By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Grand Rapids-based Atomic Object is among the leading agile technology software development firms, and in addition to booking 30 percent growth in revenue last year, the company soon will establish three new jobs and bring on two interns—one from MSU and one from a university in India.
The jobs include one sales manager position and two positions for software developers. Depending on a developer’s experience those jobs could pay from $50,000 to $90,000 annually.
Atomic Object's innovative approach to teamwork sets it apart from business-as-usual corporations, and its hiring methods are key to making its teamwork work.
“A job applicant answers our essay questions on our web site,” says Bill Bereza, vice president, “and submits the answers with their résumé. Both of those are sent to everyone in the company. They all get to say if they’re interested in working with that person.”
The next step is a phone interview with Bereza or company co-founder Carl Erickson. Then there’s half a day of interviews with everyone in the company who wants to talk to the candidate. Winning candidates are invited back for several hours of pair programming with a project team so employees can see how fast the candidate learns and how well he or she interacts with the other developers.
“Being able to interact with developers and customers is something you can’t train somebody to do,” Bereza says. “Training and skills we can give them, but if there’s a personality problem or they don’t like working in an open environment right next to other people, that won’t work here.”
Source: Bill Bereza, Atomic Object
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Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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