Who do you hire?
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My company wants to hire a SQL Server deverloper and a SQL Server DBA. I had read a lot of resumes and interviewed a few people.
How do you know that person is right for the job?
I just interviewed a person and I thought he had the right skill and recommended him to my boss. But now I began to have second thought if he would be the right candidate.
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'How do you know that person is right for the job?'
Simple, you set your expectations in your job requirements. If you want to hire a DBA or developer, you must have some sort of requirements or expectations that this person must meet to qualify for the position. Isn't it the same as hiring any position? Do they meet your requirements and will they fit in with your team/organization? Maybe a little more information on what you are looking for and why you are second guessing yourself would help.
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This reminds me of the NFL draft.Though those guys earn millions you want a guy you can keep,some one who has respect for themselves and for others some one who will get along with others on top of the skills that applies to in IT too.
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The short and simply answer is that it comes down to gut feeling and overall impression on the final choice. You can come up with hard real world case scenarios, you can look for education and time in field, but in the end you won't know if you made the right choice until they start. This is why most places are strict on having a 90 probation policy, helps with the real difficult cases. Like having a car, you can look at anything you want to but nothing may prepare you for if the odd issue in the first 36k, this is why they have warranties, call it the probation period.
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That is exactly the problem. The person I interviewed met the job requirement and had the right skill set but until you just don't know if they fit in the group.
My friend gave me a resume and said that person was very good even that person did not have the perfect skill set but my friend said the person was bright and learnt fast. He also said that person can fit in any organization. We had a fight and argued that friendship should not be used in hiring. Now my friend did not even talk to me anymore !
In this case, who would you hire ?
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I would still hire the one I thought was better qualified. Unfortunately friendships fall on these issue often and it really is a sad thing considering you have to do what is right for the business and not the individual.
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Hire the person who will fit best for what you're looking to fill.
As for not knowing if a personality will fit in or not, there are questions and discussions you can have that can help gauge that.
I went on an interview right out of college, and the question that the interviewer used was "If you could identify with a Muppet, which one would you be?" Of course, my response was "either Statler or Waldorf, one of the hecklers", as I can be just as crazy as them.
The Muppet theory worked - this heckler got the job. It definitely was an interesting question, but it helped my boss to see a little glimpse of who she'd be dealing with.
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If you are starting to have doubts about hiring a person after you interviewed them you can always try:
(1) calling references to get a feel for the candidate's personality (you would be surprised how a few questions to a reference can give you a feel for a candidate's personality)
(2) schedule a second interview. Perhaps ... try to make it less formal so that you can get a feel for their personality (schedule a phone interview, have lunch)
You want to do all that you can to see if their personality is a match for your company. Otherwise - you and the person you hire may be terribly disappointed.
Have a good day,Norene Malaney
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Quote: We had a fight and argued that friendship should not be used in hiring. Now my friend did not even talk to me anymore !
Did your 'friend' have a hidden agenda? Could it be that there is a bonus if you recommend someone and they get hired? Could the 'friend' know this person wasn't really right for the position, but wanted the recommendation bonus?
-SQLBill
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Check out these links.
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/sjones/whodoyouhire.asp
http://www.simple-talk.com/2005/10/18/the-database-mole/
Hopefully they help. Thanks.
Chris
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No, my friend simply thought his friend was good employee. I critized the resume and said that person did not have the skill set. He was just upset because I did not give people a chance, he said I was too subjective.
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OK he might have a bit of a point if the person is young, but it is still your call. I find resumes to be the worst thing to try to gauge a person from, you have to sometimes read between the lines or ask for more information. Sometimes good people have horrible resumes (they just don't know how well) and horrible people can have star resumes (the salesmen issue).
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Schedule a second interview and make it a 'team' interview. Let your team interview him/her and just sit back and watch how the prospect interacts with the group. Make the interview very informal. Advise the team to not ask technical questions, but to each come up with a question to ask.
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First, I have some thoughts here: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/sjones/whodoyouhire.asp
second, I would always have a team interview. Put the candidate on one side of the table and the whole team, whether 2 or 20, on the other, sitting standing, whatever, and let them ask questions. Have one of them run the interview and let the manager leave, but let them decide if they like him/her.
I've liked to give everyone a vote, a thumbs up/down vote only. Whether you want unanimous agreement depends on your team and thoughts, but I think it's important they (the team) want him/her.
I value team fit and loyalty/hard work over skills. I disagree with Antares on this point, though I do agree that you want to be sure your friend's reference is because he/she believes in the person and not because it's a favor.
You can teach tech skills. You can't teach personality.
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No I think you missunderstood me. Hard work and loyalty are the greatest assets a person can have especially if they fit in with the team. My point (at least I thought it was my point) is that it is not easy to just let a resume speak for itself, some people do and some people don't know how to sell themselves. A resume can be made to look like the person is the end all to your search but you can miss many diamonds if you go soley on the resume. Beyond that they a real freind would have suggested you might be missing out but leave you to your choice because that is what it boils down to, right or wrong, it is your choice over what anyone else may feel.
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