I returned from my wonderful around-the-world trip last Friday afternoon. I didn’t try to work until Monday, but I realized today that I was still Asleep at the Wheel. I attempted to use a new-to-me configuration management system (Subversion). In my befuddled state, I managed to use some CVS commands instead of the Subversion commands. […]
Because the cost of a bad hire is so high, some organizations are resorting to a variety of psychometric tests to determine if it’s worth interviewing and possibly hiring a candidate. If you, like me, are suspicious of tests, take a look at The Einstein-Clavin Effect by Wendell Williams. My favorite quote: … controlled research
I was reading You Are Possibly Very Annoying and realized I hadn’t posted Esther‘s and my six steps to effective feedback. (This is in the management book, starting publisher editing.) Here they are: Make sure you’re giving feedback about the work or the working relationships. Especially avoid clothes and other personal appearance issues (unless
I was talking to a relatively young developer the other day, and I asked him about his career plans. “Oh, I don’t do career planning myself,” he said. “I wait until my manager talks to me.” Oops. While it’s true that some managers are interested in and want to coach you through your career planning,
I taught a hiring/interviewing class this week. And, I had some HR folks in the class — which was a treat. One of them asked how to know if you have an effective hiring process. Effective hiring processes are like effective product development processes; they depend on the organization and the organization’s goals. But here’s
In one of my classes earlier this week, one project manager explained that he spent an entire day each week working the Gantt chart in a scheduling tool. He has a project of roughly 20 developers, a few testers, and a few other people (I’ve forgotten the details). I asked if he had one-on-ones
Louise Fletcher in Group Interviewing says Candidates should think of it as a chance to learn more about the company, department and position from more than just the Human Resources representative and the Hiring Manager. Note that she doesn’t say it’s a useful technique to learn about the candidate 🙂 Sorry Louise, if I put
I’m teaching project management (and some hiring) workshops in Israel. I’ve caught up with timezones, so I may even be able to post this week. I attempted to explain why pair programming works to some skeptical project managers last week. I explained that in the best environments, a person can work 6 hours a
I’m in lovely Perth, Australia this weekend, staying with some friends of mine. The husband was explaining how he makes sure his department buys coffee, tea, milk, sugar for everyone in the department. “It costs us about $2000 to supply the department for a year. In return, people congregate around the coffee, discussing work.
In a previous comment, a reader points to a resume that’s written like a cross between a cover letter and a resume. While the resume has a number of useful points, the resume is too quick to tell possible hiring managers what they are doing wrong. That dismissal of what hiring managers sometimes do also