June 21st, 2009 by Robert Bradman
One of the myriad items that constantly arises in the world of IT is the ability for a successful technology manager to be able to accurately judge the quality of possible candidates filling available positions. All too frequently, IT managers or CFOs can find themselves looking to fill functional roles within an organization without a full understanding of what they are hiring for. Consequently, a market has risen to fill the need for installment of warm bodies.
Working with a recruiter is both an art and a skill. Recruiters frequently employ tactics that, to the untrained (or unskilled) eye can be appealing. For example, recruiters often claim that they will work with you to help you determine your exact needs. They will attempt to dazzle you with stories about how they employ armies of third parties to pre-screen candidates before their resumes reach your desk. If you are a leader in the position to hire individuals to fulfill a specific need inside your organization (and you are not already a mature, 1,000 employee, large business), then you should really take recruiters’ claims with a grain of salt — or perhaps not utilize their services at all.
For example, I recently met with a recruiter who boasted about their company’s use of on-line talent screeners. When I asked about their methods, they basically scour social networking and placement sites (such as Facebook, MySpace, CraigsList, et cetera) for the resumes of job seekers. They will use basic task workers to look for keywords in resumes and then send them over as viable candidates. When I pried for details, it came out that their talent screeners are located in another country. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I know that all of us are aware of how difficult it can be to bridge a language barrier presented by many call centers. Now try and imagine how difficult it would be to communicate a skill context to these so-called head-hunters.
I told this particular recruiter that I don’t plan on doing business with them because of these tactics. It’s not fair to me, as an employer, and it’s not fair to the job seeker, who is simply going to have their resume sprayed into several hundred inboxes, hoping that one hiring manager bites.
Keep in mind: these low-quality recruiters don’t care about your business and they don’t care about the candidates. They want to get paid. The bigger the area they carpet bomb with resumes, the better chance that a candidate will stick.
One thing that can aid your search for the right candidate is, and I will step into HR territory here, making sure that you, the leader, truly understand what your business’ needs are.
Are you looking for resource and are you looking for someone who has a degree? Many times, fresh graduates from even top universities can woo prospective employers with mention of their academic accolades and awards. It’s important for us to remember that “book smart candidates” are often useful as functional resources. These are people who have demonstrated the ability to absorb information and retain data as a function of process or procedural outcome. They can be tremendous assets to your organization. But are they truly talent?
Many times, I’ve seen HR departments overlook highly qualified candidates because of the simple lack of a educational credentials or industry certifications. While these individuals were out accomplishing goals and doing, their peers were busily memorizing answers to the next pop-quiz.
It’s a harsh thing to say because nobody likes to feel that their investment in their education was a waste. Of course, there are many extremely talented individuals who have years of education and have been highly successful. But on the other hand, what about those who are naturally gifted?
Many of the most successful individuals in technology came into their own without the benefit of a completed education:
- Bill Gates – dropped out of college
- Steve Jobs – dropped out of college
- Larry Ellison – dropped out of college
- Michael Dell – dropped out of college
- Steve Wozniak – dropped out of college
What if these individuals had been overlooked by overzealous HR departments or hiring managers? Would we even have personal computers?
This was recently even discussed in an article posted at SmartMoney.com:
A more inclusive four-year degree isn’t the answer, because the degree itself often obstructs learning. Consider the laid-off sales clerk who wishes to pursue a college education in hopes of finding a better job. If he wants to go to a name-brand school he must study for and take an admissions test, and apply. He must file a financial aid application as long and complex as a tax return. If accepted by a school, he must wait for the right part of the academic calendar to come around, and hope that the classes he wants aren’t full. Suppose all goes well. He’ll be sitting in front of a teacher 18 months after first deciding to learn.
What folly. As I write this, Google is putting every book ever written online. Apple is offering video college lectures for free download through its iTunes software. Skype allows free videoconferencing anywhere in the world. M.I.T. and many other schools have made course materials available for free on their web sites. Tutors cost as little as $15 an hour. Today’s student who decides to learn at one o’clock should be doing it by one thirty. A process that makes him wait 18 months is not an education system. It’s a barrier to education.
Ultimately, the decision on who to hire is yours and yours alone. But before you go discarding resumes, take a moment to look for the diamonds in the rough. If you understand the context of what you are hiring and what the persons you’re looking at bring to the table in terms of talent and not just slips of paper, you’ll be doing your business a favor.
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