The most important question….. why?
As I noted in my post a few days ago, I’ve officially started my search for other job opportunities. As some of you out there may have experienced, this has led to several conversations with recruiters.
Now, I’m not bashing on the recruiters, because I know they’re just doing their jobs to the best of their abilities, but I noticed something a long time ago, and the past few days have reminded me of it.
My particular field is riddled with acronyms, abbreviations, and other techno-babble buzz words. A few years ago, AJAX was all the rage. Now, people seem to all abuzz about Ruby, JQuery, and Web 2.0 (thankfully, Flex finally seems be finding its way into the lexicon).
As such, opportunites are often presented to me, with a particular focus on some buzz word. What I’ve never been able to successfully get others out there to understand is that the words, acronyms, even the technologies themselves are just tools. They are a means to an end. Whether or not I’m familiar with YUI is ultimately irrelevant. What is relevent is whether or not I can make a sub-nav doodad slide in from the left.
So I get frustrated because it feels like the criteria for evaluating a talented developer isn’t really structured efficiently. To me, asking if I know JQuery or YUI is the same as asking a carpenter if he knows how to use a nail gun. The real question might be, “Do you know how to hang crown molding”. If he does, then what difference does it make whether or not he uses a nail gun or a hammer (though, as a carpenter myself, I’d strongly recommend using a nail gun)?
My point is, the requirements that are posted for these jobs and mostly likely done so from verbatim instructions by the recruiter’s client. Things would be so much easier, I think, if people would just stop once in awhile and ask “Why?”.
I do it, and it seems to annoy people.
them: “We need a guy that knows YUI.”
me: “Why?”
them: “We want to do sliding menus on our new site.”
me: “You don’t need YUI for that. You need somebody that can code sliding menus.”
Please note: If any recruiters or potential hirers out there read this article, I sincerely hope you don’t take offense. My comments are not intended to reflect negative judgement on recruiters, or other hiring personnel. Rather, it’s a shot against the nebulous nature of this particular industry.