Why Your Hiring Process is Derailing all your Hopes and Dreams

It Really is about Changing the World

If you’re anything like me you embark on your job search with a mentality something like this:

I’m looking for a job that’s going to give me the opportunity to change the world (or company X) in a meaningful way. When I’m done there I’ll look back on my time with pride and know I did something AMAZING.

Sound familiar? Maybe you’re not exactly like me, but I doubt you start with the mentality that you’re going to find any old job and do something mediocre. If you do you should probably stop reading now 😀

I’ve had my fair share of ridiculous interviews. I’ve been asked all sorts of idiotic questions.

“Tell me about a time…”
“Have you ever faced X situation …”
“How would you design a microwave on a space shuttle?”
“What would you say your greatest weaknesses are?”

All of these are ridiculous especially the last one. Um, let’s see you really want me to give you reasons to NOT hire me? Thank you for the ridiculous question, I’ll see your silly question and raise it with a ridiculous answer, “my greatest weakness is I work too hard, do everything better than everyone else.” Come on!

If you’re chuckling at the insanity that’s great it was meant to be entertaining. But if you’re one of those hiring managers that actually asks these questions you probably have no business hiring people. I’m really not joking.

If you don’t relish being asked these questions then why do you ask them? And better yet who are you hoping to hire?

Here’s what We do …
I believe your hiring process should help you find the best talent. That’s why we test our developers and product managers by asking them to participate in relevant exercises that reveal their actual on the job skills.

In the case of developers we ask them to code. We pair with them. We want to see how they’re going to work with others. Will they be able to keep up? Do they have a huge ego? I value teams of people that work together. Teams that support each other and lift each other up. The confluence of everyone’s opinion leads to the best outcomes. Therefore working together is of paramount importance.

Likewise for product managers. We ask them to build a product. Why? I want to see and understand their approach. Will they listen to the requirements we specify? Will they seek to understand? Will they build a solution that solves our problems and needs. After all that’s what they’re going to be doing every-single-day. So if they don’t enjoy this exercise then that’s a pretty good sign if I hire them we are all going to be miserable.

Back to Those Hopes and Dreams
When great individuals start their job search they want to change the world. They want to find a team (family, home) where they can contribute in a meaningful way. They want to know that you’re serious about changing the world. There’s no better way to demonstrate you have no clue what you’re doing than asking them ridiculous questions.

Candidates want you to take the time to get to know their skills. They want you to value their capabilities. After all that’s what you’re hiring. A person who is going to materially change your organization and help you take on the world with their amazing skills.

If your company is embarking on a journey to adopt DevOps and transform their applications then your Hopes and Dreams are going to be destroyed if you hire all the wrong people. Not only that, you’re going to destroy their hopes and dreams. Developers, Product Managers… your teams, they’re the rock stars. They deserve more and they expect more and so should you.