You like games, so do you want to be part of an experiment? November 19, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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Games are so very important for our lives. When you think about it, most of how we learn involves playing games.
A buddy of mine who lives in L.A. has founded a new game studio that's focused on creating MMO learning games for kids.
Trouble is, he needs a Lead Developer. A Lead who has experience creating game software, and who also knows their way around MMOs.
If you know someone like this, could you please let them know about this role?
Like I said, this is an experiment, and I appreciate your help!
The #1 way to improve your recruiting November 6, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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Stop saying that you're recruiting, and start saying that you're marketing.
A couple of subtleties about Seth's article:
- "Investing" means time & resources, not necessarily money. The best points about recruiting are the little human touches; treating people well, creating a story.
- People in the Software Engineering field are "extraordinary talent".
- It's about building a cohesive team, not hiring just one more person.
- The reverse is true as well - you're not job hunting, you're marketing yourself.
Warning: You might not be ready for this! October 10, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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Every field of endeavor has its language. For software technologists, we take terms for granted, too, for example:
- Pointer
- IP (both meanings, eh?)
- SCRUM
- MVC
Of course, HR & Recruiting has its own terms, and 'Engagement' or 'Employee Engagement' is one of them.
What?
There's a good blog I was recently introduced to that focuses on this topic, and the author of this blog has a helpful post from Oct. 7 on Engaging Candidates. For hiring managers, it's a pretty good snapshot of what you ought to be doing in your recruiting process to hire great people for your team.
The paragraph on constructing a detailed job description could use a bit more detail for practical use. When writing a job description, the focus should be on creating a document that has two purposes: 1) Attracting the right candidates (I know I'm repeating the author, but it's truly scary how many job descriptions don't do this); 2) Can be used as the basis of your first conversation w/your new team-member defining their work for the coming 12 - 18 months.
You don't know what they will do for the coming 12 - 18 months? That's O.K. because you can get a great deal on a Developer who doesn't know what they are doing, either.
Thank-you, Marcelo! October 7, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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Marcelo Calbucci over at Sampa has a nice post on 10/7 about recruiting in a startup, and why a third-party recruiter might be a good investment for you.
Of course, I can't help but add a couple of bits ;-):
First, because you decide to hire a third-party recruiter does not mean you're off the hook for doing some portion of the recruiting process. You still have to be on-the-spot for interviews, getting feedback from your troops (unless the recruiter is doing this for you), and most importantly, making a timely decision regarding hire/no hire.
Second, there are a few other things recruiters do for you besides the 9-point list Marcelo created. Like checking references, for instance.
Third, if you're at a startup, or a small company, your cost-benefit analysis should include trigger points for both third-party recruiters and a FT in-house recruiter. My guess is that right now, most firms are trying to figure out how to reduce their recruiting spend since they are only going to add in 'strategic' areas, or to replace people who leave.
One thing that is important in thinking about third-party recruiters is that we specialize in certain areas. For example, I focus on finding Software & Systems Engineer-types (including leaders up to CTOs). Others focus in other areas such as on Sales and Marketing, Finance, or HR. A firm that says they do it all may well be able to, but they undoubtedly have weaknesses in at least one of the categories. It's that whole 'best of breed v. we do-it-all' conundrum which technologists face down daily in other areas of their work.
Thanks, Macrelo, for shining a light on this from the rarefied air of the CTO/Founder!
Would you know a great job ad if it bit you in your a$$? September 24, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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All you hiring managers out there, here's a test.
Q: What makes for a great job ad?
A: Copy that attracts the best possible candidate for the role.
Now, let's see how good you are at assessing job ads. Go to www.craigslist.com. Go to the software/qa/db jobs section (or your relevant section if you're not a Software Team Leader). Review the first 25 ads.
Now, did any of them do anything for you emotionally? Was there any one ad that caught your eye and made you think, "Hmm, back in the day, that might have been good for me."
There's a very good chance that you did not actually see one ad that met this criteria.
My question to you: Why would you post up any ad other than one that is attractive to your audience?
Do you know what would be attractive to your audience?
A thought on handling ageism September 8, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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Nick has a nice post on how to beat age objection.
Generally, I agree with this advice. Thing is that it's a heck of a lot easier to do this if you're in the running for a Sales, Biz-dev or Product Marketing role.
What do you do about this if you're a Developer or a Program Manager and you really don't know what your exact bottom-line impact has been?
Simple, shift to a metric that means something to the business.
For example, on Wednesday, I was speaking w/a Web Developer, and he told me a story about creating a Javascript library that would take the place of a bunch of hand-coding his peers had to do across a number of projects. End result was that their projects were getting completed earlier and were more likely to hit their dates, too. He might have a hard time saying what the direct impact was to the profitability of the firm in terms of dollars and cents, but he could easily state that the projects were getting done 1 - 2 months earlier than before. Any manager knows that's good stuff.
As to you recent college grads who don't think this applies to you because you lack wrinkles and know Ruby, think again. Business is about making a profit. At any age. In any century you want to name.
Labor Day Special: Be nice to HR & Recruiting September 1, 2008
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Last Tuesday, I read a post by one of my new favorite HR Bloggers, Punk Rock HR regarding her observation that 90% of her buddies in HR are looking for work.
Based on her blog post, and a few other observations I can't share publicly, it appears to me that the economic downturn across the U.S. is having a direct effect on the HR & Recruiting functions at many companies. What it comes down to is that companies are cutting back on areas that are cost centers, and in many cases (not all), HR & Recruiting are considered cost centers.
Managerial Accounting Tip: There are 4 large money buckets companies are concerned with, and in rough order of importance: 1) Cash (increase); 2) Revenue (increase); 3) Costs (reduce); 4) Profits (increase). Generally, in an economic downturn, companies focus a lot of attention on protecting their Cash, and do various things to increase Revenue if possible. They also methodically go through all Costs and work to reduce them. Hopefully, these actions result in more Profit, which is a great trick in a down economy.
Here's the scenario: You're working in Recruiting at a F500 company. And suddenly, there's a super-double-secret hiring freeze. You get assigned some other make-work tasks for a while. But then, the hiring freeze extends, and one day you, your peers, and your boss all get the dreaded pink slip because Recruiting is "not strategic", e.g. it does not bring in revenue.
Note to all you CxOs out there: If you have figured out how to NOT take this action, give yourself a gold star! There are ways to keep your recruiting function tip-top at all times, and they truly mark a great business strategist from the rest of the crowd.
For all you Developer-types out there looking for a job, your contacts within the recruiting function of some of the firms you'd like to work for are going to be unhappy, stressed, and probably doing a sub-par job. My suggestion to you is to give these people a break, and maybe even be nice to them (shocking, I know). They are doing their best to help the company find people like you, and after all, that's probably why they got into HR or Recruiting in the first place!
re: What not to say during a job interview August 18, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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Marcelo has a very clear post of what he does not like in resumes and interviews based on his current searches. What's great about this is that he's the CEO at a great little Seattle Start-up, so it's a great view into his mind. And that of other start-up CEOs.
Ever wonder if HR is good at the interviewing process? August 4, 2008
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There are occasions when I talk to a candidate, and they really seem to want to grind their axe about how HR is messed up, and doesn't know how great a candidate they are, etc., etc. Sometimes, it almost seems as though the person in question thinks there is a super-secret HR Society that has it out for everyone not in the club.
In case you have this notion, check out this post written by an HR pro regarding a recent interview she had.
The moral to this story is that you should look for evidence of the importance a firm places on its people, and if the higher-ups in the HR organization don't value their own, it's pretty much guaranteed the rest of the company doesn't value their people either.
I'd put $5 on it...
What are the criteria that define a good developer? July 30, 2008
Posted by hardly Recruiting Process
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Yesterday, I had the opportunity to ask a long-time software developer & manager about what he's seen in the recruiting process for software development talent that works (yes, many years, and yes, at many very recognizable companies, and he asked that he not be named). Specifically, what types of measurable criteria has he seen used to good effect in hiring the right people, or building a great team.
Our conversation went all over the map. We compared the hiring practices of some notable large companies in the area (cough, Microsoft, cough, Amazon, cough, Adobe, cough, cough). We also spoke about the methods he's used at the companies he's worked at, and which skill areas he thinks he can measure accurately in any given candidate.
The end result: He doesn't think there are any statistically valid criteria being used in hiring Software Developers by any firm. Further, he thinks that many companies are deluding themselves with their statistics. "We hire 90% of the top candidates for our team" - but how do they know? Do they conduct A/B tests on the candidates, which would force them to NOT hire developers they think are great?
Does anyone out there have any sound statistical methods they use in hiring their developers? Have you personally gone through a hiring process that you thought measured your skills accurately, and also gave you a good sense of the work you were about to perform?
