Ed Goodman
Active Member
Joined: 08 Jun 2011
Posts: 556
Location: USA
|
|
|
|
I don't know if it's just from being American, but I see a military corollary here.
The older, more experienced soldiers are reluctant to get to know the new recruits. There is a feeling that they shouldn't invest any time in them because the odds are they will be gone before long. Sometimes, they don't even bother to know their names, and just call them "new meat."
As the new guy/gal, you have to resist the urge to prove yourself through talent, and instead focus on proving yourself through assimilation. Learn how the current group works, try to fit in first, understand the difficulties they face. Once you have that in hand, then you can find a load to carry and find problems to solve.
I just had this discussion with an older programmer. We talked about how some managers will test new employees' attitudes by assigning menial tasks. If the newbie does it, then they are given more real work. If they balk at it and say it's beneath them, they don't get very far.
The article was more of a "how do I keep up with these guys." That's a little better attitude already, but the danger is in trying to hide his own ignorance. Unless they have been misrepresented, the group KNOWS they are less skilled in the language. What they should probably do is demonstrate good general skills like logic and problem solving. That will let the current group know that it's worth their effort to get him/her up to speed. So ask questions and start learning, but don't expect to learn from listening only. Don't sit in someone's cube all day watching them, go try it yourself.
phew...didn't know I was gonna write all that! |
|
.jpg)
