I agree that self-evaluation is a poor filter. That being said... I know that I am not actually "awesome." From time to time I do something people tell me is awesome, but that's because I do a lot of things and once in a while something I try turns out ok.
But here's the thing: I've never been rejected for a job because someone said "Mr. Braithwaite, we advertised for awesome, and you are not awesome." Everybody seems to be in on the secret that "awesome developer" doesn't actually mean John Carmack, Linus Torvalds, and Andy Hertzfeld rolled into one with a side of Alan Turing.
So while I don't think of myself as awesome, I look at advertisements for "awesome developers" the same way I look at advertisements touting the "awesome team culture" and "awesome office location" and the "awesome potential to get stinking rich." I just ignore them.
This may not apply to everyone, but I'm sure that advertising for an "awesome developer" will still get you good people who have self-critical capabilities. They just have to be a little jaded and cynical. In which case, it may not lose you a candidate, but it won't win you any candidates either.
So I doubt it's seriously harmful, but I also doubt it's a great strategy.
p.s. Now that my secret's out, I expect someone is going to phone screen me one day and ask: "So, are you really, really awesome? Because if not, we're done with this call." And I'll have to 'fess up.
Almost by definition, anyone who really is a badass, rockstar, ninja, etc. at what they do is viscerally repelled by the cockiness exuding from job ads seeking people who describe themselves as such... and would never dream of applying for such jobs.
Well, there's the cockiness, but there's also the fact that many times those words are code for "slave". My first job was like that. They advertised for "rockstar" .Net programmers. Only, in this case, "rockstar" apparently meant "willing to work 18 hour days for no extra pay or benefits save the manager telling you how awesome you are and how much money you're saving the company". Ever since that, I've looked at job postings looking for "rockstars" or "ninjas" with a jaundiced eye.
When I see job post titles like these, sometimes I find myself trying to give the company the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're just bragging about themselves instead of asking developers to evaluate themselves ("awesome developer" => "awesome job for a developer").
It's fine to brag, but they can do so much better than a single dimensional word like awesome. All companies think they're awesome. I'd love it if they took the time to express the subtleties of WHY they think they're awesome.
p.s. Thanks for the comment. I read a lot of your writing and appreciate the perspective.
Really great point re: ignoring self-proclaimed awesome anything. I automatically filter out meaningless words, but I also read through job posts quickly so sometimes I'm inexact and accidentally filter out the entire post. I guess it's up to the company if they want to read this post and improve, or risk getting ignored by busy readers?
I was going to comment along these lines, but you summed it up very well.
This could possibly be A/B tested, i.e. have one job that's described as looking for 'awesome' vs 'good' developers for the same job and see what type of candidates it attracts at various levels of the interview process.
Great point. I've always said that the danger with thinking you are awesome is that it makes you stop learning.
I used to think I was awesome back when I didn't know anything more than a single language and paradigm. It's only years later by seeing a second language, then a third and by looking at other projects' sources that I realized how silly being awesome really is.
After a decade of writing code, I've reached the point where I learned enough to admit I know next to nothing.
Its become ad-speak, like in car commercials when they always seem to claim "the best X in its class". For the most part, meaningless. Something to fill the space.
Comments
I agree that self-evaluation is a poor filter. That being said... I know that I am not actually "awesome." From time to time I do something people tell me is awesome, but that's because I do a lot of things and once in a while something I try turns out ok.
But here's the thing: I've never been rejected for a job because someone said "Mr. Braithwaite, we advertised for awesome, and you are not awesome." Everybody seems to be in on the secret that "awesome developer" doesn't actually mean John Carmack, Linus Torvalds, and Andy Hertzfeld rolled into one with a side of Alan Turing.
So while I don't think of myself as awesome, I look at advertisements for "awesome developers" the same way I look at advertisements touting the "awesome team culture" and "awesome office location" and the "awesome potential to get stinking rich." I just ignore them.
This may not apply to everyone, but I'm sure that advertising for an "awesome developer" will still get you good people who have self-critical capabilities. They just have to be a little jaded and cynical. In which case, it may not lose you a candidate, but it won't win you any candidates either.
So I doubt it's seriously harmful, but I also doubt it's a great strategy.
p.s. Now that my secret's out, I expect someone is going to phone screen me one day and ask: "So, are you really, really awesome? Because if not, we're done with this call." And I'll have to 'fess up.
Awesome point there.
Almost by definition, anyone who really is a badass, rockstar, ninja, etc. at what they do is viscerally repelled by the cockiness exuding from job ads seeking people who describe themselves as such... and would never dream of applying for such jobs.
Well, there's the cockiness, but there's also the fact that many times those words are code for "slave". My first job was like that. They advertised for "rockstar" .Net programmers. Only, in this case, "rockstar" apparently meant "willing to work 18 hour days for no extra pay or benefits save the manager telling you how awesome you are and how much money you're saving the company". Ever since that, I've looked at job postings looking for "rockstars" or "ninjas" with a jaundiced eye.
Why is that the definition of "badass, rockstar, ninja, etc."?
When I see job post titles like these, sometimes I find myself trying to give the company the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're just bragging about themselves instead of asking developers to evaluate themselves ("awesome developer" => "awesome job for a developer").
It's fine to brag, but they can do so much better than a single dimensional word like awesome. All companies think they're awesome. I'd love it if they took the time to express the subtleties of WHY they think they're awesome.
p.s. Thanks for the comment. I read a lot of your writing and appreciate the perspective.
Really great point re: ignoring self-proclaimed awesome anything. I automatically filter out meaningless words, but I also read through job posts quickly so sometimes I'm inexact and accidentally filter out the entire post. I guess it's up to the company if they want to read this post and improve, or risk getting ignored by busy readers?
I was going to comment along these lines, but you summed it up very well.
This could possibly be A/B tested, i.e. have one job that's described as looking for 'awesome' vs 'good' developers for the same job and see what type of candidates it attracts at various levels of the interview process.
Here's a post about basics of job descriptions, but it also has some tips for a/b testing your hiring posts: http://katemats.com/benefits-job-description-prove-wrong/
Great point. I've always said that the danger with thinking you are awesome is that it makes you stop learning.
I used to think I was awesome back when I didn't know anything more than a single language and paradigm. It's only years later by seeing a second language, then a third and by looking at other projects' sources that I realized how silly being awesome really is.
After a decade of writing code, I've reached the point where I learned enough to admit I know next to nothing.
Its become ad-speak, like in car commercials when they always seem to claim "the best X in its class". For the most part, meaningless. Something to fill the space.