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

Transcript

2. Aaron Kalin
3. Aaron Kalin @martinisoft
4. Aaron Kalin @martinisoft martinisoftware.com
5. Aaron Kalin @martinisoft He/Him martinisoftware.com
7. ? 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.
8. Disclaimer: This is our story Please take notes. Serious and honest content ahead.
9. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn !
10. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn !
11. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn !
12. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn !
13. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! March 30th, 2015
14. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! March 30th, 2015 A short discussion from Anthony…
15. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! @aeden: Want to take on an apprentice in Chicago?
16. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Anthony was worried…
17. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We were becoming a monoculture
18. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! It’s easy to look within friend networks for candidates…
19. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We needed more diversity in our team
20. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Diversity can mean:
21. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Diversity can mean: Gender
22. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Diversity can mean: Gender Race
23. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Diversity can mean: Gender Race Skill Level
24. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Diversity can mean: Gender Race Skill Level Nationality
25. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Diversity can mean: Gender Race Skill Level Nationality etc.
26. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We didn’t have the budget to hire a senior developer
27. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! @aeden: Want to take on an apprentice in Chicago?
28. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn !
29. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn !
30. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! What the hell did we do?
31. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The Goal:
32. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The Goal: Hire an apprentice that would be able to:
33. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The Goal: Hire an apprentice that would be able to: Handle a DevOps role (like me)
34. 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)
35. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! I asked @zspencer for some advice
36. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We reached out to local tech schools
37. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We reached out to local tech schools i.c.stars
38. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We reached out to local tech schools i.c.stars DevBootCamp
39. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We interviewed two potential candidates from DevBootCamp
40. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! But they fell through (Possibly bad timing for hiring them within budget)
41. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We created a hiring process (Anthony was in charge before)
42. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We created a job description to guide us toward a learning plan
43. 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.
44. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We had a new constraint: Hire this candidate in a few weeks or less
45. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! I did not vote on any of the candidates (I knew their full identities)
46. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Two simple questions
47. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Two simple questions Why do you want to work at DNSimple? (Reveals personal drive and motivations)
48. 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)
49. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We talked about salary early (Offered 60k per year including benefits)
50. 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.
51. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! How did it go?
52. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 African American White Male Female
53. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Votes 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Candidates
54. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! I made some mistakes
55. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! I made some mistakes A gendered word was left in one of the candidate submissions
56. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! I made some mistakes Responses still included some potentially revealing information about racial identity
57. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Rejection letters suck I offered to provide compiled feedback about their applications. Some applicants actually responded to ask.
58. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We moved forward with video interviewing Mak with the team
59. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We hired Mak
60. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! We hired him on a 6 month trial employment
61. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The team decided against anything shorter than 6 months
62. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! He would be part of at least two peer reviews before the 6 months is up
63. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! How did it go?
64. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! The entire team has had their expectations exceeded (he’s gunning for the top spot in customer support)
65. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn !
66. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn !
67. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn !
68. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! He’s now full-time with DNSimple And about to travel the globe next year while co- working.
69. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! It doesn’t end there…
70. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! He’s apprenticing again!
71. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! He’s apprenticing again! He now works with our designer Sebastian to handle our UI and UX.
72. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Why aren’t you doing this?
73. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring practices (even if you have an HR dept)
74. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring practices Remove names and contact information from the initial screening process
75. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring practices Advise applicants remove gendered language before applying
76. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring practices Remove gendered language from your job listings
77. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Change your hiring practices Got a whiteboard problem? Forget it. Think differently about qualifications for apprentices.
78. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Mentorship -vs- Apprenticeship
79. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Can you afford to hire an apprentice?
80. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! If not, consider giving teams company time to mentor someone
81. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! If you mentor a student, consider building a pathway to hiring for them. Listen to them. Take notes.
82. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Both mentorship and apprenticeship is a two-way street. You should both be learning something.
83. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Create a learning plan with your apprentice (Establish expectations early for learning)
84. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Have a regular check-in schedule (Are they keeping up? Do they need additional help?)
85. Our Problem A Solution Your Turn ! Pay them fairly, even for their time in applying
86. Thank you for your time! @martinisoft
87. Questions?