[RTigger]

I don't think it's a joke at all - I know lots of companies and people (myself included) who stress their culture and fit so much that technical skills often fall by the wayside. Sure, we want to know if you can code, but that can usually be figured out with a 15 minute white board test. If you're truly a pain to work with, unable to work in a team environment, or generally not collaborative, you probably won't get a job at my company.

Conversely, if you're a self-motivated learner, a good team member, and able to contribute, but don't quite have the technical skills we're looking for, we'll gladly take a training hit (usually 2 to 4 weeks) to get you up to speed on language X in exchange for an engaged and valuable employee.

But that might just be my company.

[orenbarzilai]

Totally agree about that, company culture is really important. You must be a team player, nice to work with, self-motivated, independent etc...

But """work on your "being a guy that a CTO would want to have a beer with" skills. That, combined with a bit of networking"""

Just sounds terribly wrong.

[no_wave]

So do you disagree with the statement, or are you unsatisfied with the possible reality that it represents?

[orenbarzilai]

The statement. When I hire ppl, I check their technical skills, social skills, that they are smart, good people and nice to work with.

Drinking beer with me after work or good out together in the weekend isn't one of the requirements.

[PeterisP]

Well, as you say, you do check if they're "good people and nice to work with" - the post said pretty much that, because "being the kind of person I'd like to have a beer after work" is pretty much the same emotional reaction as "being the kind of person that is good and nice to work with", and isn't related to the fact if you're actually having beer after work with anyone.

[pmiller2]

I wish I knew more companies like that.

Shameless plug: Any companies like this, feel free to contact me through the email address in my profile. :-)