Do YOU Pass the Beer Test?
As a form of self-validation — I told you my decision was difficult, didn't I? — I've spent some time reading some articles about how to find and hire the perfect candidate, top reasons for leaving your job, and reinforced some principles I've held based on conversations with other developers in the past. One of the "gut checklist" items from an article on the Atlassian blog is to decide if the new employee passes the beer test. Simply put this is a subjective analysis that indicates whether a person would be interesting enough to hold a conversation with outside of work.
While the original post was meant to help in the vetting process, I think it applies equally to applicants during the job search and interview process. Community is an aspect of the technological world that when neglected will have a devastating effect on the work environment. Thus it is imperative that a candidate takes time to observe the interaction among the community members and determines what, if any, his or her role will be in the community.
I must admit, however, that I cheated on my last beer test. (The test I was giving to the potential job, not the one I was taking.) As I mentioned, I learned about the position from a friend and colleague of mine and he already passed the beer test. The very fact that the team I was applying to become a member of passed his beer test was good enough for me.
That said, I've attempted to determine what qualities I look for in a beer test that I would give. First and foremost, I value interests that are diversified. In a group setting I'd like to have conversations with people that oppose my views as much as I'd like to have the proverbial choir to preach at. Having a broad spectrum of interests leads to a healthy pool of topics to choose from.
Along the same lines being able to articulate thoughts and opinions is among one of the most important qualities a beer buddy, if you will, can have. Without expression of ideas in a way that each party in the conversation can absorb growth will be stifled. There is not a quantifiable way to distinguish if a person can articulate thoughts in a decent manner because it is entirely dependent upon the individual. The important factor to consider is if the mutual articulation is well received and if your potential beer buddy or buddies can understand what you are trying to tell them.
These two qualities are the most important, in my opinion of course, factors that should be considered when administering a beer test.
Dropping the Equivalent of a Child
I've known for quite some time that I am overweight and I've finally put it in terms that disgust me. I need to lose the equivalent of a 9–12 year old boy to get within my "ideal" weight range according to the Mayo Clinic. I'm currently carrying around 260 lbs. which is roughly 90 pounds too many. The CDC study shows that 90 pounds is roughly the 97th percentile of 9-year-old and the 50th percentile of 12-year-old boys. My goal is to remove this parasitic child from my body.
Every weight loss plan worth its salt is rooted in a well-planned diet. Unfortunately, I do not have a registered dietitian at my disposal — and I am absolutely enamored by great food — which is going to make my new required choice to eat historically bland food very difficult. But it is something I must do. I will be eating primarily chicken, pork, and talapia with the occasional lean beef and salmon steak. I will get my fiber from broccoli, apples, bananas, black beans, whole wheat bread, green beans, carrots, spinach, brown rice, oatmeal, and other fruits and vegetables as they appeal to me in the supermarket. For recipes I will consult the South Beach Diet Cookbook as that particular fad diet is supposedly recommended for cyclists.
Which brings me to my exercise. My primary catalyst for exercise will be on my Jamis Ventura Race that I purchased on July 27, 2009. I don't know if I need much more motivation, but for good measure I will be participating in the Lance Armstrong Foundation LIVESTRONG Challenge in October. I'm registered to ride the 90-mile course. Between now and then I have over 1800 miles of training rides planned. The many hours on the bike should produce significant weight loss.
I am supplementing my cycling with an eight week training plan for a 5K run. The day before I ride the 90-mile LIVESTRONG Challenge course I'll participate in the 5K fun run. As it is a fun run I don't necessarily have to train to be the best, but the competitor inside me demands that I run the best I can.
I also firmly believe that no exercise regimen is complete without torturous hours in the weight room. I'll look nowhere other than the Fat Loss programs Alwyn Cosgrove introduces in The New Rules of Lifting. His introductory or beginner workouts kicked my ass before, so I have the utmost confidence in his program development skills.
NROL Exercise Book
I will be blogging this entire process complete with diet updates, exercise reports, progress photos, and metric tracking. I have weekly progress photos and weigh-ins planned with almost daily post updates. Because I will want to memorialize this forever, I decided to house the posts and information on a separate blog. Keep track of my journey at http://thejourney.carouth.com.
New Position at Texas A&M
September 1st will be my first day in a new position at Texas A&M University in the Division of Marketing and Communications. For the past year I have been a member of the Division of Research and Graduate Studies — Systems Group (RGS) web development team; say that three times fast. I learned of an opening through a colleague, Ben, and could not pass up the opportunity to apply. I'll be working with some great people and in an influential role on the University's web presence.
Reflecting on the past year and three months I feel that I made a positive impact on the web development group at RGS and also managed to grow as a developer and a community member in the process. One of my more notable contributions to the University came in October of 2008 when I implemented the Academic Master Plan white paper submission application. The development cycle was blazing fast and I worked like an employee at a startup for six days straight on that project. I believe that my hard work and dedication has paid off. I am leaving behind a project that I have grown particularly fond of, but I am confident that it is in good hands and that my original vision will come to fruition; someday.
I don't know exactly what my new position has in store for me but I am hopeful that it will push me into new areas and allow me to add to my skill set. One particular area of interest is the mobile development market. At the University we are in a position that a powerful presence on the mobile web will have a tremendous impact. Measures have already been taken but there is a significant amount of ground work that must be done before we are known as pioneers in the mobile education market. In the coming years I hope I can push us in that direction.
I am looking forward to working more closely with Chris Weldon and thankful for the new toys, err tools, I will have at my disposal. Wish me luck!