We are in the process of interviewing several candidates for positions at Big in Japan (HTML5 Ad Designers, iPhone Developer, Blackberry Developer, Android Developer, .NET Developer, PHP/JAVA Developer) and it shocks me how many candidates have no examples of their work. Before agreeing to interview an iPhone developer I ALWAYS ask them for a list of applications they have in the iTunes app store. Less than 50% of the candidates who apply can point to an example of their work in iTunes. Imagine showing up at the Dallas Morning News to interview for a writing position without an example of your work (published or unpublished). It just isn’t done. 100% of candidates will bring examples of their writing 100% of the time. Why isn’t this the case in the development world?
Some of the candidates explain that their current full-time position takes all of their time and they haven’t been able to finish an application. Really? If you are serious about becoming/being an iPhone developer I think it would make some sense to build something to demonstrate your skill. Build an app with your resume on it – anything that proves you have the ability to write in Objective C. Other candidates have told me (more than one) that they didn’t want to pay the $99 developer fee that Apple charges! Really? I wish I could tell them that the interview was costing me more than $99, but I try to be nice and escape from the interview as quickly as possible. My eight year old son spent a week in a video game development camp and even he can show a potential employer examples of his work. My advice to would-be developers (iPhone or otherwise) is to bring examples of your work with you when you interview. If you don’t have examples, take a few hours each night to create something – anything – and then use that when you interview.
Haha, great read. Your son rocks!