If you think about it, in any state that has passed at-will employment laws, a company can fire an employee at any time for any reason. At will means that employees […]

Here at Stout we screen a lot of technical candidates. Our first step is to filter the resumes. (We have little need for glass window installers despite the fact that […]

When it comes to hiring or promoting a software engineer, communication skills can be used as the tie-breaker between two equally talented people. But that term—communication skills—is so broad that […]

One of the first “lessons learned” for novice programmers is that the time required to program the typical usage scenarios can be fairly accurately estimated, but the time required for […]

A low-ball salary offer is one that’s way below your minimum acceptable level.  I want to present two real-life examples of our candidates receiving what could have looked like low-ball […]

Using outside recruiters can be a life-saver for an over-extended HR department. But let’s be honest - sometimes they don’t add anything of value, and they can even make your […]

I'm not sure where it came from or how it started, but that's the euphemism we use. As in, "Can we still deploy if Joe is hit by a bus?" […]

Concise, complete, and compelling have been highlighted as three characteristics of good speech. If you think about it, they also apply perfectly to good interviewing! Let’s look at each one […]

Before you dive into this article, keep in mind that my recommendations are for resume writers who are technology professionals. I’ve read thousands upon thousands of technology resumes—but wouldn’t have […]

Let’s start with this statement: You cannot accurately estimate anything you haven’t done before.     If I asked you to estimate how long it would take you to make […]