thoughtbot
giant robots smashing into other giant robots
We are thoughtbot. We make web & mobile apps.
Say ‘hello’ to our newest team members
We’ve been super busy lately - so we knew the time was ripe to bring a few more people onto the team.
We’re very fortunate to have found three excellent new people to add to the team, two new designers and a developer: Kyle Fiedler, Chad Mazzola, and Harold Giménez.
Adding two designers doubled the size of the design team and really increased our ability to get stuff done there. It’s been fun integrating them into the team.
Harold’s first day is today, and we’re really excited for him to get started.
We’re still actively hiring developers and interns. If you’re interested, please get in touch, instructions and more info are on our jobs page.
On a personal note, some of you may know that 3 years ago I moved from Boston to Philly. While we’ve managed the maintain the long distance relationship, its with great enthusiasm that I’ll be moving back to Boston on May 1st.
Also, Nick Quaranto will be graduating and joining us full time in Boston in June.
It’s an exciting time of transitions and new additions for the team, and we’re definitely looking forward to the future.
8 Simple Rules for Dating My Business: Why We Don’t Subcontract
The simple fact of the matter is that we care too much about the quality of what we do and the environment in which we do it in. That’s why, for a few years now, we have not subcontracted for other people and we have not subcontracted out any of our work.
Subcontracting for other people
After a few failures working in a situation where we are subcontracting for somone else we realized that because we didn’t have a direct responsibility to the end customer, and very often no direct lines of communication, we were not able to properly introduce them to our way of working and to properly set expectations. When we were left to communicate through someone else in order to ask questions, talk about deadlines, etc. there is the danger that it’s not being told like it needs to be told in order to properly set expectations.
In addition, in a subcontracting situation, you are often beholden to a third party for invoicing and collection. We invoice our clients on a weekly basis, with Net 15 terms. All too often, when we didn’t have direct access to the end customer we were left waiting for our invoices to be paid while the person we were subcontracting for waited for their client to pay them.
We are in the business of working on successful software projects. We are tenacious about identifying things that aren’t working for us and stopping doing them. Every once in a while, we identify something like this that becomes a real core principle to the way we work. These principles, or rules, stand as guidelines to remind us what we need to do in order to ensure success.
Subcontracting out work to others
We also had several instances where subcontracting out work to others didn’t quite work out, and so have stopped doing it. Everyone who works for thoughtbot is an employee and we don’t subcontract any work out.
One of the main reasons why we don’t do this is that we found it difficult to maintain our high level of expertise and quality when we were subcontracting. Additionally, we care very much about the environment and comraderie among the team. In cases where the expertise may have been great, its still hard to integrate that person into the culture of the team, and the contractor is ultimately always an outsider.
I know many firms find themselves subcontracting work that is not their core area of expertise out to other firms so that they aren’t turning away work. I’d rather turn away work than take projects which aren’t a good fit for us. If there is a component which isn’t quite right for us, we assist the client in making a relationship directly with someone else to do the work above, for the same reason that we don’t subcontract for people.
Also, working within our core expertise has allowed us to become experts at what we do, which has so many more benefits than the extra revenue we may get by being able to take on and subcontract Flash work.
Breaking the Law
Because these rules are there to guide us, of course there may be situations where we might subcontract for someone or subcontract to someone (there hasn’t been in quite some time) if we try to make the relationship directly with the end customer and subcontracting is the only way we can work, but we think the project might be good anyway. The rule causes us to remember why we created it in the first place: 1) lack of direct access to the client 2) dependency on a third party for invoicing and collection 3) inability to integrate subcontractor onto the team 4) problem maintaining high level of quality. If we can subcontract and still work around those key sticking points, then so be it. However, at least we are then making the active decision. We’ve thought it through and decided that the project can be successful in spite of it, rather than just blindly taking any and every project and praying for success.
Getting a Job as a Web Designer
So you’re a designer, let’s say a web designer, and you want to get a job with a sweet company somewhere. How do you do this? Hopefully some tips I’ve picked up along the way can help. Let’s skip all of the typical, boring stuff (be early, firm handshake, eye contact, references, business cards, etc.) and get right to the point.
First and foremost, you definitely need to know how to make designs pop! That was a joke, don’t ever say that unless you want to be the next big laugh at the office water cooler. It’s acceptable when clients say that but industry professionals know better.
Be confident and be classy
Employers look for quality talent. They want designers who are respectable and are proud of the work they produce. Be sure to maintain a confident demeanor without crossing the cocky line. To be confident in the first place, make sure you are applying for jobs at places you know you can run with the pack, hold your own so to speak. Don’t apply for a Senior Designer position at Apple.com if you’re just beginning your career. At the same time, don’t sell yourself short. Don’t apply for some hole-in-the-wall agency that produces whatever a client wants and doesn’t take any pride in their work.Confidence
The best quality meter I have when doing any kind of design is looking at the finished product and knowing that I want my work to be seen, I want it shown off. If I don’t feel this way, I know it’s not good enough. Adopt this mentality and you’ll see much success.
Be a Designer
You’re a designer, make sure they know it. Being part of a visually creative field has its benefits, especially since most people judge a book by it’s cover. You should be able to take advantage of this if you’re good at what you do. One of the biggest ways to impress people as a designer, other than having an all-star portfolio, is to have consistent branding. Having visual styles and elements consistent throughout your resume, portfolio, business cards, etc. is great but should be obvious already. Try for that little extra touch. For instance, my brand is my name with my favorite tie and an Indiana Jones style fedora resting on it. I actually own this tie and wear it wherever I’m going to be presenting my brand, including my thoughtbot interview back in June. Giving the company hints to remember you by is always a great addition to a good interview. Think about when they look at your website in the future and see that tie, they’ll likely remember you wearing it in person and put a name/brand/face together. Obviously a tie or any other piece of apparel might not work for everyone, but you should be creative enough to think of that little extra touch, you’re a designer!
Be Comfortable
Don’t go to an interview in formal business attire unless you know it’s a very corporate job with very corporate styles. I know this is contradictory to the whole, “wear a tie and dress nice, son” interviewing mentality, but did your mom ever apply for a designer position? My guess is no but if she did, she wasn’t dressed like a lawyer. My suggestion is to wear what you’re comfortable in (but keep the pajamas on the bedroom floor). I know I said I wore a tie to my interview, but that’s because I’m actually comfortable in a tie, paired with some pretty casual clothes.Dressing Down
We recently interviewed a potential designer who came dressed down. I remember them because of this and then remembered their portfolio and personality. They were very comfortable around us and great for the position.
Make Them Want You
Let me wrap this up with maybe the most important tactic of all. Make them want you. I have to admit my mother taught me this, and it’s one of the best tidbits of knowledge she has passed on to me. If you want the job, make them feel like the position would be inadequately filled unless it was filled by you. Do this modestly without crossing the cocky line.
The best advice I can give on how to do this is to be personable and to be proud of your work. Answer questions calmly but assertively. Don’t be afraid to ask questions yourself, a company is going to be much more interested in you if you are excited about them. On top of all of this, don’t be fake. Everything you say should be sincere, there’s a lot to be said for integrity. If this job isn’t right for you, and you aren’t excited about it, you shouldn’t be applying here!
Places to find jobs
Hopefully some of my ideas about getting a job as a web designer have helped you, or at least interested you a little. It just so happens that thoughtbot is also hiring an additional web designer, so bring your A game. Other than us, here are a few of my preferred places to find full time or freelance work. (I’m 2 for 2 on Authentic Jobs)
Wasting Less Time
As you’ve might have noticed from our announcement on the thoughtbot home page we’ve recently made the decision that we will be standardizing on 2 development languages going forward.
In this post I think I’ll focus more on the business angle of this decision.
We felt strongly, after coming to the conclusion time and time again, that we were simply wasting time programming web applications in perl and php (see my previous post regarding MVC). That’s not in the best interest of our customers, and not in the best interest of our bottom line. Java (and EJB and Struts) and Ruby On Rails provide us with the framework to waste less time.
Ok, now for the big picture… it is absolutely critical – in fact, its part of our business model, to find ways to waste less time. By using and/or developing reusable components, frameworks, etc. it becomes possible to deliver better applications to our customers for less time and money. This principal needs to be applied to each level of the organization – beyond coding – to payroll, invoicing, mundane paperwork, and so on.
Great Design, Large Firm
I spend a lot of time (at least an hour a day, probably closer to two) looking at websites that I didn’t design. I visit web standards-compliant design showcases just like every other designer, looking to learn from others, find inspiration, and compare my own work. Every day, there is a new site to look at and admire. But rarely do I come across sites that are beautifully designed AND belong to a large, established firm.
Today was one of those rare days. Rosetta Stone is very, very nice.
