| >> Programming isn’t typically a job done under pressure, so seeing how people perform when nervous is pretty useless. > Not my experience. Actually, quite the contrary. > The single biggest difference I have ever seen (over and over again) between a good programmer and a great programmer is how they respond under pressure. Given enough time, lots of programmers can code something that works. The problem is that there are many occasions where there simply isn't enough time. Can you hit a deadline? Can you stay awake all night if you have to? Can you resolve this problem that's holding everything and everyone else up? Can you settle down that user or customer who's up in arms? Can you figure out what wrong decision was made 4 steps ago that is causing big problems now? And can you do it now? > Understanding how well someone performs under pressure (and whether or not that makes them nervous) is hardly useless. I can't think of too many more things that are useful to know. I'm pretty sure your examples conflate different sorts of pressure, and I don't think how you perform for one reflects how you'll perform for all. I've been in all those situations and the physiological responses are different. There's never been a time on the job that I've felt the sort of pressure I have in an interview. In fact, if that were routine, I'm pretty sure my friends would have burned out of software development long ago. Moreover, if my job routinely required last second cowboy-style programming, which is sure to lead to bad design and bugs, I'd get a new job. I'd say that, for most software positions, if it makes sense to hire programmers whose success depends on performing well under the same physiological conditions as are normal during an interview, something's broken in your processes. Disclosure: As an ex-basketball player, crunch time pressure is extremely similar to interview pressure, and I handle both exceedingly well. I've always felt a little fraudulent since I come off better in interviews than some programmers who are more talented than I am. |
I found the reason in the end. I wasn't extra stress sensitive. I just couldn't relax during stressed periods -- I was "on" 24/7.
Mediation solved that.
Edit: This was a bit personal, but I'll let it be. It might help someone. (AA, etc.)