The key characteristic for a good new recruit is hunger. We don’t want people who think they have achieved something, we don’t want people who are already considered a big shot by their associates. We want people who for whatever reason have a drive to go that extra mile. That done, there are some other desirable characteristics :
- Some sort of obsessive-compulsive disorder about details, technicalities, etc. These sort of people will usually ponder on minor technical/logical issues. They can become emotionally involved and forget about rank, age or other social barriers while talking about a subject close to their heart.
- Somebody who tells you straight away if something is not acceptable, does not shirk from expressing own shortcomings/failures, etc.
- Latent confidence in own ability. Arrogance is fine but contempt for others is not.
- Should have done something on his/her own (something that can be validated by us) without any external (employer, school, college, etc) incentive.
- Should be ready to work on anything within a domain i.e. LAMP web tools and technologies in our case.
Specific Profiles desirable now
Apart from the basic characteristics, their technical proficiencies will decide which profile they fit. Right now the desirable profiles are:
- PHP/Python/Rails. Very strong in one, comfortable in at least another. Decent knowledge of Design patterns, Javascript, CSS and HTML. Should be able to pick up anything and deliver. Expertise in one or more Open Source CMS/framework is highly desirable. Ideal technology specialization areas: Drupal, Plone+Zope, Django, TYPO3, etc. Placement level : Senior programmer with occasional project management responsibility. Salary level : Around 28k, can go up to 32-35k after an evaluation period.
- PHP/Javascript/CSS+HTML. Comfortable in at least two, familiar with all. Placement level : Junior programmer with independent project responsibility. Salary level : Around 18k, can go up to 21-23k after an evaluation period.