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Creating the Next Generation of DevOps

Creating the Next Generation of DevOps

It can be difficult to hire people with the exact skills you want or need for your DevOps team. Just look at the job boards! There’s tons of competition and not nearly enough people to meet the demand. With a total size of 8 employees, DNSimple decided to take a different approach by starting an apprenticeship program to train people with little to no experience in DevOps. These slides were setup to deliver over a Webinar for Chef.

Resource links:
Ashe Dryden: http://ashedryden.com
Apprenticeship Community: http://apprenticeship.community
Hire more women in tech: http://www.hiremorewomenintech.com/
Gender Decoder: http://gender-decoder.katmatfield.com
How DNS Works: http://howdns.works

Aaron Kalin

October 04, 2016
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  1. ? Have questions? We’ll answer them at the end, but

    feel free to ask questions through the bottom of the viewing screen at any time.
  2. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! March 30th, 2015

    A short discussion from Anthony…
  3. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! @aeden: Want to

    take on an apprentice in Chicago?
  4. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! It’s easy to

    look within friend networks for candidates…
  5. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Diversity can mean:

    Gender Race Skill Level Nationality
  6. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Diversity can mean:

    Gender Race Skill Level Nationality etc.
  7. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We didn’t have

    the budget to hire a senior developer
  8. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! @aeden: Want to

    take on an apprentice in Chicago?
  9. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The Goal: Hire

    an apprentice that would be able to:
  10. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The Goal: Hire

    an apprentice that would be able to: Handle a DevOps role (like me)
  11. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The Goal: Hire

    an apprentice that would be able to: Handle a DevOps role (like me) Be an effective remote worker (like us)
  12. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We reached out

    to local tech schools i.c.stars
  13. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We reached out

    to local tech schools i.c.stars DevBootCamp
  14. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We interviewed two

    potential candidates from DevBootCamp
  15. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! But they fell

    through (Possibly bad timing for hiring them within budget)
  16. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We created a

    hiring process (Anthony was in charge before)
  17. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We created a

    job description to guide us toward a learning plan
  18. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Removing gender and

    racial bias from the application process Responses were submitted to a google doc (instead of Anthony) and viewable to the team without name, contact information, and with gendered language removed by me.
  19. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We had a

    new constraint: Hire this candidate in a few weeks or less
  20. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! I did not

    vote on any of the candidates (I knew their full identities)
  21. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Two simple questions

    Why do you want to work at DNSimple? (Reveals personal drive and motivations)
  22. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Two simple questions

    Explain a hard problem you had to solve and how you solved it. (Does not have to be technical) (Reveals problem solving skills, creativity to find solutions)
  23. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We talked about

    salary early (Offered 60k per year including benefits)
  24. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We took a

    vote 7 people at the time in the company, minus me makes for 6 possible votes. If a tie-breaker was needed, they would advance into video call based interviews. People could also comment on why they voted in a certain way to provide feedback to candidates.
  25. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! 0 1 2

    3 4 5 6 African American White Male Female
  26. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Votes 0 1

    2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Candidates
  27. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! I made some

    mistakes A gendered word was left in one of the candidate submissions
  28. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! I made some

    mistakes Responses still included some potentially revealing information about racial identity
  29. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Rejection letters suck

    I offered to provide compiled feedback about their applications. Some applicants actually responded to ask.
  30. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We moved forward

    with video interviewing Mak with the team
  31. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We hired him

    on a 6 month trial employment
  32. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The team decided

    against anything shorter than 6 months
  33. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! He would be

    part of at least two peer reviews before the 6 months is up
  34. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The entire team

    has had their expectations exceeded (he’s gunning for the top spot in customer support)
  35. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! He’s now full-time

    with DNSimple And about to travel the globe next year while co- working.
  36. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! He’s apprenticing again!

    He now works with our designer Sebastian to handle our UI and UX.
  37. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring

    practices (even if you have an HR dept)
  38. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring

    practices Remove names and contact information from the initial screening process
  39. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring

    practices Advise applicants remove gendered language before applying
  40. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring

    practices Remove gendered language from your job listings
  41. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring

    practices Got a whiteboard problem? Forget it. Think differently about qualifications for apprentices.
  42. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! If not, consider

    giving teams company time to mentor someone
  43. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! If you mentor

    a student, consider building a pathway to hiring for them. Listen to them. Take notes.
  44. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Both mentorship and

    apprenticeship is a two-way street. You should both be learning something.
  45. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Create a learning

    plan with your apprentice (Establish expectations early for learning)
  46. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Have a regular

    check-in schedule (Are they keeping up? Do they need additional help?)
  47. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Pay them fairly,

    even for their time in applying