Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Want To Work For a Cool Tech Company? Hone Your Social Skills

Posted by samzenpus on from the learning-to-talk dept.

jfruh writes Big companies like Google may need to fill seats with high-skilled workers, but smaller companies — which often fit the profile of the hip workplaces people dream of — still have the luxury of picking and choosing. That's why applicants' social skills and "cultural fit" are so important, which may shatter your dreams of tech as a clique-free meritocracy.

5 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Want to work for a startup that fails? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Want to work for a startup which is guaranteed to fail? Go look for employers who care more about having fun than getting shit done.
    Don't like working with nerds and introverts? Then your tech business will fail.

  2. "Culture Fit" is an excuse for discrimination by ragethehotey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Rich white frat boy "tech founders" like being around other rich white frat boys. Anyone that says otherwise, has never set foot in present day San Francisco.

    1. Re:"Culture Fit" is an excuse for discrimination by sribe · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Rich white frat boy "tech founders" like being around other rich white frat boys. Anyone that says otherwise, has never set foot in present day San Francisco.

      What I keep reading here about "brogrammer" culture just blows my mind. I struggle to figure out if it is a generational thing, or subculture based on location. But I can assure you, it was nothing like that at startups in the Boston area in the late 80's... Particularly the attitude toward women--I assure you, anybody that had acted like some of the stories we've read lately, would have been instantly fired--and the rest of the guys would have been happy to see such a person booted out.

  3. A what? by smellsofbikes · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >your dreams of tech as a clique-free meritocracy

    How is a meritocracy not just another type of clique?
    How is hiring people for their excellent social skills not a meritocracy?
    There are so many implicit values embedded in the statement that it becomes a declaration of an extremely specific type of workplace the submitter (or editor) wants and thinks everyone else should want as well. It's the equivalent of the guy without a knife asserting that the guy with the knife should drop it and fight like a man.

    --
    Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
  4. Re:Skilled Introverted programmers need not apply by dbrueck · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Nah, you can be /somewhat/ introverted and still do well. But the fact of the matter is that social skills *are* crucial. It's not discriminatory, it's business, and a person who can't communicate well, who can't interact well, is a net negative, no matter how awesome a coder they are. It's not fair to the business and it's not fair to the rest of the team to have to "deal" with the guy or gal who just can't mesh with the team.

    I've wasted so much time dealing with prima donnas and socially inept "geniuses" that I don't hire either these days. The very first interview is always a personality interview, and if I struggle seeing the person fitting in with the rest of the team, I don't even bother moving on to a technical/skills phase of the interview.

    That doesn't mean we don't hire people that just geek out on tech, but they are people who are passionate but also kind of laid back, people with a good sense of humor, people who can express themselves clearly and can communicate well, people who don't get offended when someone disagrees with them, people just cocky enough to take some risks but who aren't arrogant - they have individual humility while still being very bullish on what they can do to help the team.

    If a candidate doesn't have these qualities, then I genuinely don't care if they are the greatest developer in the history of the world - without the right personality type, they are just too much of a hassle and I pass on them and let them be some other company's problem.