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We only hire the trendiest

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Re: We only hire the trendiest

#541

Post by grandalf »

whitegrape wrote: post #488
grandalf wrote: post #448

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine you start a job painting houses. You would not paint them the same way on your first day as you would after a year of experience or 5 years of experience. What have you learned? How do you work smarter/better now than in the past. What experiences triggered that learning process, or did you just take orders from someone else with a more problem-solving oriented worldview. The same applies to technical work. W…

Why don't you just ask for their self-performance reviews / retrospectives for the last n years of their current/previous job after you've filtered by resume? I suspect that unless they were expecting it (which isn't unreasonable since a lot of interviewers have variants) "remarkably unsentimental" people like John Carmack would blow this part of the interview. Why do you care about the step-by-step process of my pro…

I would consider asking for that too invasive. I think the important thing to get a sense of is how they look at problem solving as a function of expertise.

In other words, it's possible to be smart but not act smart, and it's possible to act smart while not being exceptionally intelligent.

I'm basically looking for self-awareness of one's own cognitive limits and evidence of a meta-process that seems likely to result in better decision making than whatever the raw intellect would offer.

Re: We only hire the trendiest

#542

Post by grandalf »

emcq wrote: post #531
grandalf wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree about the possibility of bias creeping in. On the other hand, humans are biased, so understanding how to hire for success within your own (or your organization's) biases is useful. Some people would want the opposite candidate to the one I described. Resourcefulness is more of a mindset. New parent? OK, what have you discovered about childrearing that you didn't anticipate? What will you do differently next t…

FYI asking people what they do outside work is often a big HR no-no because it can easily fall into illegal but accidental discriminatory questions that are unrelated to the job which can be unnecessary PR and legal risks for your company. I like the attributes you're probing but I'd keep it within the context of engineering and programming if that's what you're hiring for. That's part of the reason open source and g…

True. I typically ask about technology related interests.

Re: We only hire the trendiest

#543

Post by jjuhl »

Being a self taught programmer with no formal education (but ~20 years of relevant experience by now) I can relate to this. It can be hard to get hired since companies may have crazy requirements. But on the other hand, you don't really want to get hired by those companies anyway. My experience is that great companies recognize great people regardless of background.

Re: We only hire the trendiest

#544

Post by grandalf »

_yosefk wrote: post #539
grandalf wrote: post #345

I've found that the best predictors of a good hire are indications of the following characteristics during the interview/vetting process: - adaptability -- can this person deal with situations that are spontaneous and unplanned without losing his/her cool. - openness -- is this person instinctively scornful of new concepts/ideas or energized by the chance to be exposed to something potentially interesting. - resource…

I think I can totally make that impression now. I totally couldn't when I was younger - and when I would have provided you much more value for the money (meaning, I'd work my ass off for peanuts.) I would have failed on numerous grounds: * desire to ship: more like "I don't care who uses my work, I just want a job" * desire to grow: more like "I don't know what people grow into, I just want a job" * rationality: I du…

Those are good points. You're right I'm describing a fairly rare kind of hire, and a solid process must take into consideration the reality that not everyone is that strong or interviews that well, yet may have other highly valuable traits.

Re: We only hire the trendiest

#545

Post by abc_lisper »

chojeen wrote: post #311

As I get older (I am currently thirty), this is something that terrifies me, mainly because it is something that I have experienced from both sides. I got a B.S. from a major CS university, then started on a Ph.D. in Astronomy. Due to my dissatisfaction with that program, the fact that programming is my passion, and various life events, I decided to leave after obtaining a M.S. and began to look for work. I attended…

Don't worry about that. Prepare for interview questions at sites like http://www.geeksforgeeks.org .

Get into a company with people who know what they are doing. They will be far lenient of GPAs, and the frameworks you don't know now.

Re: We only hire the trendiest

#546

Post by grandalf »

tamana wrote: post #523
grandalf wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I ideally like to see some interests that are on the edge of the candidate's current skill-set which indicate that he/she is aware that technology is changing and that we must all plan ahead a bit to remain relevant and employable in 5 years. Not trend-tracking, but deepening and broadening the skill-set.

Why do you care how good a candidate will be at getting a new job after yours?

Because I'm going to be in the game for at least another 30 years and who knows how many opportunities to work together again might exist.

Also, the idea that an employee is a specific cog that will indefinitely fit into the mechanism in the same way is an outdated relic of using a machine as a metaphor for a firm.

While some employees reach limits, others will continue to evolve, particularly those at the beginning of their career. I have not ever been in a position where I prefer a less ambitious/promising candidate out of fear they will leave after a few years, though I know some people in HR look at the world that way.

Re: We only hire the trendiest

#548

Post by grandalf »

BrandonM wrote: post #472
grandalf wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody should try anything they are uncomfortable with, and I think involving substances in the workplace (except in moderation) can be risky. But why not try one ant? I'd try one.

Some people are vegetarians. Others are Muslim or Jewish and only eat halal/kosher foods. Many groups are discriminated against (historically or presently), and members of those groups may not be too keen to open themselves up to unfair stereotyping. I've dated a girl who would never tell a prospective employer she was Jewish; she just wouldn't eat a pork dish and would probably seem evasive to you. That doesn't even…

Good points. I was initially thinking a food metaphor was a good one, but it isn't due to the examples you gave.

Re: We only hire the trendiest

#549

Post by nommm-nommm »

dasil003 wrote: post #340
Grishnakh wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>But I wasted time interviewing some overqualified people too (because of salary/location expectations that should have been communicated up front). Well that's your own fault as the job advertiser, and when I say "you", I mean almost all companies that advertise jobs. You almost never state the salaries to be paid, so tons of peoples' time gets wasted by pointless interviewing which gets followed up with insultingly…

Actual salaries don't correlate to ability nearly as closely as you imply.

Salaries are often just a function of negotiating skill.

Re: We only hire the trendiest

#550

Post by grandalf »

nommm-nommm wrote: post #495
grandalf wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody should try anything they are uncomfortable with, and I think involving substances in the workplace (except in moderation) can be risky. But why not try one ant? I'd try one.

Food is so so so personal and cultural. It's insane to believe someone not eating/not eating a particular food has anything to do with workplace performance.

> It's insane to believe someone not eating/not eating a particular food has anything to do with workplace performance.

True, I meant it as a metaphor for the kinds of new experiences/ideas one encounters day to day in the workplace.

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