Symmetric IF The following is an example of what I started calling Symmetric IF because all the branches of the IF have equal dignity and weight. public Observable<File> getSelectedFile() { if (selectedFile != null) { return selectedFileSubject.asObservable().startWith(selectedFile); } else { return selectedFileSubject.asObservable(); } } This code is written to leverage the capabilities of ReactiveX/RxJava, a library that… Continue reading Asymmetric IFs help you keep DRY
Author: Francesco Bianchi
The time you save not providing feedback for an offline tech test may cost you dearly
Mary is an extremely interesting candidate. She was introduced to you by a recruiting agency that you reached out to get help finding the right person. You would have done it yourself but this period you are super busy and don't have time for this part of the business. Right choice, dangerous mindset if… Continue reading The time you save not providing feedback for an offline tech test may cost you dearly
Too many candidates, often the best ones, will withdraw from a hiring process requiring to take a tech test offline
Today I bumped into an interesting thread on StackExchange about tech tests scaring off candidates. Here the issue that bobo2000, at his first gigs as an interviewer, experienced with candidates asked to complete a tech tests: It is the first time that I am doing HR, and we are looking for a developer. The selection… Continue reading Too many candidates, often the best ones, will withdraw from a hiring process requiring to take a tech test offline

Do not underestimate the time a candidate will need to complete that offline tech test you gave them
Test estimation is usually not performed by the same person that is submitting its text to the candidate Tech tests are usually presented to the candidate by HR people, who most of the times don’t have the skills to estimate the duration of the task the candidate is being asked to perform. A good HR… Continue reading Do not underestimate the time a candidate will need to complete that offline tech test you gave them
The Babel of Polyglot programming
Polyglot cooking An honorable mention goes to the first person who can translate the following: Rebus: I sextarius lac, et recens totum organicum Totum in velit vel empta lyophilized lactic fermenta yoghurt Procedimento Mettete il latte a riscaldare. La temperatura del latte dovrà raggiungere i 40 ° ma non superarli. Oltre la soglia dei 50 °C… Continue reading The Babel of Polyglot programming
An API is first and foremost a contract but how it’s honored is what matters the most
An API is first and foremost a contract Like a contract between humans defines the rules both sides have to follow to make a certain interaction work, so an API defines how an application can interact with another one. Not all contracts between humans have characteristics very similar to a typical API but certain analogies… Continue reading An API is first and foremost a contract but how it’s honored is what matters the most
How long does it take a developer to read a recruiter’s email?
Search on Google the question “how long does it take a recruiter to review a resume” and you’ll get back 23.600.000 results. It’s evident that there’s a lot of interest for this topic and I remember it clearly becoming one of the hottest topics of discussion multiple times over the last 10 years. Even magazines… Continue reading How long does it take a developer to read a recruiter’s email?
One-liner methods can easily become an antipattern
Unless you are a very old-style procedural programmer, chances are you’ve grown up in an environment that promoted keeping the body of methods as short as possible. Nowadays more and more advocate that the Nirvana is to have methods of 1 line of code. The rationale behind is the false assumption that shorter methods are… Continue reading One-liner methods can easily become an antipattern
Make your meetings more effective
In a previous post we scratched the surface of how bad it can be to bring laptops at meetings. That’s definitely one of the reasons we often perceive meetings as a huge waste of time. It’s not the only one though. It’s important to start recognizing how we are contributing to making the meetings we attend… Continue reading Make your meetings more effective
No laptops at meetings
Hi all, oh my beloved typists 🙂 Please stop your furious finger activities for less than a couple of minutes minutes and pay attention to the following rant. I understand that you are all super committed to get done as much work as possible but please let me stress that meetings are not the right… Continue reading No laptops at meetings