Job Hacking

Are you thinking ahead?

For most of us, probably all of us, 2008 will be remembered as a landmark year, for a variety of very good, clear reasons.

But what of 2009? 2010?

Although it doesn't sell newspapers, or probably blog posts, the reality of our near-term future is that we're about to see some amazingly great stuff happen. Massive innovation. Probably at levels the likes of which we haven't seen before.

Why?

Because necessity is the mother of invention.

And because, given economic history, this rather hackneyed missive is born out. Whenever economies go through a trough, what comes out the other end is some pretty good stuff.

You want proof, don't you?

Sure, let's talk about The Year Without a Summer, 1816, aka "The Poverty Year".

The basic story of this year is that several volcanic events occurred which caused widespread famine. The big one was the volcanic eruptions of Mt. Tambora from April 5 - 15, 1815, arguably the world's largest in at least 1,600 years. This was on top of two prior volcanic events in 1812 (Saint Vincent) and 1814 (Mayon). These three events combined to create a real problem - blockage of the sun's rays. You know, the stuff that's needed for plants to photosynthesize.

And, since most of the world was running on agrarian economies that are based on plant life, things went from bad to worse in a hurry. Corn traded at an all-time high. All-time high!

What's worse?

Horses were killed for their meat. Basically, this eliminated a key part of the transport system, such as it was, at the time. As in, everyone then had to walk everywhere instead of ride on horse or carriage.

It has been hypothesized by Hans-Erhard Lessing that the inventor of the earliest forerunner of the modern bicycle, Baron Karl von Drais, created this new-found contraption, the Draisienne, in 1817 because of this lack of basic transport. von Drais also created a binary numbering system, a paper-strip piano-music recorder, and a typewriter, so he was no slouch when it came to inventing stuff ("Bicycling Science", 3rd Edition, David Gordon Wilson).

Hey, that's pretty good. Bicycles are a really good thing! One of the most efficient modes of personal transport going.

Also, Mary Shelly penned "Frankenstein", and John William Polidori wrote "The Vampyre" in the summer of 1816 as part of a contest to write the scariest story during their vacation in Switzerland because it rained so much they were forced to stay indoors.

Like I said, the mother of invention.

So, drop those emotional weights you're carrying from 2008 and look ahead. Thinking caps are already on, midnight oil is being burned, and we're about to see some amazing stuff get created.

You do wanna be part of this, right? Go find your thinking cap, get your game on.

Are your buddies ready for their 2009 job hunt?

There are a lot of folks out there in tech-land getting ready to look for a new employer (no, I'm not saying it's you). They are tired of the b.s. from their bad boss, or their company, or they want to work somewhere more secure (no, it's not you).

So, they've added another paragraph to their old resume and are getting ready to submit to all the jobs they can find on 1/5/09 (it's a buddy of yours, I'm sure).

Too bad they're living in 1999 (no really, it's *not* you).

What they need is to get out there and tell their story, and get found by those looking for their talents. They need a resume that is more easily found by boolean searches and which is also a compelling read for both recruiters and hiring managers. They need a Linkedin profile that attracts what is being searched for (c'mon I said it wasn't you).

In short, they need my help (maybe it's your sister. or your brother).

Here's what they need (no, really, you're perfect. your boss loves you. you're not on the cut list. why would I lie to you?):

1. Revised, updated, polished resume. For each of the 2 or 3 roles they're ideally looking for. Because they're multi-talented (again, I said, it's not you. we all know you can only do one thing well. cough, cough).
2. Updated Linkedin Profile. One that really stands out, puts them into a good light, and is easily found by those searching on linkedin for new talent (see, you're not on Linkedin, so it can't be you).

So, if you have a buddy, a friend, a sister who needs some help getting set for that long run called a job search, send them my way. I have a service that addresses these needs, and will get them set for their search (yes, I can help you, too. but this was not about you. nope, not at all).

They need to be ready when all those companies start looking for people starting the week of January 5th (you're probably not interested in a new job anyway. until you get back to work after the holidays. call me then).

What was the main recruiting lesson of 2008?

We're all in this together.

2009's lesson is going to be that we can't get anything done without people.

I know, I'm going deep. ;-)

Seriously, Mark Anderson has a highly thought-provoking post today on his blog, A Bright Fire, The Big Mistakes They Still Don't See. As noted above, since we're all in this together, this macro economic perspective may be of some help as you look forward a few years into the future. Since the End-of-the-Year process tends to be a time of both reflection and futuring, this might be good grist for your mill. (BTW, here's another post by Mark on the Carry Trade, The Carry Trade Unveiled at Last).

Escapism at its finest

Like most of you, I'm taking some time to do the holiday thing with the fam.

My brother-in-law and I share a love of movies, and fortunately, our tastes match up pretty well. Last night we viewed Tropic Thunder, and I don't think we've laughed so hard in a long, long time.

Tropic Thunder is a great popcorn movie. It's largely written for people who've seen all the war movies out there, 'cause they'll get all the inside jokes. And it's really, really funny.

Those are great reasons to see it.

And if that doesn't convince you, you should see it for two other reasons. Robert Downey Jr, and Tom Cruise. They are both up for a Golden Globe for their roles in this movie. Yup, their performances are really that good. And, better than that, they both deserve to win the award.

Besides, you don't really want to go out in the slush & rain today anyway!

A thought on panel interviews, and if you act now...

HR Capitalist has a nice post about panel interviews.

Like most things in life, it's fairly clear that execution matters a lot. And, I like Kris's notion of splitting the middle by using both a panel interview, and 1:1s in the recruiting process. I'm a big fan of panel interviews, but I also know that there are things that one does not unearth about a candidate in a panel interview. Likewise, the candidate doesn't get a good handle on your company/org until they've seen the group working together. Gotta do both.

There are three bits in this article that really deserve additional attention from small company leaders, particularly if you don't have a pro like him on your staff.

First, TRAIN your people on how to do interviews. Especially if they are young up-and-coming Developers. They need the help on this. Plus, if you train everyone on the process and you're consistent in what you train them on, you're more likely to have consistency in the people you hire. 

Second, track everyone's decision for every candidate they interview. You know, assuming you want great people on your team.

Third, if you are the Leader of Pack, and you don't have the HR Pro in the background forcing the meek 'n mild to come forward and ask questions, you gotta take on this role. And yeah, you gotta evaluate your team members on their ability to interview, too.

Driving in the Snow in Seattle

My birthday is in the winter. Smack dab in the middle of winter. Because of this, I learned to drive in the snow. Literally. So, driving in the snow is not a big deal for me. In fact, I *really* enjoy it because it takes me back to all the fun I had figuring it out in the first place.

For all you in the Greater Seattle-metro area who are *trying* to drive in the snow, I offer the following advice:

1. If you can't stand on your feet on the street, that is, you've become an example of how gravity works, don't go driving.
2. If you don't own an ice scraper or a shovel, don't go driving.
3. If you don't have decent tires on your car, don't go driving.
4. If you either don't have chains, or don't know how to put them on, don't go driving.
5. If you don't own a car, and so think the above rules don't apply to you and your bike, think again. 
6. Chains go on those wheels on your car that spin when you apply too much throttle on an icy street.
7. For those of you driving AWD or 4WD vehicles, and assuming you have only 1 set of chains, they go on the *front* wheels.
8. Chains should be put on your vehicle because you need to drive around in deep snow. They are almost worthless on ice.
9. If you've put chains on your car, and you get it onto the street, and then you discover that snowplows have removed the snow and you're driving on bare pavement, move to the side and take your chains off the car. Why? Because you will destroy a perfectly good set of chains by continuing forward, with the strong chance that before you do this, you'll throw a chain, and it will then bang against the side of your car, destroying the paint job.
10. Slow, smooth, and steady are the key things to remember when driving in slick conditions. This means that you add throttle slowly, keep your speed up (e.g. maintain your momentum), and use smooth inputs to your turns.
11. If you think you're going to get up the hill on your 7th try because that's your lucky number, I've got $1,000 that says you need a new Medium charting your future.
12. If there's a Stop sign at the almost top of a hill, go through it at slow speed (so you can stop just in case). I know, you're supposed to stop, but if you do, you'll have to back all the way down the hill and try again. 
13. Trying to start up a hill from a dead stop, and with no momentum, is almost impossible on a slick surface. Do it at your own risk, and knowing full well that you may have to back down the hill.
14. Before you try something dicey, think through what happens if you fail. Are there people around to help you dig out? Can you drive the car backwards better than forwards? Can you afford the loss of a lot of time because you can't dig out? 
15. All you guys w/extra long vehicles, like F-250s or F-350s w/Extra Cabs, you don't fit in a normal space, so don't put your vehicle in one (you knew this when you bought it, own up to it). Especially when it's snowy because your overhang causes all kinds of weird stuff to happen to the rest of the traffic. 
16. All you guys w/tuners that have low-profile wide tires, yeah, they suck in the snow. Too bad you had to figure that out half the way up Queen Anne Hill. Or Lakemont Boulevard.

Finally, and this might be the most important of all, Be Nice! Be Friendly! Spread good cheer! Nobody likes a whiner, a complainer, a wimp. Do what you can to help everyone else.

Could be a good lesson to learn as we start 2009.

Guest Blogging: Networking, holiday style

Colleen Wainright, aka The Communcatrix, asked me to write a little guest post, and with some gentle prodding, and sharp editing on her part, it happened.

See the results here: Guest Post: Networking, holiday style!

Thanks, Colleen!

Business, Recruiting, same-same

Seth's got a nice post, If you could meet one person...

You should read it because it's a good read for most any business purpose, and it's equally good for your thoughts about recruiting.

Think about it this way, most good recruiters know that they typically don't find the candidate through a direct call to one of the members of the ideal group of candidates. In other words, I usually don't find the Sr. SDE I'm looking for by direct contact to Sr. SDEs. I find them through referrals from a QA Lead, or a Program Manager, etc.

Additionally, you may well want to hire one key person to your team in 2009. And you know exactly who that person is. So, you might want to start chatting up people around this person.

Sometimes we discover that the most direct route is not a straight line.

Teachers and Quarterbacks (and Developers?)

Malcolm Gladwell has a follow-up post to his New Yorker piece, "Most Likely to Succeed".

Both the original post and the follow-up are worth the read, especially if you have to hire people.

I've been thinking a bit about both these posts as it relates to hiring Developers, or any technical talent, really.

First, I'll posit that there is no firm out there which is phenomenal at hiring Developers. What would it take to be phenomenal at hiring Developers? Here's a short list: 1) Your firm would not hire below-par Developers; 2) Your firm would never miss in hiring the best Developers; 3) The Developers you do hire are successful and happy at the end of 18 months (this last one probably crosses over into the leadership realm, too). 

Second, although there are some firms trying things to make their recruiting process work better, I've yet to see one that really addresses this issue. The most logical attempt I've seen at this are firms that try to address this through contract-to-hire processes, but the downfall there is that Developers who want a FT gig don't want to sign on as a contractor because they are rightfully concerned with going down the path of becoming a serial contractor.

What to do? Here's a possible answer:

• Start with your usual recruiting methods
• Get sharp on your Developer tests, e.g. have the candidate work through an actual problem from your recent past and see what they come up with.
• Do proper follow-up, formal background checks, informal background checks, etc.
• When it comes time to make the offer, give the candidate a slightly low of market offer, with the promise of a salary bump that puts them over market in 90 days if they meet their 90-day objectives. Obviously, you'll need to have SMARTe goals in place that both you and the candidate agree to for this to work properly.
• Finally, mentoring is a big success factor, especially for new-to-commercial-software-development Developers. Factor this into your Dev team planning.
• Disclaimer: I'm not an HR Lawyer, and I've not consulted an HR Lawyer on this idea. I've presented this as an idea, and nothing more. There could be a conflict between this 90-day probationary period and a firm that practices 'at will employment' because the 90-day period as stated above could be a contract depending on how it's worded, and would be at odds with an 'at will employment' statement. There are obvious ways around this, like having the employee sign an employee handbook that states that they are employed 'at will' on their 91st day. Again, I'm not an HR Attorney, so proceed with this straw-man idea accordingly.
  

Onshoring of Customer Support?

Before I got into Third Party Technical Recruiting, my mission in life was running Customer Care & Tech Support Teams. I continue to stay on top of the trends in this arena because Customer Service is something that's sorta important to me.

Today, the Washington Post has a though-provoking article, The Bangalore Backlash: Call Centers Return to the U.S.

First, this article looks like a PR piece for Dell. Nicely timed for the holiday shopping season, methinks.

Second, most of what is discussed is well known for those who have outsourced Customer Care & Technical Support to non-local firms.

Here's one of my favorite quotes from this article, "Occasionally, "we've heard from customers that it's hard to understand a particular accent and that they couldn't understand the instructions they were getting," said Dell spokesman Bob Kaufman. "This illustrates Dell's commitment to customer choice."" Occasionally? Um, yeah, right. Dell lost a bunch of their small business customers when they outsourced their support teams internationally, and it's arguable that this lost business was a factor in Kevin Dillon, the former CEO, losing his job.

There were a few things that were not discussed in this article, and they bear some consideration.

One is that almost all outsource teams, regardless of whether they are local or international, really identify with their client. They do become an extended part of the companies who are buying their services. They care about your company, your products, your customers.

Another one is that most agents really do care about doing a good job and helping you when you call or email or chat for help. And yeah, they get bummed out when they don't succeed in helping you.

The Elephant in the room is financial measurement. Most decisions regarding outsourcing are driven by cost reduction (Taken from the article, reduce costs by 50 - 75% with only a 23% reduction in customer sat, and you can see why CxOs push in this direction), though there are other factors that play into this analysis. But, what if you could measure the long-term revenue impact of your service? In other words, what is the impact of having culturally sympathetic agents on the phone to your future revenue? I'm betting that more than a few of these (larger) firms that are offering local customer care have done some serious financial modeling to assess this impact.

Finally, don't forget the impact of currency exchange in these wonderfully dynamic financial times. In other words, the Onshoring trend noted in this article is occurring in part because of cost increases for U.S.-based firms making outsourcing decisions. Here's a good article from The Outsourcing Center on Currency Exchange risk in Global Outsourcing.

Thoughts?