Isaac Miller

Tech companies always seem to want a "hands on player coach" dev manager. Most candidates I speak with find fault in this... They ask me, "are they looking for a manager or a developer?" Regardless, companies will typically put dev managers through technical interviews just like developers. Even with Director or VP level roles. They still expect those tech leaders to be "hands on player coaches". Richard Ford is an anomaly. He's a CTO who still writes code. ***He's also available right now if you need a talented CTO*** Richard does a great job of explaining why it's valuable to have hands on player coaches in tech leadership roles. Elon Musk was quoted saying ”I strongly believe that all managers in a technical area must be technically excellent. Managers in software must write great software or it’s like being a cavalry captain who can’t ride a horse!” That makes sense to me. But when you ask dev managers/directors/VPs "when was the last time you wrote a line of code?" most will admit it's been a few years. That question eliminates the lion share of candidates from consideration. But talented hands on player coaches like Richard are out there. Whenever I place a highly sought after hands on player coach, I always stay in touch. They often need to hire more people for their new team. After a few months on the job, I'll ask them, "So, how much of your day-to-day is coding?" Most will say "oh, none, this job is 140% management". I think to myself, why did they need to hire a hands on player coach then? Aside from that, I've witnessed dozens of senior developers get promoted into dev manager roles and end up bowing out after 6-9 months. Sometimes they don't realize they're signing up to be in back-to-back meetings all day with no time for coding. Dear Dev Managers: Are you still hands on? Whenever you hire a hands on player coach, do they have time to actually be hands on? In reality, would a talented people manager with software engineering in their background be just as good? AI writes most of the code these days anyways, right? Where do you stand on this debate? #handsonplayercoach #playercoach #devmanager #appdevmanager ---------------- FOR JOB SEEKERS: I offer a 45 minute consultation for $250 which includes a resume & LinkedIn profile review, career positioning & job search advice, and elevator pitch refinement. Afterward the meeting you'll receive an updated resume in word and PDF format, directions on updating your LinkedIn profile section by section, and a custom LinkedIn banner to upload. Use this calendar link to schedule a consultation: https://lnkd.in/ed2K9jmV FOR HIRING MANAGERS: I'm actively seeking new job orders to work on. If you need recruiting support, fill out a New Job Order Search Request Form: https://lnkd.in/e756wJwr I'll review and get back to you ASAP if it's something I can help with.

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Ditch the Commute! 15 SaaS Companies Crushing Remote Work in 2024: The future of work is flexible, and these top SaaS companies are leading the charge with awesome remote-first cultures: 1.) Zapier (automation platform) 2.) GitLab (version control) 3.) Cloudbees (software delivery management) 4.) Automattic 5.) Doist (task management) 6.) HubSpot (CRM platform) 7.) SurveyMonkey (online survey tool) 8.) Slack (communication platform) 9.) Zoom (video conferencing platform) 10.) Dropbox (cloud storage) 11.) Mailchimp (email marketing platform) 12.) Stripe (payment processing platform) 13.) Canva (graphic design platform) 14.) Airtable (collaborative work management platform) 15.) ClickUp (project management platform) Considering a remote role? Research the company culture and benefits to ensure it aligns with your needs. Look for strong communication practices and support systems for remote teams. **Do you work for a remote-first SaaS company you love? Share it in the comments! #remotework #saas #careerdevelopment #hiring #recruiting #flexibility

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Most companies have very similar employee benefits. When I'm pitching a job to software engineers, most don't even take notice of them. The core concern is what they'll be working on, the tech, and how much they'll be paid. Why not tally up the amount of money you'd normally spend per employee on benefits and let them spend it on what they want every year? #employeebenefits #softwareengineers

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In the last five days, four candidates that I've been working with have removed themselves from interview processes because they've accepted jobs elsewhere. Not great for me personally, but I think this is a strong signal that the job market (at least in the startup/tech sector) is picking up in a big way. Summer 2024 looks like it's going to be a big one. Buckle Up. #jobsearch #recruiting #heatingup

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I'm always surprised when companies have a non-technical person screening developers. Most companies view this stage as a "simple screening call", but I think it's one of the most important steps in the process. First impressions are everything when it comes to hiring. One wrong move, and your "superstar candidate" gets a bad feeling they just can't shift. A screening call is actually a sales meeting. The candidate is pitching their skillset, and the interviewer is pitching their opportunity. And neither parties have time to waste. So why create a bottleneck? The person screening technical candidates should have a 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 technical understanding, at least. Otherwise, how can they accurately answer questions like "What kind of projects would I get to work on?" and "What does the current development process look like?"? And how can they accurately spot a "great" developer in a sea of "average" ones? The solution? Train one of your internal recruiters to be a technical candidate specialist, or work with an external specialist recruiter. We speak to developers all day, every day. We know what they'll likely ask during screening calls, so we'll be prepared with the answers. Plus, we're also salespeople, so we can answer their questions 𝘢𝘯𝘥 pitch your opportunity. Then, you can jump straight into a technical interview and a final round to seal the deal! Don't lose candidates at the first hurdle when there's a simple alternative right in front of you 🙂 #CandidateExperience #HiringProcess #Recruitment

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Day 5 of 100: The List Welcome to Day 5 of my 100-day challenge! Today, As I'm working through my list, I have connected with a Fractional CTO and some developer. Gotten some good leads from where they have been interviewing to how I was even able to make an impact in helping them in their next role. Recap: Yesterday I put together a list of friends and family and colleagues. Like and share this post to spread the word Tag individuals who might benefit from these conversations around Hiring needs. If you are a Developer that's looking and interviewing currently, would love to see how I can help you on your search. #Hiring #TalentAcquisition #Recruitment #ITRecruitment #ProfessionalServices #Leadership #Collaboration #BusinessGrowth #100DaysChallenge #TalentQuest

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NOW HIRING: Principal UI Designer - Web App Products | Remote USA | $300k+ | We are (and have been) seeing an incredible push in Design to make absolutely beautiful stand out products and experiences. Especially in domains dominated by boring. Cookie Cutter Dashboards, Bland tables, basic data vis - it's not enough. There are many companies surging ahead in these domains right now because they have brought the beauty and delight into these domains and products. They have taken that consumer lens for In-Product-brand, for key moments of delight for a User and injected that into spaces and places where a gradient and round cornered buttons were previously the pinnacle. If you are Taste-Making, UI Craft Master who wants to push the envelope - who knows that current ai and figma templates cannot keep up with your Creative Edge - then I want to chat! Visual Design is about to get so much more in demand - and this team is looking for the best of the best. Your work is going to ooze next level taste. It will be so clear and obvious from every touch point that you are a Visual Expert. You don't meet the bar - you are the bar that so many other teams aspire to reach. #designjobsusa #designjobs #productdesignhiring #productdesignjobs #jaredtredly

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Big News! 🎉 Pave has partnered with Greenhouse Software to introduce Offer Insights in beta. With real-time insights based on current job offers, comp and talent leaders can make decisions based on where the job market is headed, versus where the market has been. Major shifts in job trends are already here—read all about it on CNBC! My top takeaway: Not all engineering jobs are created equal—some can build AI. Machine learning engineers saw offer values rise 25% between Q1 '23 and Q1 ’24, while software engineering generalists only saw a 4% boost during that time. Curious what other roles comp leaders will be stretching their budgets for in 2025? Check out our report and coverage on CNBC—links in the comments below.

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When you are building out your engineering team there is no better way to hire software engineers than going with the hourly recruiting model. It's not only cost-effective, but it's extremely flexible. I am here to help when you need me. The same recruiter and level of quality on every search. Let's say you need to hire five software engineers. You pay me by the hour to find you the talent you want to hire. I work as an extension to your internal recruiting team. Software engineer recruiting is my specialty. I go deep into my searches to find the talent you want. I work for you. I am looking for the right talent vs. just sending resumes to hope something sticks. With one of my recruiting options you could have 400 dedicated hours of recruiting over a 24 month period where you can pause or put recruiting on hold at anytime. 400 hours is a lot of time to stay fully dedicated to building out your engineering team. OR You use the traditional staffing model where that bill to hire five senior software engineers will be over 100K. It gets expensive quick. You probably will work with a few vendors with different pitches. Having multiple firms contact the same person which frustrates candidates quickly. Not to mention the amount of time you are spending reviewing the unqualified resumes they are sending. Give me a shot and let me show you what I can do. There is a reason why my clients keep coming back. Delivery is everything to me. I spend 90% of my time recruiting and staying focused on filling your open positions.

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Developers, always prioritize companies who choose two-way interviews. Interviews should feel like a conversation, not an interrogation. And your opportunity to ask questions shouldn’t be limited to the last 5-10 minutes. So, next time you head into an interview, make sure you uncover: 🗣️ What the team’s current priorities are and how they anticipate you’ll contribute to their short- and long-term goals. 🗣️ What challenges the team are currently facing, and how they’re approaching them. 🗣️ Which development practices the team currently follow, how collaborative they are, and how they approach short- and long-term projects. 🗣️ How often the team releases new features, what their pace of development is, and how quickly you’ll see your work in production. 🗣️ How the team handles bugs and production incidents (which gives you a great insight into their culture). Don’t be afraid to integrate questions into your answers to initiate conversation with the interviewer. It may feel unnatural at first, but it’ll show them that you’re confident, engaged, and are just as interested in learning about them as they are about you! #DeveloperOpportunities #DeveloperJobs #Mobileeveloper #InterviewTips

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Developers, always prioritize companies who choose two-way interviews. Interviews should feel like a conversation, not an interrogation. And your opportunity to ask questions shouldn’t be limited to the last 5-10 minutes. So, next time you head into an interview, make sure you uncover: 🗣️ What the team’s current priorities are and how they anticipate you’ll contribute to their short- and long-term goals. 🗣️ What challenges the team are currently facing, and how they’re approaching them. 🗣️ Which development practices the team currently follow, how collaborative they are, and how they approach short- and long-term projects. 🗣️ How often the team releases new features, what their pace of development is, and how quickly you’ll see your work in production. 🗣️ How the team handles bugs and production incidents (which gives you a great insight into their culture). Don’t be afraid to integrate questions into your answers to initiate conversation with the interviewer. It may feel unnatural at first, but it’ll show them that you’re confident, engaged, and are just as interested in learning about them as they are about you! #DeveloperOpportunities #DeveloperJobs #Mobileeveloper #InterviewTips

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Do you think you need to hire developers as w2 employees to build a highly-skilled, devoted and culturally aligned team? Let Blueprint show you otherwise. Here's how we're changing the game: 1️⃣ Unmatched Quality: Quality is our creed. Our vetting process includes interviewing with former CTOs and senior software engineers, ensuring only top-tier talent makes it to your team. 2️⃣ Long-Term Commitment: Forget the turnover and churn worries! Our developers stay longer than industry norms for W2 developers (average tenure of 2.2 years), providing stability and continued expertise to your projects. 3️⃣ Cultural Integration: Culture isn't just an add-on for us. We dive deep to understand your core values and ensure every developer we match with your team enhances and embraces your company culture. 4️⃣ Equity is Optional: Save your cap table for your growing startup! We ensure that our developers are passionate believers in your product right from the start - without incentivizing them with equity. We rigorously test for craftsmanship, ensuring they value not just a quality end result but also the journey of creation. 🌟 Shoot us a DM to connect and see how we can improve your staffing strategy. #StaffAugmentation #InnovationInStaffing #TechTalent #CultureFit #LongTermGrowth

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As an employer, knowing what type of software engineering candidate you're dealing with is essential. There are four distinct profiles of candidates. The first profile is the "Happily Employed." They're content with their current job, and the only way they'll move is for a sizeable pay increase, an A-grade company, or a trustworthy referral from a colleague. The second profile is the "Employed but Disgruntled." They'll list a multitude of reasons why they're unhappy, but even if the new job opportunity ticks all the boxes, they'll only move if they can achieve a salary increase. The third profile is the "Unemployed but selective." They won't accept a job offer unless it matches their criteria. They're willing to wait for ‘near perfect’ & have the financial runway/means to do so. The fourth and final profile is the "Unemployed but desperate." They'll take the first job they're offered, period. If you hire somebody matching the fourth profile, they might be a flight risk when a better-suited opportunity pops up. Likewise, if you hire somebody matching the second profile, they lack conviction around what’s important & tend to place a focus/higher value on pay. If a better-paying job presents itself - they’re gone. #softwarerecruitment #softwareengineering

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An interesting thinking I noticed is tech recruiters frequently ask what tech stack are you interested in.  It's a perfectly reasonable question.  They obviously don't want to connect someone with a job in a tech stack they hate, because there definitely are software engineers who have strong opinions about specific technologies. For me personally however it's always been a weird question.  I come from a contracting background.  My strongest technology today is probably Angular and I learned it, not because I was interested in it, but because I was a contractor assigned to a client that used Angular, so I had to learn it.  I still have that contractor mindset on technologies where when asked what tech stack am I interested in, my answer is whichever one my employer wants to pay me to use.  Instead of expressing a favorite tech stack I inform them of my strongest technologies, but I'm happy to work with any.

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Does anyone else remember sitting in class thinking, "Am I ever going to actually use this?" 🤦‍♂️ I still ask myself this weekly when reading blog posts, listening to podcasts, catching up on massive Slack threads, or diving into documentation and feature listings. I don't always use the info, but it feels great when a memory from six months ago suddenly becomes relevant. I always think of that original Jurassic Park Unix scene. This often happens when discussing DevOps and Serverless, where boundaries blur already. Trying to keep all of the AWS documentation in my head while discussing the design of new features and optimizations feels like a superhuman task. What are some things you wish you had remembered when solving an issue or problem? For me, we designed a Lambda function to fail purposefully instead of attempting to recover for efficiency. Unfortunately, the Lambda control plane self-throttles a function once a failure threshold is reached... slowing our processing to a crawl and forcing some quick code changes. 😅 #AWS #lambda #serverless #learninginpublic #hugops

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US Hospitals seem to be charging excessive amounts, sometimes on services that never happened. This borders fraud.   In March I saw a doctor at Evergreen Hospital with fractured thumb. The visit was: 5 mins - nurse measured my pulse and pressure and asked questions < 10 mins - Doctor listened to me, told me this is likely a fracture and sent me to do X-ray < 10 mins - basic X-ray of the thumb. 5 mins: Doctor told me: yes, this is definitely fracture, here you can see it. Here is an aluminum splint, wear it for next 3 weeks. Total time Evergreen employees were dealing with me: ~30 minutes.   Later I got 3 bills for the following services and amounts: $330: "New doctor visit, 45+ minutes" $482: "Treat a broken finger", $828: Outpatient services $50: X-ray of hand $276: Radiology services Total: $1,966 for close to half an hour visit!    Is there any way to fight such excessive bills on non-existing services? Is there way to fight and stop this trend? Class action lawsuit?

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Action. Style. Key details. ASK - the 3 steps to using AI. Action - Explain what you want Copilot to do. Style - Describe the format you want the response presented in. Key details - Set the stage with more context about your situation. https://lnkd.in/eins5D2H #msftemployee #ai #copliot #generativeai

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Remote, Hybrid, or On-Site... ➡️ Remote positions receive 44% more applications per position compared with Hybrid and Onsite. ➡️ 67% of candidates are considering fully remote work, but only 16% of positions offer this. ➡️ Since December 2022 the percentage of positions offering fully remote has fallen by half. ➡️ Companies that offer fully remote positions on average see more views, applications, successful conversations, and a higher response rate to messages.

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