Since most of our past articles have dealt with Java jobs
from the engineer's perspective, we decided to write this month's
column from the hiring manager's point of view.
A year ago you never would have been reading this article. At
that time the battle for technical talent was fierce. Companies large
and small were fighting tooth and nail for engineers. Recent college
grads with no real-world experience were landing fat-salaried jobs.
Companies couldn't get foreign-trained engineers into the United
States fast enough. Money was no object.
Diving into this gaping breech of opportunity were hundreds
of recruiting firms, providing engineers to the talent-starved tech
industry.
Then suddenly it stopped.
Wall Street devoured its dot-com young and the Age of the
Start-up quickly became the Age of the Layoff. Industry titans from
Intel to HP are now shedding workers by the thousands.
Yet companies still need strong talent to fill key technical
positions. And despite the fact that many technical people are now
available, both hiring managers and skilled engineers report a new
set of frustrations.
As companies try to save money by slashing their recruiting
budgets and by using outside or in-house recruiters, the
time-consuming task of recruiting has now fallen on the shoulders of
individual hiring managers and HR staff.
Many of our client managers tell
us that this method isn't working. Managers in mid-sized to large
companies tell us they're getting lots of résumés, which gives the
illusion that top engineers are like cherries to be picked off a tree.
But the managers report that most of those innumerable
résumés are from B- and C-level candidates, not the A-list engineers.
A-list engineers (who are still in short supply) tell us they
don't like submitting their résumés directly to companies for fear of
getting lost in the shuffle. Their experience is often not recognized
by HR staff (whose expertise is in benefits, policies, and paperwork,
not in identifying technical talent).
Many seasoned engineers are also reluctant to negotiate their
own rate or salary package with a hiring manager. When employees must
negotiate their own deals, they often carry that tension or conflict
into the workplace. Managers at smaller companies have an even
tougher time because they're now expected to do all of the recruiting
themselves. Sifting through hundreds of résumés, phone-screening
candidates, and checking references can be ex-
tremely time-consuming.
Glut of Professionals
Anyone in a position to hire wants to find the best person
for the job. The temptation of many hiring managers is to take
someone who's overqualified simply because market conditions have
caused those people to become available.
At first it looks like a great deal to hire, say, an
architect for an individual contributor role. But what that hiring
manager may not realize is that overqualified employees will quickly
become bored and will be gone as soon as they find more challenging
jobs that are a true fit for their skills.
A key part of making a successful placement is matching the
candidate's professional and personal goals with the position.
Since many hiring managers today have no choice but to take
on the responsibility of recruiting for their own hires, we'd like to
share a few key recruiting tips that should make the process easier:
- Be specific about what you're looking for. The job
description should clearly state all of the responsibilities of the
position, including what tools will be used. Required skills should
be listed completely (including the minimum number of years'
experience in key skills). Desired skills should be listed separately
but completely (including experience in a certain industry, such as
wireless or software development). Intangible skills should be
included (such as working well in a team environment).
- Start by asking everyone you know for referrals, both inside
and outside of your company. Statistics prove that the best
placements come through personal and professional referrals.
- Look for both technical abilities and personal qualities that
make the candidate a fit for your position. This is someone you'll be
working with every day. Make sure that his or her personality meshes
with yours and that the person will get along well with the others in
your group.
- Be specific in your phone screen, covering technical skills
as well as personal motivations and goals. Before you bring anyone in
for a face-to-face interview with members of your team, be sure that
he or she is a strong candidate. Asking your engineers to meet with
someone who's not right for the job can cast doubt on your
credibility.
- Make sure that members of your team focus on different topics
in the face-to-face interview. Make sure you cover all your bases.
If as a hiring manager you're confident that doing your own
recruiting is working, then great. If not, a better investment of
your time and efforts could be working with an outside resource that
specializes in the types of positions you're offering.
Many managers have learned that just as it takes a thief to
catch a thief, it takes a professional recruiter to catch a true
professional.
Author Bios
Bill Baloglu is a principal at ObjectFocus
(www.ObjectFocus.com),
a Java staffing firm in Silicon Valley.
Previously he was a software engineer for 16 years. Bill has
extensive OO experience and has held software development and senior
technical management positions at several Silicon Valley firms.
billb@objectfocus.com
Billy Palmieri is a
seasoned staffing industry executive and a principal of ObjectFocus.
His prior position was at Renaissance Worldwide, a
multimillion-dollar global IT consulting firm, where he held several
senior management positions in the firm's Silicon Valley operations.
billy@objectfocus.com
