I got a rare kind of contact from my listing on Dice.com. It was an e-mail directly from someone in a technology company who wasn't a recruiter or an HR person, but actually the person for whom I'd be working if I was hired. So I called him back quickly.

It sounds great. It's a Perl/Linux/open-source shop all the way. What's more, they and their products are very well known in the open-source world. I confessed not having direct experience with the product I'd be working on, but that didn't seem to be a negative. I have an interview in less than a week.

Hey, here's an open question for those who have interviewed with smallish programming shops--I know there's one or two of you out there. ;-) How would wearing a tie, say an unconventional '40s-vintage tie, affect my chances of being hired (compared to going business-casual with no tie)? Positively? Negatively?

Tags: job-hunting, perl