: I have nothing to say here, I see that you are currently learning about your new position…keep on learning and improving your skills.

Interviewing Ilin was a blast as he always has a sunny disposition and always wants to help…if he doesn’t know the answer, he will look it up and share his findings with the team.

The second developer I interviewed was Sebastien. His disposition is a bit more serious and his responses were much more terse as can be see in the responses he provided to me.

• Jerome: How did you learn to Code Sebastien?
• Sebastien: The same a person learns anything: looking at examples, lots of coding and repetition.
• Jerome: What advice would you have for someone learning to code for the first time?
• Sebastien: It really depends as not everyone learns the same way. Don’t be afraid something is not going to work…if it doesn’t work, try to fix it and figure out what is causing the problem.
• Jerome: Would you work with me on a project? Why/why not?
• Sebastien: It depends on what my end goal is and what skill sets are needed.
• Jerome: What qualities do you look for when hiring a developer?
• Sebastien: Someone willing to think through problems, has at least a base of knowledge for the job, wants to keep learning and trying things out.
• Jerome: Last question, if you and I were to work together again, what skills do you think I most need to improve right now?
• Sebastien: Make sure you start and finish larger project…don’t try to multitask too much. Stay organized!

As you can see, this interview was a bit different as Sebastien’s personality was unique and different form Ilin’s. Both provided some great answers that will hopefully help me become a better developer later down the road…most of it does depend on my interest and capacity to learn!