About hiring programmers and other engineers
Today an article was published about hiring programmers about how they need to be interviewed. A small dispute broke out there and I was encouraged to write what I think about this.
Of course, this is my opinion, based on my experience, and it is not a dogma, but so far (experience) has not let me down.
This post is addressed primarily to "HR-shchikam", but I think everyone else will also be interesting.
')
The main postulate:
Under the cut, I will explain why.
I am the head of the development department. I will work with the hired engineer. And the opinion of the HR-manager about the candidate does not concern me at all. Well, absolutely. HR can be a thrice good psychologist, he can compile psychological portraits in 15 seconds. But he is not an engineer . And in order to understand the engineer, to uncover it (and not even professional, but also personal qualities) - you need to be an engineer yourself, you need to be on the same wavelength with him.
Engineers (and we, the developers, all the engineers, at least so it should be) are strange animals. We are usually unsociable, we often do not love people, we have a different system of values ​​and motivations, and in general we have devils in our head. But what is most important and what is key is that we have a heightened “friend-foe” feeling .
Managers (any) are “alien”. As a rule, we are hostile to them. They think differently, they ask questions that we think are stupid, they are the bulwark of such an alien and hated bureaucracy and corporasty.
And “theirs” are other engineers. With our own, we form a single ecosystem. Closed ecosystem. In this ecosystem, we relax. There is no place for bureaucracy, ass licking and subservience. There we are on the same wavelength. There we are friendly and only there we show our essence.
HR will never be able to determine not only the professional level of an engineer, but also his suitability for teamwork, suitability for working with this group, etc. Just because he is not the interlocutor for the engineer, he is a "stranger."
I, as a development manager, being myself an engineer, will invite a candidate and we will talk.
I will not ask him moronic questions, like “why did you choose our company”. I will not try to evaluate his psychological portrait. I shit on it all.
We just drink coffee, talk, smoke on the balcony. First, I will try to rid him of the fear of potential leadership (and this often happens). If this fear is not there initially - so much the better, this, by the way, immediately plus in karma. In no case, no "vykaniy", no formalities. We are engineers, we are on the same wavelength. We will drink coffee, talk "for life", about technology, about all sorts of things. I understand what he is interested in, his character traits, his features.
It takes me only 15-20 minutes to talk to him in order to understand whether he will suit me or not. As a person. As a member of the team. And even experience and professional skills are sometimes secondary, if the candidate is thinking and interested, he will quickly learn everything he needs, I will help.
Of course, I will ask and questions that characterize his professional skills, it goes without saying.
But can I see in him a single genius? Which is not a team player at all, but sometimes I need them! I will work with him and he will be effective. Independent unit. Or vice versa, he is one of those whom you first need to warm up and then he enters the rage, lights up. A lot of nuances.
HR does not understand this. And never understand.
And only after I approve this candidate - can an HR-manager touch him. To settle formalities, but no more!
Otherwise, a barrier from the HR department will only sift out the best guys. Because the measurements are completely different there.
The only thing that HR can help with when hiring engineers is to get a list of criteria from CTO that will not suit him (well, for example, no more than 35 years old, or the web area of ​​work) and find a list of resumes that meet these requirements. Everything. Point. Everything else he will only spoil.
UPD
In response to comments about the fact that this format is only suitable for small companies, about departments and about everything else, I will give a comment to the post, from mumia habraiser :
If such a giant like Intel can afford such a format, then forgive, than the others are worse? So it's not about the size of the company, and not about the name.
Of course, this is my opinion, based on my experience, and it is not a dogma, but so far (experience) has not let me down.
This post is addressed primarily to "HR-shchikam", but I think everyone else will also be interesting.
')
The main postulate:
An HR manager should not be interviewing an engineer. He shouldn't even get close to him. At all.
Under the cut, I will explain why.
I am the head of the development department. I will work with the hired engineer. And the opinion of the HR-manager about the candidate does not concern me at all. Well, absolutely. HR can be a thrice good psychologist, he can compile psychological portraits in 15 seconds. But he is not an engineer . And in order to understand the engineer, to uncover it (and not even professional, but also personal qualities) - you need to be an engineer yourself, you need to be on the same wavelength with him.
Engineers (and we, the developers, all the engineers, at least so it should be) are strange animals. We are usually unsociable, we often do not love people, we have a different system of values ​​and motivations, and in general we have devils in our head. But what is most important and what is key is that we have a heightened “friend-foe” feeling .
Managers (any) are “alien”. As a rule, we are hostile to them. They think differently, they ask questions that we think are stupid, they are the bulwark of such an alien and hated bureaucracy and corporasty.
And “theirs” are other engineers. With our own, we form a single ecosystem. Closed ecosystem. In this ecosystem, we relax. There is no place for bureaucracy, ass licking and subservience. There we are on the same wavelength. There we are friendly and only there we show our essence.
HR will never be able to determine not only the professional level of an engineer, but also his suitability for teamwork, suitability for working with this group, etc. Just because he is not the interlocutor for the engineer, he is a "stranger."
I, as a development manager, being myself an engineer, will invite a candidate and we will talk.
I will not ask him moronic questions, like “why did you choose our company”. I will not try to evaluate his psychological portrait. I shit on it all.
We just drink coffee, talk, smoke on the balcony. First, I will try to rid him of the fear of potential leadership (and this often happens). If this fear is not there initially - so much the better, this, by the way, immediately plus in karma. In no case, no "vykaniy", no formalities. We are engineers, we are on the same wavelength. We will drink coffee, talk "for life", about technology, about all sorts of things. I understand what he is interested in, his character traits, his features.
It takes me only 15-20 minutes to talk to him in order to understand whether he will suit me or not. As a person. As a member of the team. And even experience and professional skills are sometimes secondary, if the candidate is thinking and interested, he will quickly learn everything he needs, I will help.
Of course, I will ask and questions that characterize his professional skills, it goes without saying.
But can I see in him a single genius? Which is not a team player at all, but sometimes I need them! I will work with him and he will be effective. Independent unit. Or vice versa, he is one of those whom you first need to warm up and then he enters the rage, lights up. A lot of nuances.
HR does not understand this. And never understand.
And only after I approve this candidate - can an HR-manager touch him. To settle formalities, but no more!
Otherwise, a barrier from the HR department will only sift out the best guys. Because the measurements are completely different there.
The only thing that HR can help with when hiring engineers is to get a list of criteria from CTO that will not suit him (well, for example, no more than 35 years old, or the web area of ​​work) and find a list of resumes that meet these requirements. Everything. Point. Everything else he will only spoil.
UPD
In response to comments about the fact that this format is only suitable for small companies, about departments and about everything else, I will give a comment to the post, from mumia habraiser :
When I got a job, I was interviewed by my future immediate supervisor and another team leader. For two hours we just chatted - they asked questions about my life, why I study where I study, why it was such a specialty, what subjects were interesting, etc. and so on. The question "Why Intel?" Was also. I replied that now I will be interviewing not only you, but also in two more places. He took it normally (and what of it?). Then there were two professional questions. After that, they told me again what our group is doing and what exactly I will do if I approach them. And that's all. Two weeks later, a mail came - come to sign a contract, then by the way, I was voiced by all social conditions, etc. They gave me a week to think.
If such a giant like Intel can afford such a format, then forgive, than the others are worse? So it's not about the size of the company, and not about the name.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/147377/
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