Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant
Expert in Managing Product Development
We talk a lot in agile about generalizing specialists. Scott Ambler has a terrific essay on what a generalizing specialist is: Has one or more technical specialties… Has at least a general knowledge of software development. Has at least a general knowledge of the business domain in which they work. Actively seeks to gain new …
Continue reading “Five Tips to Hiring a Generalizing Specialist”
If you are like many hiring managers I know, you don’t like to write job ads. You find them boring to write. When they are boring to write, many candidates find them boring to read. You don’t have to make your ads boring. Have you read Pradeep Soundararajan’s ad for his VP? Here is his …
Continue reading “Do Your Ads Reflect Your Job and Culture?”
We often think about a succession plan for managers. But, if you’re not thinking about a succession plan for your technical team, you’re falling prey to local shortages, and hiring the same old kinds of people. You’re not getting diverse people. That means you may not be able to create innovative, great products. It also …
Continue reading “Creating a Succession Plan for Your Technical Team”
I spent the day consulting with a client who might sound just like you. He’s a senior manager in a small company. He’s overworked, trying to perform too many roles by himself. He’s the CTO, Scrum Master for as many as three teams (yes, I gave him the evil eye), the tool master, managing about …
Continue reading “Three Tips to Streamline Your Hiring, Part 1”
If you read Thomas Friedman’s interview with Laszlo Bock, How to Get a Job at Google, Part 2, you see that these qualities are the things that Bock discusses: Grit, which I refer to as perseverance Adaptability General cognitive ability, the ability to think and solve problems How does Bock look for those skills? He …
Continue reading “What Traits Are Most Valuable in a Career?”
I just read How to Listen. (Tip of the hat to Naomi Karten who tweeted it.) I’ve been saying for years that great interviews are collegial conversations. The interviewer wants to learn enough about the candidate to know: can the candidate do the job and fit our culture? The candidate wants to know: can I …
Continue reading “How Do You Signal That You Are Ready to Listen?”
Did you read The Jobless Trap? In it, Paul Krugman asserts we are creating an underclass of long-term unemployed. This is what really stood out for me: This could happen because their work skills atrophy, but a more likely reason is that potential employers assume that something must be wrong with people who can’t find …
If you’re trying to select a manager, you want one who fits your organization. I hope you’ve read my blog post over at Vistage. If you read the comments, you see I’m not into surveys or psychometric assessments. BTW, I find it useful for me to know about myself, but not for others to use …
Long ago, when I was single, one of my managers refused to give me new development work because I was dating a guy who lived out of the state. “You’ll go marry him and then where will I be?” he asked. “I’ll be down a developer.” “If you don’t give me good work to do, …
In yesterday’s Globe, there was a question about How to cut ties when the old boss won’t let go. Oh my. If you weren’t sure you’d made a good decision, you know now you have. I actually think there is a better way to leave a job. Assuming you give two weeks notice, here’s what …
Continue reading “When Are You Done Answering Questions About Your Old Job?”