Many interviewers ask this question: “Why did you leave your last job?” It’s reasonable for interviewers to want to know what started you looking for a new job. I expect to hear things like this: “I was looking for more challenge.” I then follow up with a open-ended question, “Oh, tell me about your job. […]
Some interviewers like to ask open-ended questions, such “Tell me about yourself.” If you ask questions like that, I hope you reconsider; the question is too open-ended for candidates to answer effectively. Instead, first think about what you want to investigate in your conversation: the candidate’s background, problem solving skills, reliability, initiative, debugging, logging, or
In Kimberly Blanton’s article, Job search diary: mock interviews build Brian’s confidence, she discusses a few questions and answers that the manager-candidate uses to practice his interviewing skills.Questions you should be ready for include: “Why should I hire you?” “Tell me about yourself” “Why did you leave your last job?” “What’s your greatest strength and
My Stickyminds column this month deals with choosing when to start and end project overtime, “When Should You Start Project Overtime?” Frank Patrick has already chimed in with one of the common causes of overtime, multi-tasking. See Multi-tasking Multiplies Lead Time Also see these blog entries from Esther Derby and Hal Macomber. A note: I
One of the most difficult problems in software development is knowing how to elicit and discuss requirements. It’s difficult because the people who are supposed to know the requirements don’t always have a clear idea of what they want. And, even people with tremendous communication and other soft skills don’t always have good ways
Esther’s blog entry this morning set me off into gales of laughter. I’m sure I was the original author of the peanut butter/white bread entry, and with editing, Esther turned it from mud to something that’s ready to be edited. A great case of refactoring in writing. Now that I write for human consumption,
I had a lovely dinner with Brian Marick and our spouses Saturday night. (Now that he’s blogrolled me, I can’t tease him about that. Thanks, Brian!) Two things made me reconsider the way I manage people while managing a project: things we discussed at dinner, and Brian’s recent posting about the explicit role of the
Take a look at Adam Kalsey’s post on Writing Realistic Job Descriptions. I particularly like this part: “Give people half a chance and they will pre-qualify themselves for a job. No one wants to take the time to send resumes and cover letters and never get a response. If you want to receive quality resumes
As you can probably tell, I think people are the most important equation in successful product development. Good people can trump inadequate management and/or an inappropriate process. Dorset House has announced the pre-publication price for my book (available in September). I wrote a little more about this on my Hiring Technical People blog.
Dorset House has announced the pre-publication availability of my book, “Hiring Technical People.” Here’s the blurb: Hiring technical people is one of the most critical and difficult tasks that a manager can undertake. This book takes the guesswork out of hiring, and diminishes the risk of costly hiring mistakes. With the aid of step-by-step