Are they given time during normal work hours to grow? Are they given adequate assistance and resources? Is training a priority?

I've run into two different situations in my work life: a) You should learn new tech and keep up, but it's all on you, your own time and discretion (outside of work). It was expected to do project work 100% of the time on the job. b) It's expected for you to learn and grow and we will help you get there. $ for training/conferences. It's expected that you will spend a decent amount of time out of your 40 hr work week improving yourself and learning new tech.

In situation A, I would have been (I was!) labelled as someone who lacked the will. It was hard to put in a full day and do more at home, learning new stuff. I still did it, but it was difficult. I was burnt out by the time I left that job.

In situation B, I feel like I can live a normal life. I can learn, do my projects (I'm more productive), and go home at night and enjoy my time off and weekends. I feel like a normal person living their life.

Work/life balance is highly underrated.

>Are they given time during normal work hours to grow?

Yes! Absolutely!

>Are they given adequate assistance and resources?

Yes! 100%!

>Is training a priority?

Its our #1 priority (for new devs).

Still got people refusing to grow. Ive been a very successful mentor to some people, but I've gotten some real duds too.

I agree with the sibling comment that says 4 weeks is the sweet spot.

>You should learn new tech and keep up, but it's all on you, your own time and discretion (outside of work).

That's ridiculous. I've never worked anywhere where you are expected to work outside of work and, frankly, I just wouldn't.

It takes me around 4 weeks to figure out if someone can grow or not. There are exceptions though. Some people are almost traumatized by previous jobs so they need some time to learn that it's OK for them to grow.

As a junior developer currently looking for a role on a great team, I'm curious about your process. Why does it take ~ four weeks, and what are some of the markers that tell you 'yep, this is a great candidate who'll grow quickly'?

I usually give new people a task I understand fairly well myself, that they don't know much about but can easily be researched because it's well documented. So I expect someone to research the problem, develop some level of understanding and then be able to discuss options. I don't like it when people copy a piece of StackOverflow code and don't understand it.

I also prefer people who are naturally curious about tech vs people who just want to do the job. I don't like overtime but I like to discuss and try new ideas during working hours.