This month’s column over at the Fast Company/Inc hiring site is Rapid Ramp-Ups. I don’t think treating hiring like a project is new, but some people have remarked on that in the past. Please leave comments here.
2 comments July 29th, 2005
Sometimes, I work with managers who can’t tell the differences between technical people. They seem to think all developers (or testers or project managers or whomever) are equivalent. If you’ve ever tried to make the case for hiring the best people, read Joel Spolsky’s Hitting the High Notes.
Spolsky says
… duplication of software is free. That means that the cost of programmers is spread out over all the copies of the software you sell. With software, you can improve quality without adding to the incremental cost of each unit sold.Essentially, design adds value faster than it adds cost.
Note that Joel says later in the article,
The quality of the work and the amount of time spent are simply uncorrelated.
Some people work faster than others. But the really great people will have great ideas and work at (overall) similar paces. And, what’s more important, the quality of their work is head-and-shoulders above the rest.So think hard before you let your standards down and hire the next-best, or the third-best. It will cost you time and money.
4 comments July 26th, 2005
When I teach interviewing skills, I ask the workshop participants what they want to learn in the workshop. I’m always amazed at how many people say “interpret body language.” I expected people to focus on listening for behavior-description answers to questions, not body language.
Interpreting body language is difficult. Imagine you’re sitting across a table from someone who leans back and crosses his arms over his chest, tucking his hands underneath. What do you think his body language means? Many people think that person is withdrawing from the conversation. But what if I tell you this person is a woman? Does that change your interpretation?
I’m one of the get-cold-quickly people. I can be comfortable in a room, and suddenly the A/C will switch on, and I’ll get cold in a matter of seconds. I cross my arms, and tuck my hands underneath. And, if there’s a chair back behind me, I’ll lean back against it. I’m not withdrawing from the conversation. I’m conserving body heat.
This is exactly the kind of problem we run into when we attempt to interpret body language. People frown, shrug, pull back, pull forward, do all kinds of things that are open to interpretation. And inevitably, it’s better to not interpret, but to ask questions such as “What’s happening for you?” I’ll tell you I’m cold. And some other person may say something else.
Interpretation of other people’s expressions or body language is tricky. And it’s not usually necessary. It’s better to ask a question that helps people explain what’s going on for them than it is to assume you can “read” a person and know.
4 comments July 13th, 2005
I received a pointer to Write and Get Hired today. And like most busy people, I didn’t read the blurb. Maybe the article will work for you, but I don’t find verbalizing my goals to be helpful. I do find writing them down helpful.
But you can write and get hired. Write an article for a print or on-line magazine. Write a letter to the editor. Start (and maintain) a blog.The more you articulate your position and your strengths, the more people will realize your potential in their organization. Your writing will help you network, which will help you find a job.
If the goal things work for you, go for it. But don’t neglect writing other people can see. The more you write so other people can read your writing, the more likely you are to be hired.
3 comments July 6th, 2005