Let me pose a situation facing one of my clients now. Their business is expanding, and they’ve agreed to develop a product that’s tangential to their current product line. This new product requires a new piece. If you’re a software company, imagine it’s a piece of hardware. If you’re a hardware company, imagine it’s software. […]
Auren Hoffman has an intriguing post, It is too risky not to take a risk, suggesting that people take what appears to be the “risky” job rather than the safe job.I see it differently. I don’t see jobs as risks, but as opportunities. I tried to select my jobs based on where I would learn
During a recent workshop, one of the hiring managers asked, “How do we attract people to unattractive jobs, such as contract or temporary positions?” The first thing is to change your mindset. This job might be unattractive to you, but it’s bound to be attractive to other people. This job is an opportunity to some
If you haven’t yet read Why We Hate HR, it’s time. The main points of the article are: HR should help find the best hires HR should nurture the stars HR should foster a productive work environment Keith Hammonds, the author, says HR should be joined to business strategy at the hip. Ahem. I disagree.
This month’s column over at the Fast Company/Inc hiring site is Rapid Ramp-Ups. I don’t think treating hiring like a project is new, but some people have remarked on that in the past. Please leave comments here.
Sometimes, I work with managers who can’t tell the differences between technical people. They seem to think all developers (or testers or project managers or whomever) are equivalent. If you’ve ever tried to make the case for hiring the best people, read Joel Spolsky’s Hitting the High Notes. Spolsky says … duplication of software is
When I teach interviewing skills, I ask the workshop participants what they want to learn in the workshop. I’m always amazed at how many people say “interpret body language.” I expected people to focus on listening for behavior-description answers to questions, not body language. Interpreting body language is difficult. Imagine you’re sitting across a table
I received a pointer to Write and Get Hired today. And like most busy people, I didn’t read the blurb. Maybe the article will work for you, but I don’t find verbalizing my goals to be helpful. I do find writing them down helpful. But you can write and get hired. Write an article for
I spoke at Boston SPIN last night, and facilitated the hiring initiative roundtable before the main presentation. One of the roundtable participants explained that he was looking for entry-level testers. And, since no one (okay, not quite no one, but almost no one) teaches testing in college, he wanted to develop an audition to see
Last week, while driving to/from parents and funerals (my folks are fine), I had several long talks with my sister, who’s looking for a job. She’s the best salesperson I’ve ever met. She’s great at selling, and stays friendly with her clients over the years. She stopped selling in high tech about 16 years ago