Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant
Expert in Managing Product Development
Have you looked at some of the ads for Scrum Masters lately? Some ads include the need for PMPs or they say they will give you a bonus if you complete the project at a certain time or to someone’s satisfaction. Some talk about hiring the team or about managing the customer’s expectations. Some talk …
Have you read The next thing Silicon Valley needs to disrupt big time: its own culture? If not, it talks about hiring processes where companies Hire people “just like us” Where candidates can’t tell they are on interviews Where, if you wear a suit, you might be disqualified, because, hey, we don’t wear suits here. …
Continue reading “How to Hire for Cultural Fit Without Becoming Insular and Mediocre”
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”
I just finished Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs, by Peter Capelli. It’s a terrific read, all about the reasons hiring managers and companies have trouble finding people, and why job seekers have trouble getting in the door. It’s related to John Sumser’s series, the Hiring Paradox. I’ve never believed that there is a war …
Continue reading “Book Review: Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs”
I have an article up on Infoq: What Do You Look For In Servant Leader? It’s the follow-on article to my What “Scrum Master” Are You Hiring article. I hope you enjoy it.
In Hiring for an Agile Team: Who Do You Need?, I asked you to consider the kinds of people you were looking for. Yes, you might need developers or testers or BAs or writers. And, I suggested you think about T-shaped people, those folks who could do whatever it takes to move a feature forward. …
Continue reading “Hiring For an Agile Team: Making Tradeoffs”
I just read Social Media is Paralyzing HR. (Hat tip to John Sumser, @JohnSumser who tweeted it.) I sympathize with Paul, who is sympathizing with HR. Let me tell you what I see in too many small to medium size companies: One lonely HR person who is trying to do: All the recruiting for all …
I gave the “same” talk twice last week, at Agile Boston. Now, I never memorize my talks, so it’s never the same talk. I record my talks so I can learn from them. I had to select which talk I uploaded to slideshare. Tough decision! I decided to upload the first talk, because I thought …
Continue reading “Agile Hiring: It’s a Team Sport Slides Posted”
Shane Hastie, my sometime coauthor, and sometime co-teacher, interviewed me for InfoQ about Hiring Geeks That Fit. We had a great time, and the interview shows it. I hope you enjoy the interview. One of the things I say in the interview is, “Hiring should be a team sport, too.” I’m speaking at Agile Boston …
Did you see Cultural Fit Trumps Competence? I don’t know that cultural fit trumps competence. I know that it’s critically important. For geeks, you need a minimum of technical skills and then cultural fit is critically important. I do agree with Feld that the more senior you are, the more cultural fit is critical. Why? …