The Bran Test: 8 Things You Should Know About Your Next Employer

Why I'm writing this post

Recently I signed up for John Sonmez's free blogging course.  I thought it was great.  John had lots of good tips for anyone looking to start or grow their blog.  As a part of the course, John gave us some homework.  Our latest assignment had two parts:

1. Write a blog post about John's course...check! 
2. Find a post on SimpleProgrammer.com and comment on it...check!  

That being said, what follows is my response to John's post entitled "The Joel Test For Programmers".

 

What is the Joel Test?

The Joel Test is a set of criteria Joel Spolsky defined to rate the quality of software development teams.  Inspired by the Joel Test, John came up with his own test to rate the quality of software developers.  Both tests got me thinking about the criteria I use to evaluate whether or not a new employment opportunity is right for me.  As a result, here are eight things I think you should know about your next employer:   

#1) How do they make money?

Remember, you're investing your time and energy into this organization, and for most of us, our livelihood is directly tied to how good the organization is at making money.  Take the time to find out how they make money and make sure it's something you're comfortable with.

#2) What would you be working on?

Assuming everything works out, what would you be working on? Is it something that interests you? Is it something you personally see value in? Are you excited to have your name associated with it? Remember what my former boss use to say, "When you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life." 

#3) Do you like the boss?

Speaking of bosses, what would you think if the person interviewing you got to tell you what to do for 40+ hours a week? Do you like them? Do you trust them? Do they seem pretty reasonable? Are they willing to consider alternative points of view? Are they a micro-manager? Does their management style align with how you like to be managed? Remember, people quit their boss, not their job.   

#4) Do you like the team?

Usually you work with more people than just your boss.  What do you think of the rest of the team? Are they nice? Do they seem to know what they're doing? Is it all for one and one for all? Can you trust them to have your back?  Remember, chances are you'll spend more waking time with your team than your family.

#5) Are they using current technology?  

Being a software developer, I really love technology.  And not just technology for technology's sake.  I really believe that technology has the potential to completely change lives (and organizations) for the better.  And usually current technology is better.  That's part of the reason it's current.  It's an improvement over something that's outdated.  It let's you work more efficiently.  It's more expressive.  You can do more with it.  I want any organization I'm a part of to be as successful and as efficient as possible and usually that means using the best tools they can afford.      

#6) Are they using current project management techniques?

I'm a huge fan of the Agile project management methodology, and not just  because Agile is somewhat of an IT buzzword.  I really believe in the principles outlined in the Agile Manifesto.  For developing new products and services, Agile can't be beat.  Again, I want any organization I'm a part of to be as successful as possible, and part of that means managing projects in a way that helps facilitate successful outcomes, fueled by close collaboration with customers.  Outcomes where the customer gets what they want, not what they thought they wanted when the project began.       

#7) Is there opportunity for growth?

If everything works out, what opportunities would be available to you? Is there an opportunity for financial gain? To learn something new? For career growth? For personal development? To be creative? To mentor others? To help someone in need? To really make a difference? Sometimes it's worth making a change for a really great opportunity.  Carpe diem, and make the most of it!    

#8) Have you counted the cost?

Speaking of opportunity, what's the opportunity cost associated with making this move? What are you giving up to take this position? Work-life balance? Security? Money? Comfort? A short commute? Free time? In order to make a good decision, carefully consider both the benefits and the cost.

"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace."  

- Luke 14:28-32

I decided to make the move

This topic has been very near and dear to my heart recently as I decided to make a career move myself.  Anytime I've decided to make a move like this, the hardest thing for me was saying goodbye to my coworkers.  I am proud to have been a part of one of the best teams I ever had the pleasure of working with.  I'm hoping very much that we can all stay in touch and continue to learn from each other (and have fun!).  I wish them all the very best of luck.    

That's my test, what's yours? 

Thanks for checking out this post! Anything I missed? Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below to continue the discussion.  Thanks again and have a great day!     

 

Silly chronicles of a sleep deprived daddy

My wife and I were so excited to met our first born son! 

There was nothing like meeting our son for the first time.  We love him so much.  Even though we only met him a few weeks ago, it's hard to imagine our lives without him.  Reflecting on the past few weeks, I realize what a crazy ride it's been!

For example, during the past few weeks, I:

Changed my son's diaper, only to realize that I left his dirty diaper under his clean diaper.  I finally noticed when I couldn't find his dirty diaper anywhere.  Then I thought to myself, "Oh no...I didn't...did I?" Oh yes, I did.


Started heating water for coffee, only to have my wife point out that I had the front burner on instead of the back burner.  There I go again, melting spatulas instead of making coffee, d'oh!

Be careful daddy!

Watched an inordinate amount of Star Trek The Next Generation during late night feedings.  I think the episode I like the best (maybe because I can personally identify with the plot) is Night Terrors.  Basically, the crew of the Enterprise start to go insane because no one can get any SLEEP!!!  Well, almost no one.  Commander Data and Counselor Troi were more or less unaffected.  Spoiler alert: I like the end of the episode because Commander Data orders Captain Picard to go to bed and get some rest.  I keep hoping that someone will do the same for me!

Learned a new euphemism for a pivotal and dramatic improvement: "Riker's Beard", taken from Star Trek - The Next Generation, which many fans considered wanting until Commander Riker grew a beard at the start of Season Two, after which the show was well-received for the rest of its run.  I think I can even use it in a sentence: "The development and subsequent release of the iPhone was a real Riker's Beard moment for Apple." 

I blame most of this wackiness on sleep deprivation.

So what does all this have to do with software development?

Hmm...I'm not exactly sure.  Maybe the take away is that:

1. We all make silly mistakes from time to time, it's OK, really!
2. Don't take yourself to seriously.
3. Life is much more than software development (or sleep!)  

<sermonette>On a much more philosophical note, the miracle of life, and the love my wife and I have for our son seem to be pretty strong evidence (at least to me) for both a creator and a Heavenly Father who loves us...I'd be happy to discuss this further with anyone who's interested! You may want to check out the Book of John and/or the Give Me An Answer website</sermonette>  

While we're talking about life (both as a software developer and in general)

I'd like to say thank you to John Sonmez of SimpleProgrammer.com for taking time out of his very busy schedule to talk with me for almost an hour last week about my newly developed, light weight content management system, SiteMailCMS.com.  While it's clear that John is a VERY busy guy, he took the time to listen to what I had to say and gave some excellent, well thought out advice on how to market SiteMailCMS.  I've been following John's blog for a while now.  His posts are exceptionally well written and cover a variety of topics ranging from his thoughts on Test Driven Development to How to Market Yourself as a Software Developer and everything in between.  He's got a new book out entitled "Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual".  His book is packed with all kinds of great advice on all sorts of topics that impact not only how you code, but potentially how you live, from finances to fitness.  If you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think.  I'm sure you'll be impressed!  
 

 

So what do you think? 

Does sleep deprivation make you as zany as it made me? Does having a child make you think that there might be more to life than software development (and sleep!)? What do you think of "Soft Skills"? Leave a comment below to continue the conversation, I'd LOVE to hear from you!