Posts filed under 'candidate'
So you didn’t get the promotion. Before you look for a new job, ask why. It’s possible you’re missing something critical for that role.
Many years ago, I was working as a “senior member of the technical staff.” I was a tester, had coordinated beta tests, much of the testing work for the last couple of releases, and was working as the tester-project-manager and helping the project manager realize what her job was. My boss left the company. I was “obviously” the next one in line for his job. I didn’t get the job. When I asked why not, I was told “You’re too valuable where you are.”
That’s a non-answer. But I did talk to my new boss, and told her I wanted to know what I needed to learn to get the promotion. She smiled and said, “people skills.” Ok. Clearly not my strengths, but I figured I could learn. I told her I wanted her to teach me. She agreed.
I put away my resume and stayed at the company another 4 years. I learned how to be a great manager. I learned how to be a great program manager. I learned how to do strategic planning, both the stupid way and ways that made sense. I doubt I would have learned how to do any of those skills that quickly without my new boss’ coaching and mentorship.
Managers, telling people they’re “not ready” or “too valuable” is a cop-out. Provide authentic feedback, offer to teach/coach/mentor, and you will have a loyal employee who will amaze you.
I stayed because I asked why and because I learned what I needed to learn. If you’re frustrated with your job, maybe it’s time to ask why, before you go look for a new one. Ask. What can you lose?
September 10th, 2008
Before my webinar last week, I was chatting with the organizer, and experienced project manager. He said that when he interviewed a project manager, and hear words such as “I control projects” that’s a red flag for him. No, he’s not an agile project manager–he’s a smart and effective project manager who realize that people control their own tasks. But he got me thinking about other red flag words.
When I hear testers say, “I control the release” that’s a red flag for me. Testers provide information. The release decision is way above their pay level.
When I hear business analysts (or anyone!) say, “I just know what the customers want. I don’t have to go back and talk to them.” Oh yeah? If they’re so clairvoyant, why doesn’t all software work the way I want it to?
When I hear architects say, “I don’t write code. I architect a system.” Oh sure they do. On paper. Or in PowerPoint (full credit to Venkat and Andy for naming these people PowerPoint Architects in Practices of an Agile Developer). Architects who don’t participate in product development are just as bad as house architects who never use the bathrooms they “design.”
Red flag words are an indication that the candidate is not sufficiently introspective about why the company pays him or her. You might still want to hire a candidate with red flag words, but you’ll have to work with that person to make him or her a fully valuable member of the team.
September 4th, 2008
I’m writing about a post a week for ITJobBlog. I’ve already written a couple of posts about how to develop your interview skills when you’re a candidate, part 1 and part 2. Please join us over there, too!
August 27th, 2008
I was talking with a junior colleague recently. He can’t find a job. I offered to help network with him. He said no, he’d look for a job himself.
Big mistake. If someone offers you help networking, take it! No matter who you are, how many years of experience you have, how sure you are you can get a job by yourself, take the help.
August 14th, 2008
Many hiring managers are looking for initiative, especially for agile team members. (In agile, the team members self-organize, which means they are looking for ways to do work better and to solve problems without requiring management’s involvement.)
I was thinking about initiative how to look for it, and I realized that at least some people with high initiative are only one small step away from being entrepreneurs. Sometimes it can be difficult to see where initiative ends and entrepreneurship begins. Should you hire people who have a high probability of walking away?
Yes.
First, there’s no guarantee how long any of your hires stay, so not hiring someone because you think the candidate might leave doesn’t buy you anything. But even more importantly: how much could you take advantage of this candidate’s ideas? High initiative people/entrepreneurs have lots of ideas. Many of them could benefit you, your team, your organization.
Bring on the high initiative/potential entrepreneur candidates. Let’s see them rock!
July 8th, 2008
I ran a workshop recently about hiring for an agile team, and one of the people learning to interview said, “I want a candidate who can take criticism.” I replied, “Don’t you mean feedback?” He asked, “What’s the difference?”
Oh, boy. Plenty. Criticism is when you you’re looking at a piece of code and you say, “This seems brain dead.” But if you say, “I’m confused by this piece of code,” you’ve provided me some feedback. I guarantee you, you want candidates who can take feedback.
So, if you want to know if a candidate can take feedback, here are some possible interview questions:
- “Have you recently been in a position where someone reviewed your work?” (wait for a yes answer.) “What happened?”
- Offer to work with the candidate in an audition (possibly pairing) and review as you go.
- Ask for feedback on some of you work as part of an audition and see how the candidate provides feedback.
- “How do you know your work is good?” Wait and see where the question goes. You might be able to follow up with a question such as, “Is there a way you prefer feedback on your work?”
Asking candidates about their ability to take feedback is useful. Asking about criticism is not.
March 26th, 2008
You’re interviewing someone for a position at your company. You remember working with that person years ago, and you were unimpressed. Maybe it was the jerk factor, maybe it was the way he didn’t quite finish work, or maybe it was her perfume. Whatever it was, you were not excited about the candidate then, and you would like to avoid working with the candidate in the future. What do you do?
Tell the hiring manager. Explain with examples. “Back 10 years ago, when the candidate and I worked at SmallerCo, I was unimpressed by these things.” (Explain the things. If it’s not finishing, explain what you thought done meant and what the candidate did.) “When you check references, can you please check on this?”
The hiring manager should then ask the references, “Can you give me an example of a time the candidate did a great job finishing something?” and “Can you give me an example of a time the candidate had trouble finishing work?” and “How often do you think the candidate was great at finishing and how often did the candidate have trouble?” (Change this question to be the issue concerning you.)
You should let your manager know about your reservations–that’s the unintentional reference part. But you should make allowances for people having changed over time.
February 11th, 2008
I emailed with a colleague today. He’s been looking for a position that shouldn’t be too hard to fill–but it is. Let’s assume the position is a development position. He interviewed a candidate. He’s not thrilled with the candidate; the candidate doesn’t have quite enough functional skill to do a good job. The interviewing team is neutral to positive, so he’s not alone with this lack of thrill. But his manager wants him to hire this candidate, for a slightly different position, as a release engineer.
I suggested he make it clear to his manager that hiring this candidate as a release engineer does not fill the development position. If the organization needs a release engineer, then interview and possibly hire the candidate for that job. But don’t fool yourselves into thinking you’ve covered the development job; you haven’t.
Make sure your manager understands your test strategy and your hiring strategy and your job analysis before you agree to this hire. Point out the risks, “Ok, we can hire the candidate, but we don’t get more development done. Want you to know that.”
Don’t settle for less than what you need in a candidate. I have several ideas about what to do when you can’t find someone. I’ll start a series about what to do when you can’t find a candidate. But don’t settle. You won’t get the work done that you need done.
October 24th, 2007
A bunch of my clients are having trouble filling their positions. They can’t find a bazillion years of Java or .Net or something else.
There is a relative candidate shortage, compared to the candidate glut of a few years ago. But of people start looking for attitude and general problem solving ability and ability to collaborate, they won’t need to look for technical skills. See what Anton says he’s looking for.
You can send someone to a class and they can learn a particular tool. If you then buddy that person with someone else, you’ve got a great coaching/mentoring relationship, and the new person will be up to speed quickly.
But if you don’t hire for the more intangible things, such as initiative or teamwork or problem solving, you won’t find the right people who can make a huge difference in your organization.
October 19th, 2007
In his comment, Gregbo asks what I mean by “bad” judgment.
Here’s an incomplete list:
- Frequent job changes, at least one job a year for several years
- Months of no discernible work or lag times between jobs.
- Titles that appear to move up and down the ladder.
There are more, but those are the common ones. Sometimes, people take jobs because they need a paycheck or health insurance (or both). Those people tend to feel as if their jobs are sucking the souls out of them. If you see a resume like that, don’t discard it. That candidate wants a good job–and may almost be desperate for a good job.
I once had a job for two weeks. The same week I was hired, I got a call to report to headquarters in another state, where they laid me off. I made a bad decision to take that job. Luckily, the hiring manager at my next job thought it was funny, and didn’t consider that small interlude a problem job.
So that’s what I mean by a “bad” decision. Candidates can’t tell if a company is on the skids, or will cancel the project they got hired for. If you’re a hiring manager or a recruiter, you have the opportunity to offer the candidate a great start in your organization. Don’t let your prejudices about length of service persuade you to avoid this candidate.
September 17th, 2007
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