R
Rhino
I am about to start a job search as a Java developer. I've never looked for
a job as a Java developer before, having spent earlier parts of my career as
a DBA and instructor, so I need some guidance on what to expect.
I am pretty much entirely self-taught as a Java developer and I am not
certified in any Java skills. Despite that, I've been writing Java code,
mostly on my own time, for several years now and feel that I could do a
decent job at an intermediate level development job. The problem is that I
probably need to prove that.
I was thinking that some examples of my code would demonstrate that. (I'd be
prepared to talk at length about the code and what it does in case anyone
thought I'd just stolen it from somewhere.)
The question is: what samples should I provide? I'm wondering about the
number of samples, the size of each sample, and the format of the samples.
Also, what medium should I use for the samples: CD; download links on a
webpage; printed copies?
I'm also wondering about intellectual property issues. If I give out code
that I wrote while on a project where I'd signed a non-disclosure agreement,
I'd be at some legal risk if that ever got back to the client, wouldn't I?
So how would I proceed? Just say "Trust me, I did write some good code for
that client but I can't show it to you?". Is that going to be acceptable to
an interviewer? How do people normally handle that?
What about code that I developed for past employers? Even without a
non-disclosure agreement, don't I have some sort of obligation not to
disclose details of work I did for an employer? After all, if the
prospective employer is a competitor of the past employer and the
prospective employer learns something about the programs and/or business
practices and/or computer systems that his competitor uses, aren't I
basically blabbing something that I learned in confidence when working for
the past employer?
Please note that I'm not asking anyone for binding legal judgements on the
legality of anything; I know none of us are lawyers. I'm just asking how
this sort of thing is handled every day in job interviews around the world:
do interviewees typically produce examples of their work from past employers
or clients and, if they do, is that considered a negative by the interviewer
or an accepted business practice? Is anyone aware of cases where there were
negative consequences for the interviewee or past employer when examples of
old code were disclosed to prospective employers?
One other thing. I was thinking that my samples might include both Java and
non-Java code; after all, programming is programming (to some extent) and
being able to display working programs written in other languages that I got
as a salaried developer ought to count for something. Does it make sense to
have non-Java samples handy as well or should I stick to examples that
illustrate skills with the language(s) that the prospective employer would
want me to use if he gives me the job?
a job as a Java developer before, having spent earlier parts of my career as
a DBA and instructor, so I need some guidance on what to expect.
I am pretty much entirely self-taught as a Java developer and I am not
certified in any Java skills. Despite that, I've been writing Java code,
mostly on my own time, for several years now and feel that I could do a
decent job at an intermediate level development job. The problem is that I
probably need to prove that.
I was thinking that some examples of my code would demonstrate that. (I'd be
prepared to talk at length about the code and what it does in case anyone
thought I'd just stolen it from somewhere.)
The question is: what samples should I provide? I'm wondering about the
number of samples, the size of each sample, and the format of the samples.
Also, what medium should I use for the samples: CD; download links on a
webpage; printed copies?
I'm also wondering about intellectual property issues. If I give out code
that I wrote while on a project where I'd signed a non-disclosure agreement,
I'd be at some legal risk if that ever got back to the client, wouldn't I?
So how would I proceed? Just say "Trust me, I did write some good code for
that client but I can't show it to you?". Is that going to be acceptable to
an interviewer? How do people normally handle that?
What about code that I developed for past employers? Even without a
non-disclosure agreement, don't I have some sort of obligation not to
disclose details of work I did for an employer? After all, if the
prospective employer is a competitor of the past employer and the
prospective employer learns something about the programs and/or business
practices and/or computer systems that his competitor uses, aren't I
basically blabbing something that I learned in confidence when working for
the past employer?
Please note that I'm not asking anyone for binding legal judgements on the
legality of anything; I know none of us are lawyers. I'm just asking how
this sort of thing is handled every day in job interviews around the world:
do interviewees typically produce examples of their work from past employers
or clients and, if they do, is that considered a negative by the interviewer
or an accepted business practice? Is anyone aware of cases where there were
negative consequences for the interviewee or past employer when examples of
old code were disclosed to prospective employers?
One other thing. I was thinking that my samples might include both Java and
non-Java code; after all, programming is programming (to some extent) and
being able to display working programs written in other languages that I got
as a salaried developer ought to count for something. Does it make sense to
have non-Java samples handy as well or should I stick to examples that
illustrate skills with the language(s) that the prospective employer would
want me to use if he gives me the job?