May 17, 2012 at 12:00 pm
I have my own technique for interviewing. It aims more at personality and intelligence than at specific skillset. Itdoes include the skills needed, but secondary in importance. I've found, over the years, that an enthusiastic, intelligent person is generally likely to be able to learn a new skill with little effort and apply it well. Conversely, a knowledgeable, experienced, but not very bright person is often a liability in the long run, and someone who is chronically bored (or worse) won't apply whatever skills they have in any useful fashion.
Sort of exaggerated:
Hire 1 has all kinds of knowledge and experience, but isn't all that bright (not dumb, just not bright) and finds work boring almost no matter what's going on. His "runway" to getting productive on the job is about 5 feet long, but his flight-speed is 15 miles per hour.
Hire 2 has significantly less knowledge and experience, but is smarter and more enthusiastic. The runway is one of those miles-long ones that 747s take off from, and he needs a lot of direction from the air traffic control tower before he can take off, but once he does, it's up to Mach 3 for him.
I'll take 2 over 1 every time.
Works for me, anyway.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
May 17, 2012 at 1:54 pm
I like to hire the ones I can pay the least amount of money. 😛
The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival.
May 17, 2012 at 2:01 pm
sturner (5/17/2012)
I like to hire the ones I can pay the least amount of money. 😛
I know a DBA you can get really inexpensively.
It's mainly because he's never done that kind of work before, and really isn't interested in ever doing it. But he's desperate for any sort of paycheck at all.
Interested? :w00t:
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
May 17, 2012 at 2:05 pm
GSquared (5/17/2012)
sturner (5/17/2012)
I like to hire the ones I can pay the least amount of money. 😛I know a DBA you can get really inexpensively.
It's mainly because he's never done that kind of work before, and really isn't interested in ever doing it. But he's desperate for any sort of paycheck at all.
Interested? :w00t:
Is he open to minimum wage? Management is excited... they think this could improve our bottom line.
The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival.
May 17, 2012 at 2:09 pm
sturner (5/17/2012)
GSquared (5/17/2012)
sturner (5/17/2012)
I like to hire the ones I can pay the least amount of money. 😛I know a DBA you can get really inexpensively.
It's mainly because he's never done that kind of work before, and really isn't interested in ever doing it. But he's desperate for any sort of paycheck at all.
Interested? :w00t:
Is he open to minimum wage? Management is excited... they think this could improve our bottom line.
Knowing this guy, minimum wage isn't a barrier. He doesn't have a Social Security Number, since he's not legally in the US, so he'd probably go for whatever you want to offer, so long as it's more than an average hour of panhandling can turn up. Heck, he might be willing to work for food, but I'd have to ask next time I drive past his street corner.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
May 17, 2012 at 2:19 pm
GSquared (5/17/2012)
sturner (5/17/2012)
GSquared (5/17/2012)
sturner (5/17/2012)
I like to hire the ones I can pay the least amount of money. 😛I know a DBA you can get really inexpensively.
It's mainly because he's never done that kind of work before, and really isn't interested in ever doing it. But he's desperate for any sort of paycheck at all.
Interested? :w00t:
Is he open to minimum wage? Management is excited... they think this could improve our bottom line.
Knowing this guy, minimum wage isn't a barrier. He doesn't have a Social Security Number, since he's not legally in the US, so he'd probably go for whatever you want to offer, so long as it's more than an average hour of panhandling can turn up. Heck, he might be willing to work for food, but I'd have to ask next time I drive past his street corner.
I've read that some panhandlers can make $60,000 a year. And think, done right that is all under the table.
May 17, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Not down here in Fort Lauderdale anymore they have just passed a city ordinance prohibiting any panhandling. I think you will see more of this in the future too. I am wondering how they are going to enforce this though? These people have nothing else to lose.:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
May 17, 2012 at 4:40 pm
TravisDBA (5/17/2012)
Not down here in Fort Lauderdale anymore they have just passed a city ordinance prohibiting any panhandling. I think you will see more of this in the future too. I am wondering how they are going to enforce this though? These people have nothing else to lose.:-D
Cops have their methods, but because they are aware of their PR, they may even offer the panhandlers a ride to the next city or community. "I understand that you have to do something to live. Just do not do it in my precinct or you will find yourself in lots of trouble."
May 17, 2012 at 6:17 pm
LightVader (5/17/2012)
Chris Hamam (5/17/2012)
From my experience, starting someone as a freelance contractor makes far more sense to me.That's how I was hired most recently, only they called me a temp employee. I worked four months as a temp then they they hired me as a permanent employee.
The only problem I had with the process was that I wasn't eligible for company insurance during that period.
That's why I feel being an Independent Contractor is better - I control all my own insurances and risk exposures to ensure limited personal liability, then I factor that into the contract rate.
From my experience as an independent contractor, the Client-Supplier relationship is far more binding than the Employer-Employee relationship, and as an independent contractor I can personally manage multiple client relationships concurrently.
Employees, even if temporary, do not have the flexibility of maintaining multiple employers, so are exposed to the risk of being out of work if that relationship suddenly ends for any reason.
As an independent contractor, if work dries up with one client, I am not exposed to having to find more work on short notice, and it's far easier to find more contract work than going through a convoluted employer interview process.
Some contract interviews I have are just over the phone and start the next day, so client relationship skills are a must, as is reputation and being able to trade based on your own name.
--Chris Hamam
Life's a beach, then you DIE (Do It Eternally)
May 17, 2012 at 10:30 pm
Considering how bad the candidates have been lately, I believe I'm going to change my first question to "So tell me! Do you like porkchops punk? Well, DO YA?" 😛
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
May 18, 2012 at 6:21 am
Chris Hamam (5/17/2012)
LightVader (5/17/2012)
Chris Hamam (5/17/2012)
From my experience, starting someone as a freelance contractor makes far more sense to me.That's how I was hired most recently, only they called me a temp employee. I worked four months as a temp then they they hired me as a permanent employee.
The only problem I had with the process was that I wasn't eligible for company insurance during that period.
That's why I feel being an Independent Contractor is better - I control all my own insurances and risk exposures to ensure limited personal liability, then I factor that into the contract rate.
From my experience as an independent contractor, the Client-Supplier relationship is far more binding than the Employer-Employee relationship, and as an independent contractor I can personally manage multiple client relationships concurrently.
Employees, even if temporary, do not have the flexibility of maintaining multiple employers, so are exposed to the risk of being out of work if that relationship suddenly ends for any reason.
As an independent contractor, if work dries up with one client, I am not exposed to having to find more work on short notice, and it's far easier to find more contract work than going through a convoluted employer interview process.
Some contract interviews I have are just over the phone and start the next day, so client relationship skills are a must, as is reputation and being able to trade based on your own name.
I wasn't in a position where I could do that. I had just come off an internship where I ended up not working in the field at all and before that was college. I felt that I had limited business experience which would limit the opportunities as a contractor.
While I admire the people who run their own business as a contractor or work as a contractor at other companies, I like that "stability" that the employer-employee relationship has. On the one hand - I'm in a job where I can put down roots, but like you said - there's a risk of the relationship terminating and then I'm back to square one.
May 21, 2012 at 12:23 pm
I think a good test would be to see how many people reading this article do not know what a 'Borg' is? Does a techie have to know scifi? 😀
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Remember as you walk down lifes road, don't forget to stop and pee on the bushes - Thordog[/font]
May 21, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Thordog (5/21/2012)
I think a good test would be to see how many people reading this article do not know what a 'Borg' is? Does a techie have to know scifi? 😀
I would put it into the "will be considered a plus" category. 😉
May 22, 2012 at 10:09 am
Star Trek 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
May 26, 2012 at 2:26 pm
In my experience people struggle to employ the right candidate or complain about the person they employed but in many cases they were just "lazy" or thought it would be simple.... but it isn't simple...
First of all you just cannot employ anyone without doing a proper test that is releavant to the job which is the reason why I have written guide to SQL Server Interview questions which seems to be very popular.
The second scenario is when people complain about person they employed. Even if they have someone with proper skills they still can be not suitable for the role. Choosing the right personality is difficult but what I have learnt over the last several years is don't lie to the candidates.
Giving them a picture of a great environment where in reality people are pressured to meet unrealistic deadlines and forced to do their job quickly without knowing what to do and not using their skills is probably the best way to have them very unhappy.
You might have the right candidate but the candidate is in the wrong place.... my advice is to be open and transparent about the environment. Many people (like myself) will avoid certain environments & behaviours so give them a choice to decline the offer otherwise you might complain about them being unhelpful or always in bad mood.
Some people don't mind challenges as long as their are aware of them in advance and they can discuss during the interview how you want to deal with that so they know how to react.
Anyway personally when I am a candidate I ask a lot of questions during interview to ensure I find the right place for myself where I can use my skills and my expertise can be appreciated 🙂 but unfortunately as a candidate I am limited to the most important question and I have to use my intuition to decide if the job is for me.
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