What it's like to work at Disqus: interview | Hacker News Reader

What it's like to work at Disqus: interview

blog.snaptalent.com

38 pointssharpshoot13 comments

That's like an interview of some spoiled child actor.

Seriously, nothing they said there was unique. Perhaps it was watered down by the interviewer, but it seems like they could place any company name there looking to hire some people and they probably had the gal to charge them for a 'candid company portrait' as part of their high level web 2.0 recruiting process.

Smells bad to me.

you need to relax dude

haha, spoiled child actor

I'll say this, and I speak only for myself and a medium sized rat I have in my home:

I think it makes a company a lot more likeable when we see an interview with the founders where the founders are just normal people who appear _humble_! I won't mention any names, but there are a few founders who have blogs and whatnots that give this vibe that they are so intelligent and so much better than the rest of us. It makes me want them to fail.

The Disqus guys seem down to earth and a bit camera nervous, which makes them likeable, and makes me want them to succeed too.

So, I think more founders here should post videos of themselves on their product pages, and people will generally be nicer, I believe, as you change from some text into a real person one could meet someday.

"Who are you looking to hire and what skills will they have?

We’re looking for great developers who are passionate about contributing to and shaping the web."

Sounds perfect for the HN crowd.

I was thinking maybe Digg crowd. Cause, you know, they've long suffered bad comment systems and would know a thing a two about it.

Sounds like empty bullshit to me.

Me, were I hiring, I'd say something more like this:

I want madmen. I want people who have seen where the web could be going and who are dedicated to guiding it there. I want the woman who knows when less is more, and when more is more. I want the man who understands how the future of discussion on the web is being shaped, and who is obsessed with getting it right. I want the people who are maybe a little bit crazy about this, because so am I.

but I don't want madmen :(

They look so cool smoking all the time :(

Not so cool when they get lung cancer and have to start selling meth to pay for their treatment.

While poetic and thoroughly motivating, I don't know if I'd apply for a job with a description like that. It reminds me too much of the "need python ninja with postgres jiu-jitsu skillz" spiels you see on freelancing websites. Unless you had a professional advertising company, that description says nothing relevant the actual job he is talking about.

This isn't to say that creative job descriptions aren't amazing, I just feel that they could be better tailored their target audience. Preferably something along the lines of the resume-free job posting, exemplified at http://www.ryanholiday.net/archives/help_wanted.phtml.

Personally, I'd also ask for a description of the applicants favorite algorithm and why. You can gauge their interests and passions from a loaded question like that, and it would be a hell of a lot of fun to write.

Well, sure, that wasn't a complete job description. It wasn't meant to be. It was a replacement for TFA's "We’re looking for great developers who are passionate about contributing to and shaping the web."

In short, it's a hook to get people to look at the actual job opening.

Give me a break. The only jobs worse than the ones that have an HR team write dopey want-ads about "madmen" are the ones where the FOUNDERS write the dopey want-ads and think what they are saying is deep and poignant. Smart and capable programmers see through bullshit easily, therefore the only people applying for your job as listed are dumb and desperate.

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