There are many hiring traps and shortcuts, especially for technical people. Partially that's because too few HR people know about technical people. But, partially that's because too many technical people think, “I have a job, I must know what it takes to hire well.”
In my most recent management myth, Management Myth 27: We Can Take Hiring Shortcuts, you can read about four hiring shortcuts I have encountered: hiring barrel-of-the-bottom candidates, supposed ‘rock stars’ or ‘ninjas,’ not paying people what they’re worth, or people who don’t fit with the team.
The dialogue in this myth is paraphrased from a real conversation I had with one of my VP's many years ago. He wanted to help me by hiring Kelly Temps to help with testing. He was not a stupid man. He did not understand the value testers brought to the organization. I realized I had not done my job yet as a middle manager. Even though I'd only been in the organization for three months, I had not yet “sold” him on testing.
Hiring shortcuts can kill your organizational capacity. If that is your hiring strategy for now, decide what you will do later.
Read Hiring Geeks That Fit for more help.
I’m not sure if people are turning to these types of things because they don’t want to do the work involved in making a hire, or if they’re just so terrified that they’ll make a bad hire that they lean on superstitions to give them more confidence.
Ian, I suspect that too many people don’t realize that they need to do a little preparation for hiring, and that hiring is different from looking for a job. Their preparation is not the same as what HR thinks they need to do.
It’s too bad, because with just a little work, it’s easy to become really good at hiring.