AdrianCarr.com ^1.0

Just for fun, and as a gauge to see what technologies are currently in demand, I subscribed to the 37 Signals job board a few months ago. It didn't take me long to notice a definite difference on this board that sets it apart from other job lists: Many (certainly not all) of the companies that advertise on 37 Signals have bought into the 37 Signals philosophy, at least to some extent, and understand the importance of recruiting and retaining good people. My guess is that these postings aren't put here by the normal HR person who really doesn't give a rip about whether or not they bring another person in that they have to fill out paperwork for. (I think it was Jeff Foxworthy who joked years ago that the last person you want to send your resume to is someone in HR, because the more people get hired, the more paperwork HR has to do.)

Most large corporate behemoths just need to get "resources" in the door. The normal job posting for a large bureaucratic company goes something like this:

Sr Software Engineer
Job Description Qualifications: Act as a trusted advisor to project managers, development teams, and product management teams. Seven – Ten years experience in the development of .....  Experience in data architecture and development with ....  Experience with all phases of the product development lifecycle including ..... Experience leading application or web development teams and projects.... A portfolio of commercial products and designs that have made a positive impact on key business objectives .....

Duties: Create Architecture designs of..... Investigate new or competitive design and development technologies..... Create and manage a core complement of application architecture documentation and artifacts, including... Develop presentations to communicate concepts.... 

My Fake Large Bureaucratic Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers, blah blah, blah and so on and so forth required here by our policy police....

This basically says "Here's what we are, here's what we need. If you're lucky and you accidentally get called back by someone, you might actually get a job here." That's it. A job. It'll pay the bills. Fun? No. Challenging? Maybe. I'm sure it'll be a challenge to get anything done efficiently. It reminds me of a friend who recently went to work at IBM who told me "I couldn't respond to your question during the day because I don't have internet access."

Smart companies take a different approach at recruiting because the postings are put up by someone who has a problem they want to solve, and they know that the people who regularly solve the hardest problems typically have plenty of options. (I'm not referring to myself here. I'm talking about really, really motivated people who code all day for money, then write code at night and on weekends for fun. I'm talking about this kind of person.)

In an effort to hire very good people (and keep them), smart companies post a job like this:

Are you looking for the opportunity to.... Are you less interested in low-level coding and more excited by the thought of taking over the development of a system requiring ......? If yes, talk to us. We are looking for a ..... to get in on the ground floor of a fast-growing, venture-backed start-up that deals with some of the largest.... 

The Sr. Software Engineer is a key position on a small team and is responsible for continued development of our systems.... In the position, you will join an early-stage company and work directly with the founders to continue to develop ..... The company is located in .....

Our Culture - Tightly-knit team environment - Willingness to roll up our sleeves and get it done - Rely on intelligence instead of large budgets, staff, and infrastructure - Thrive on the excitement and chaos of a fast-based startup...

Your Responsibilities - Take over a vast codebase - Write software for.... Continue to integrate our systems with those of our partners for seamless data flows...  Hire (over time) and manage a team of engineers....

Your Qualifications - BS in Computer Science from top-tier school - 3+ years of whateverlanguage experience.... Expertise in statistical analysis of.... Experience in designing and implementing complex, integrated systems.... Ability to work efficiently with minimal supervision with strong prioritization skills - Excellent verbal and written communication skills - The ability to work well in a team environment.

For more on our culture and what we do, check out our website at www.some.forward.thinking.company.com.

See the difference?
The second posting describes the job, the person they are looking for, and also sells the culture and the company. Heck, it almost makes me want to apply, even though I'm not looking for a job. It sounds fun! plus, I'd be an important part of a team and work directly with the founders. If I had some person or process blocking my way, I can talk to someone that can actually change something, instead of my "suggestion" going into a black hole somewhere with managers wishing the employees would stop making their job harder. I wouldn't be known as employee id #0075496 (my employee id from my first large corporate job).

Well, enough of this. Let's get to the point that I started out to make. As I started checking the job descriptions and noticed the trend, I started keeping a list of perks that companies have been offering lately, in addition to the "normal" benefits like health and dental insurance, 401k, etc. These companies are trying to attract not just "resources", but very smart people who are willing to be a part of the solution. I thought it was interesting, and thought you might think so too. I wonder how many of these perks they offer at Google?

• Daily interaction with smart people who are passionate about creating great software (but manage to keep a sense of humor about it)
• A quarterly bonus based on company revenues
• If you ask yourself just one question today, we here at ****** would humbly suggest the following: "Am I influential?" Because you deserve to be. And here, you can expect to hit the ground running with unlimited potential to be influential. You'll work with intelligent, self-policing team members who will expect the best from you and deliver their best in return.
• A true 40-hour work week
• An energized yet casual working environment
• A flat organization where your opinion is heard
• An annual personal budget and paid time off for professional development (conferences, workshops, etc)
• Weekly knowledge-sharing brown bag sessions
• A great office environment, with views, high-end chairs, and an espresso machine.
• We develop on high-powered Windows, Linux, and Mac workstations with dual monitors
• Agile. We're drinking the Kool-Aid here. We've worked in a waterfall approach before but we're not interested in taking that approach anymore. We believe in failing often to succeed sooner and throwing away code that sucks. Our technical leader taught Agile at Object Mentor so we're not just saying Agile. We mean it.
• Exploration budget - to keep you creative
• Tell us the tools you need: Mac or PC & software
• Fuel: Breakfast, snacks, drinks and unlimited caffeinated beverages
• Massages- yes we have a massage chair
• Young, fast-paced work environment
• Unlimited chocolate
• Nintendo Wii
• 20 vacation days, 10 holidays, 2 personal days 12 sick days
• There's no "work time". You decide when you work. In weekends or from 10am to 6pm, just get the job done. But if you're gonna abuse that, then this is not the job for you.
• Stock Options
• Complimentary $100/month food credit
• Dry cleaning and laundry service onsite
• Employee shuttle to and from various locations
• Onsite full service Gym
• After 6 months on the job, we give our employees a new iphone. This is all our way of saying thanks for a job well done.

This list is a summary, and there are some pretty good ideas here. The underlying theme for many places is the culture. Good people want a good work culture. Without that, you have nothing left to entice people except money, and that's a losing game that won't keep the best people for long.