Most people don’t lie on their resumes or in interviews. However, if you’re not sure about a candidate, here’s a checklist to help you detect the truth about a candidate: Always check references. I ask for a minimum of three references from a candidate, at least one of which is a manager. Develop a […]
I was reading How Would You Design Bill Gates’s Bathroom? and realized that Microsoft discriminates for people who are visionaries, people who see the big picture. When they do this, they ignore the other types of people necessary for successful products and projects: the stabilizer, the firefighter, and the catalyst.Keirsey calls these temperaments by slightly
In response to my last blog entry, Questions for Hiring Architects and Designers, Dave Smith wrote this: “I took a slightly different approach when I was a hiring manager. Instead of canned set of questions, I would get the candidate to a whiteboard, pose a vaguely-stated, open ended design problem with no “right” answer, then
How do you differentiate true designers and architects from other software developers? This may be the hardest question to answer, and the most necessary. A real designer or architect, someone who doesn’t just hack a bunch of software together, is worth more to your company than you can pay him/her. A real designer or architect
I had a heated discussion last week with a hiring manager. He was convinced games and puzzles helped him discriminate between suitable and unsuitable candidates. I told him I’d probably fail the games he had for project managers. “Uh, what do you mean the games for project managers?” “Don’t you have separate games or puzzles
In one of my presentations this week at the Software Development conference, someone asked, “How do I attract suitable candidates? I can attract lots of candidates, but how do I get the most appropriate people to respond to my open req?” In this economy, that’s hard. Even so, you have some options: Use your personal
If you’re a hiring manager, you’re probably faced with a gazillion resumes. You’ve taken the first step and screened the resumes (more on that in a future tip). Now you’re thinking about bringing candidates in for an interview.Stop. Don’t just bring people in for an interview. Phone screen candidates first. Ask questions to verify the