Hiring Flash developers – What to look for…

I’ve been required to interview and hire a number of Flash developers at my current employer (Endemol). I thought it would make sense to note down what I look for when cruising folios, CVs and doing interviews…

folio, folio, folio
They’ve just gotta give good folio. The act of compiling your best work and presenting it is just as important as your coding and design skills. A folio demonstrates your personal standards, your communication skills, your work ethic and the level of respect you have for your clients and yourself. It also clearly shows their professional ‘level’ at a glance. If a candidate doesn’t have a good folio then I rarely interview them.

solid AS2 OO code skills
Viewing some recently written AS2 classes is a good way to confirm this. We look for evidence of encapsulation, good variable naming habits, no ‘magic strings’ in the code, use of event-based rather than procedural coding, strong variable typing, no nested functions in methods and appropriate levels of code commenting. I understand that the good habits of Java coders are very similar to what we look for in Flash coders, and any code sample would be easily read and understood by a Java coder.

sensible work habits
Experience using Eclipse/MTASC/FDT, experience working with Subversion, experience in a team development environment

good communication skills
Since the CVs are usually prepared by agencies, an interview and reference check is the best way to determine this. I usually just try to get them talking and then ask pertinent questions to see what kind of rapport I can establish with them. Questions like ‘what’s your favourite project (and least favourite) so far, and why?’ and ‘what kind of role is your ideal development role?’ seem to unearth some treasures.

good work ethic
Sample code and personal references will usually give a good idea of this.

good references
Check them, and wherever the conversation takes you, always finish up with this… “Is there anything else that you feel I should know about X?”

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