Recently, we've been trying to fill a software developer position in the group I work in, and I've been participating in the interview process. Generally, each candidates meets with two interviewers at a time, and the interviewers often ask technical questions. Based on the questions some of my interview partners have asked, and the responses we've gotten from candidates, I've come to the conclusion that I wouldn't be able to perform well enough on these interviews to get a job with my company if I were applying for a position today. Those interviewing me would almost certainly come to the conclusion that I didn't have what it takes to be a successful software developer at the company. However, such an assessment would not be accurate, because I've had a very successful 24-year career as a software developer, and if my most recent performance reviews are to be believed, my supervisors and colleges are still very happy with my work today.
So, with that in mind, I started to think about why I've been able to have a successful career at my company, even though I've almost never had a strong technical knowledge of software development relative to my peers. I came to the conclusion that I'm valued at my company because I'm the kind of person who just gets things done. I may not know all the latest technical tools and techniques off the top of my head, but I realized that when given an issue to tackle, I was going to be able to figure out the best way to resolve it. While thinking about this, I actually had the following thought in my head.
"Give me a problem, and I'll solve it!"
It was then that I realized, much to my chagrin, that any level of success I've had in my 24-year career is based on the philosophy of Vanilla Ice.
Rich ( The Vanilla Ice of Software Developers )
