This article on how Google's changing their hiring practices really hit home with me.
I've long viewed learning ability and problem skills as far outweighing where someone graduated from or what their resume history looked like. I've previously blogged about my thoughts on hiring, and my position descriptions have tended to drive HR departments crazy because they weren't checklist oriented.
I've always been more interested in how well someone's going to approach working as part of a team over what classes on compilers they took, or what certifications they've passed.
Technology changes too fast to focus on criteria like "3.6 years working with .NET 4.5" or "Must have graduate degree in artificial intelligence." I'd rather have people on my team who have made some big mistakes, learned from them, and want to share that knowledge with the rest of their team.
Do your hiring criteria look like shopping lists in the technology buffet? Perhaps you might reconsider reworking those around criteria that focus on your organization's real needs: candidates who can help you quickly and effectively solve problems core to your business needs.
1 comment:
Hey Jim - just stumbled on this, like the post. Recently had a similar discussion at the office after I had read a different article that pointed out the same problem of hiring based on checklists. The theme of this other article was to hire based on accomplishments – doesn’t matter how many years of experience you have with X if you can’t get things done.
Post a Comment