Ask HN: “Are you a good programmer?” – is it a pointless question?
I ask people during interview if they think they are a good programmer. If they say "yes", then I go on to ask them why they think they are a good programmer - what is it that makes them a good programmer.
I have found that people are usually quite candid and usually do have some sense of where they fit in the hierarchy of programming skills. Some people give the honest answer that they think they are good, but not top level. Others say "yes I am, but there is always more to learn". Others go into some fairly detailed explanation of why they think they are a good programmer. One of the responses that I find most meaningful is when people say that they are the "go to" person on the development team - all the other programmers come to them with their questions.
Is it a valuable question to ask during a job interview or do you think every programmer thinks they are great?
I have found that people are usually quite candid and usually do have some sense of where they fit in the hierarchy of programming skills. Some people give the honest answer that they think they are good, but not top level. Others say "yes I am, but there is always more to learn". Others go into some fairly detailed explanation of why they think they are a good programmer. One of the responses that I find most meaningful is when people say that they are the "go to" person on the development team - all the other programmers come to them with their questions.
Is it a valuable question to ask during a job interview or do you think every programmer thinks they are great?