Ryan Beard

"I don't like leetcode style interviews!" See I wasn't making it up! Kurtis Nusbaum tells us more about why engineers don't like leetcode and the types of interviews that lead to a more enjoyable and effective interviewing experience.

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Public Service Announcements to recruiters. If you have the same job post you re-publish every day for many weeks, we notice. This gives hesitation to apply as we have no idea why you rejected the dozens of other candidates that commented "Interested" on your previous posts. Please provide more details about the position so that it's easier for candidates to know if they are a fit or not. If your intent is to build a pool of candidates, please be candid about it and openly say "Need iOS developer to build a pool of candidates". Believe me, they will still apply.

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For some reason, Scrollbars snd Scroll Rects took me a few tries to really understand, but I think I have it now. Which means there's probably more that I don't even know I don't know... #unity #unityui #scrolling

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🎯 Hiring managers…have you ever felt overwhelmed opening a new software engineering role? 🤓 Hiring software engineers for your team shouldn't be a headache. My video below reveals the top 3️⃣ struggles I see – and the small, actionable 🎯 adjustments that'll save your team time in the hiring process. 🤝Ready to partner for a smoother search? Watch ⬇️!

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Anyone Love reading??? I used to have a really nice book collection, but due to having to move a lot I have had to leave it behind. I have decided to create an Excel sheet and log all the books I read in the library from Pasadena City College, as a way to collect. Currently I have a couple books checked out. - Hidden Figures - the Iliad - animal Farm - the handmaids tale -wicked Anyone read any of these or have any book recommendations??? What is everyone else reading??? #books #bookcollection #reading

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Your developer interview process sucks 🪠: Here’s how to fix it? 1/3 👍 Are top-tier developers slipping through your hiring net? How many "perfect on paper" developers crumble during technical assessments? This is going to be part 1 of a 3-part series on refining your hiring process, specifically focusing on how to effectively qualify a candidate's technical ability. In the past few months, I’ve worked with clients to improve their interview process, and these are some of the things that I think about when designing the interview process. 🟥 Not all developers fit in the square hole – Tech test vs. Paired Programming As a software developer and a recruiter, I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I’ve taken technical tests, given them, and done my fair share of pair programming interviews. The more I reflect on it, the clearer it becomes: these approaches test very different things. Depending on what you're looking for in a candidate, one method might be way better suited than the other. 🤖 Technical Tests are a great tool for verifying a developer can fulfil the duties of their role. You find tech tests resonate best with developers who can work independently and churn out work quickly in isolation. These candidates often excel at solving problems in a controlled environment but are not necessarily the candidates you want in a highly communicative or client-facing environment. These people will often be your top developers, and you don’t want to miss out on them! 🤝 Paired Programming, on the other hand, allows you to assess how someone interacts in real-time. It’s about collaboration, listening, and adaptability. When you are pair programming with a candidate, you can quickly gauge their soft skills, how they approach problems, and how they deal with the unexpected. More importantly, you get to see how they learn and improve in the moment. Often, I find candidates who would excel in a technical test can falter in the paired programming stage due to social anxiety, lack of soft skills, or difficulty thinking out loud under pressure, even though they may be highly skilled technically. 🤔 Ultimately, you need to be more diligent when making your interview processes. Think about what the role entails. What test would best suit that individual? Cater the process to them so they don’t fall through the cracks. 🎯Are you looking for someone to be a production machine? Or a team player who you can work closely with? If you want a team player, you’re going to have a pair programming interview where you can collaborate, teach, and see their process. If you're facing tight deadlines and need a developer who will take ownership of their space - implementing a technical test can help you find that person. Tomorrow I’ll follow this up with some horror story technical tasks I’ve come across and how we can improve them to be 1. Relevant, 2. Fair in terms of time commitment, and 3. Truly reflective of the real challenges developers face on the job.

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FIVE THINGS I LEARNED AS A FULL TIME ARTIST After losing two tech jobs to "restructuring layoffs" in 2023, I decided to bet myself that I could survive for a year without another tech job search. Some of what happened next was expected. A lot was not! Here is what I've learned so far doing this grand adventure: 1) I COULD REALLY DO IT! Probably the weirdest and happiest realization was that I actually had it in me to make my tik toks and publish my songs on Bandcamp and keep pushing, pushing, pushing my way to each month's mortgage and bills. Every month felt like a fresh miracle and every post that blew up felt like manna from heaven. I really have lived for over a year just on the strength of my music catalog and my marketing capabilities. Very cool vibes. I'm writing this in the hopes the vibes stay cool. 2) MUSIC IS MUSIC. PERIOD. There are a lot of ways to make music - with instruments or acapella, this genre or that, etc. The best music for me to make varied month to month. I am a folk songwriter and also a rapper. I rap over beats and I also drop instrumentals without vocals. I enjoy playing live, but poor covid masking shuts that option out from my life. No matter! By chasing my bliss, I found a well of "asking energy" that never seemed to run out. I was able to sell the old and new music I'd made by offering a discount on my Bandcamp discography, and I found many generous buyers who paid more than I was asking. It is hard to stay in love with old stuff I wrote, but most people who see a video online are seeing it for the first time. I still need to improve at pushing the same song in a dozen or more videos! 3) IT'S OK TO GET DIRECT SUPPORT. Sometimes you throw a tenner into a busker's guitar case because you like that they're always on this corner and you hope they don't give up. So I've had a digital tip jar set up in my tiktok bio with links to venmo, cashapp, etc. Then when someone enjoys my content on a given day, they can support it before I've turned the day into some kind of musical artifact. This diversification was key because no one can constantly generate new heartfelt music. The heart needs some days off. 4) BILLS DON'T TAKE DAYS OFF! It is a lot harder to work for yourself, especially when you're struggling to make ends meet with your work. Burnout is looming over your shoulder, and expenses pile up daily. How to take mental health breaks through that stress? It's pretty hard, but I developed some really positive self talk rituals to help me feel like a Big Lucky Earner as needed. "You'll get it tomorrow, just relax, you're killing it," I would say to myself, then tomorrow would pop up and prove me right. 5) SOME FUEL BURNS CLEANER THAN OTHERS. As I tiptoe toward middle age, I must reckon with my body's limitations. I need good sleep, square meals, and tons of water. I don't need party nights or substance abuse or fight dopamine. ...Well, maybe a little fight dopamine. Feel free to hate on me in these comments!

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Have a gap? Several clients have reached out about gaps within their staff development that they're looking to get ahead of. Most of their problems in staff development have stimmed from lack of Mid-Level Developers who have 3-8 years of experience. Now, you're probably thinking, "But Alex, someone with 8 years of experience could be titled a Senior." To that I'd say your correct, but not every developer has the opportunity to succeed in that way in their current roles or have amazing company loyalty and don't understand the current hiring market/trends. On top of that there are major, major salary ranges in those 3-8 years of experience, but that can be a topic for tomorrow... So, are you seeing similar gaps in your teams?

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There’s a trend I’ve been noticing recently. In many conversations I’ve had with developers and generalists across the industry, more and more people are investing time (and money) into learning Unreal Engine—either as a side skill or making a full pivot. The reasons? From what I’m hearing, it comes down to higher demand for Unreal Engine expertise. In my experience, this shift is becoming quite clear on the technical and developer side of things. But what does this mean for the future use of Unity in the industry? 🤔 #unityengine #unrealengine #extendedreality

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If any of y'all have been wondering what I'm doing at my new job, here's a great article that lays it all out: https://lnkd.in/g6da9mEX

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Getting workers and companies aligned is like trying to sync up two different playlists at the same time—sometimes the beat just doesn’t match, and someone ends up humming along awkwardly while the other one's jamming to a completely different song. 🎶 Feel free to reach out if you'd like to have your amazing product featured here! 😉 ---------------- #Unity #GameDevelopment #IndieDev #GameDevTools #UnityAssetStore #LevelUpYourGame #IndieGameDev #GameDesign #VisualEffects #GameArt #DevLife #ProgrammingHumor #ReadTheDocs #CodeSmart #Efficiency #SoftwareDevelopment #DeveloperTips #CodingLife #TechHumor #GameDev #KeepCoding #CreativeMinds #DevCommunity #programming #GameDesign #GamingIndustry #GameDevelopment #GameProgramming #GameArt #GamersUnite #remotework #code

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This morning, I spent close to 4-hours looking at the CSS Open Props project; seeing something that didn't fit into my mental model; isolating the concept into a demo; and then writing a blog post about the technique in order to help cement the notion into my brain. My gut tells me that this was time well spent because this new knowledge creates a more holistic understanding of web development which will be folded into all the work that I do going forward. But, the impostor in me can't help but wonder — in the age of #AI — is this kind of learning even worthwhile? I mean, if I can just write a prompt somewhere that's like, "Build me a UI with elegant spacing using best practices," what did the past 4-hours add? To be clear, I _think_ they added a lot of value; but, I'm also afraid that my thinking it anachronistic. I'm having trouble reconciling the things I'm hearing with the way I enjoy working with the way things will be done in the future.

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In 2025, what sets apart a remarkable hire? - **System Design Mastery**: It goes beyond coding; it's about crafting scalable, efficient systems. - **Problem-Solving Mindset**: Tackling challenges creatively and collaboratively is key. - **Lifelong Learning**: Adapting to evolving technologies is crucial as today's tech stack may be outdated tomorrow.

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I just talked to an extremely experienced colleague who was recommended to apply for a role at Microsoft from someone on the team that was hiring the position, as she has done the EXACT position before at Microsoft in another group. The system auto-rejected her application within 24 hours. Hiring Managers, your ATS systems are screwing you. Re-think your approach.

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Should you move away from game dev given the current market? I’ve been asked this question a lot lately. Tbh around January when Riot Games and others were piling on the layoffs, I wondered the same thing. Probably because I’ve been playing league of legends for 9 years and there was an emotional trigger. That was a very depressing week for me. But I let the emotions settle and found my answer. Here’s the thing, yes there have been many layoffs this and last year. But why should that make me move away from game dev? Layoffs happen in all industries. They sometimes happen in mass every x number of years. It’s part of business and a changing economy. On top of that, I know what I’m getting into with the games industry. I accept that its common to switch jobs every 2 years, and its very competitive and because its entertainment its not as stable as necessities like a trade based career. On top of that the market might be “bad” but that’s just a relative term compared to previous years. Is it worse or better this year than the last? Will it be worse or better next year? That might affect how long the search will take but in NO SENSE does it make it not doable anymore. I accept that there will be a need for me to learn how to effectively job search, improve on my skills consistently and that there might be times I’m working in something else in-between game dev jobs. Why then should I let a temporary dip in the market stop me from a lifelong career path? So, should you move out of game development? That’s for you to decide. I know some devs who stay in game dev 100% of the time, some who swap to enterprise work and back, some who leave and never come back but at the end of the day just do what works for you. The hiring in game dev will bounce back most likely. The biggest takeaway is don’t base your long-term career decisions 100% on the current market. It’s temporary. Base if you stay in game dev on your current and future financial plans, where and who you live by, what your day to day life looks like and how you want it to look, your interests and all the other important stuff. The current market is temporary. Think bigger. #gamesindustry #career #mindset #growth #layoffs

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Jr. Devs, Today marks 2 years at my current employer. Yay! Some of you will celebrate with me because you are struggling to get your first job or maybe even your first interview. Some of you might think celebrating only 2 years at a job is weird. For me, in my career experience, 2 years is a milestone… unfortunately. In fact, on average, my employment at a company has lasted about 2 years, often less. There are varying reasons why, from being a contractor and finishing projects to being part of several layoffs to moving on to other opportunities. Now, that doesn’t mean you will have the same path. I have a friend who’s been at the same company for around 20 years as a developer. So, I’m not saying your journey will look like mine. What I’m saying is to prepare yourself for the reality that once you get in, it may not be everything you hoped it would be. It may have twists and turns that you don’t expect. You may feel like everything is great one day only to have the rug pulled out from under you the next. It’s all part of the journey and you can flourish in it. But you need to recognize the possibility and be prepared to handle it well when/if it happens.  So, when things are going well… celebrate, like I am today! If you want to know more about my journey, you can watch this very, very long YouTube video: https://lnkd.in/gqRJ_uGU Maybe it will be an encouragement on your journey as well! #juniordeveloper #mentoring

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🎲 Do you know about the @Tabletop Game Designers Association ? 🎲 😳 Well, You do now! and I would highly recommend you join! ✅ Check out the URL in the link from Matt Fantastic ✅ Sign-Up to be a member and gain access to all those valuable resources ✅ TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS! #GameDesign #GameInvention #GameInventor #BoardGames

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I'm seeing a lot of these "expert answers" about frontend development and what does HTML, CSS, and Javascript do. So many of them over complicate it: HTML is content authoring. You are writing a document and should use the tools and formatting available to make it as clearly understood as possible. Most people should be able to write some HTML much like most people can post dross on social networks. However there is a big difference between a coherent, semantically correct HTML doc and some div/span catastrophe. The latter is more like the local racists latest rant with no punctuation, swimming with spelling mistakes, and they've tied themselves in knots over the fact there was once a rainbow flag in Morrisons. CSS is not just about making things "look nice". Yeah it'll make things look better but it's main purpose should be to improve usability, legibility and make your content more understandable. Finally Javascript - Javascript is usually unnecessary and I reckon 90% of the internet could do without it. A lot of the things that Javascript has introduced has made the internet worse, less stable, and less accessible. It's main purpose has been to make frontend development more like a programming discipline, rather than the design discipline it originally was. This is coming from someone who has built their career around frontend development 🤷‍♂️

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