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
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
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
If you’d like to hire people but you can’t because you have no open reqs, take a good long look at the people you do have. Are any of your staff prima donnas, “indispensable”, or just not doing the work? If you have people who aren’t being successful, you have several choices: Make sure you’ve
I interviewed once for a QA Manager job. The position was supposed to run the SEPG and chair the corporate quality improvement team. The position was supposed to hire auditors to assess the organization against the CMM, and hire testers to test the product. In addition, the position was supposed to define test plans, and
I’ve been working on an article for about a year now, trying to discuss how to decisions about which kinds of testers to hire when. The only good thing about working on an article that long is that I’m finally learning how to describe what I mean (I think). I’d like your feedback on these
In Laurent’s Hiring and Testingpost, he wondered why we spend so much time in the up-front stages of hiring. Why not use the probation period that seems to be the law in France, and is part of many companies’ stated HR procedures?A bunch of reasons: as managers, we need to give substantive and useful feedback
“Why Should I Hire You” means “How is hiring you going to help me?” You can prepare for this question before, during, and after the interview. Here’s how: Before the interview, review the job description. What specifics can you show the hiring manager about your experience that parallels the job description? Tell behavioral-description stories that
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