From: gwtmp01@...
Date: 2005-11-04T02:17:06+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby Certification


On Nov 3, 2005, at 11:41 AM, Obie Fernandez wrote:
> Assuming we're on the verge of a big boom in Ruby jobs, shouldn't
> there be a place where employers can verify a candidates reputation?
> I'm thinking a testimonial or trust-based system of some sort.

Speaking as someone who has done hiring in a area with lots
of "certification" (Cisco Networking).  I can say it means nothing
when I see it on a resume.   If I want to know if someone understands
BGP in an interview, I can ask one or two questions and within five
minutes have a pretty good handle on their level of expertise.
I found that there was very little correlation between what I could
discern from someone in person to what was on their resume relative
to "certification".


> When the market for Java programmers exploded there were hug numbers
> of highly (un)qualified people getting hired to do Java and causing
> all sorts of grief to everyone involved. Lots of them had (or claimed
> to have) certification.

Sounds like bad hiring practices to me.  I think *technical* knowledge
is one of the *easiest* things to figure out in an interview.  What I
find really hard to figure out is if the person is going to have a good
attitude, work well with others, be good with customers, and so on.


Gary Wright