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by rtlfe 1427 days ago
I've interviewed at probably 15+ companies over the last decade, and none of them had language requirements or tests. Honestly I see those things as red flags. If you can find somebody with good problem solving skills and proficiency in any language, they'll be able to pick up your language no problem.
2 comments
hutzlibu 1427 days ago
"they'll be able to pick up your language no problem."

That still takes time. If someone is already experienced in an (complex) ecosystem, he or she will be way more effective in it, than someone who has just general skills. I guess I am a very good problem solver. But if I suddenly would have to do a C++ project with all its footguns, I am not aware of (last time I coded in C++ was in university)? I would suck in it for quite a while. This would not be effective at all, unless I would want to change my skillset to the C++ ecosystem.

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rtlfe 1427 days ago
> That still takes time.

Yes. I want to work somewhere that shows they're committed to the long term, not somewhere that's focused on how much I'll get done in my first week.

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wizofaus 1427 days ago
I'm guessing that's not typical for most devs and most job openings. Recruiters in particular seem to assume they need to find devs experienced with particular stacks, and for companies who need to quickly re-fill roles after losing staff, a good dev with experience in the stack/ecosystem you've been working with is always going to get up to speed faster than one without that experience. I'd also say convincing hiring managers that specific libraries/ platforms/languages/tools that you've been using shouldn't be listed as "must have"'s in a JD is hard.
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rtlfe 1426 days ago
> most devs and most job openings

I'm not sure. I'd guess very few companies that hire more than 20 devs a year would have any language requirements. But I don't know what % of jobs are at companies of that size.

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wizofaus 1426 days ago
In my own city I'm not sure there are any such companies. But I was involved in helping out with a hiring round for Thales recently that were looking for 15 devs. They had very strong language requirements.
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