Interviewing Potential Candidates Stinks (1 Viewer)

[Bleu Raeder]

UGH.

To make a long story short, I have been tasked with doing technical interviews for a certain position in a sister organization. The sister organization has hired an offshore development company and it is that company that is finding the candidates and scheduling the interviews.

We gave them a very specific skill set (DevOps - if you know, you know). There is a wide range of skills in practitioners of this particular art, so we have to be specific for ones in our environment.

The reason I am interviewing them is because the first one they hired had never even worked on anything from the command line (again - if you know) and had never worked on anything in the particular environment the sister company is using for their infrastructure save for one technology that builds/deploys applications. He was totally lost and drowning.

Since then (5 months ago on a critical project that closes in two months) I have interviewed more than a dozen (and rejected a dozen more) whose resumes all read nearly the same and with none of these reaching beyond what they know to learn the greater landscape of this art. During that time I have shared emails and discussions with the offshore company about why we are looking for what we're looking for and that any candidate they send must be able to hit the ground running.

I also have discerned the particular business model of this company. They are what we call an "on the beach" organization. They hire people across the technical spectrum and then have them work on projects they have gathered from customers. When a person is finished with the project they are "on the beach" for that company still being paid as if they are working full time while the company tries to find their next assignment. It is critical to that company to keep all of their workers contracted so they are not paying folks to sit around. I first saw this concept in the 90s. Consequentially, they are throwing candidates against the wall to see if they will stick. Rather than screen for the skills we specifically asked for, they are hoping that some of the beach chair sitters may have the capability we're looking for without listing it on their very, very, very long resumes (many 8 - 10 pages).

The offshore company seems not to understand my concerns so I went back to the project owner of the sister company to voice my concern....again.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

but… what if you don’t know?

 

[Bleu Raeder]

but… what if you don’t know?

Exactly.

 

[SWJJ]

I work in DevOps and I have worked in management in other fields previously. I cannot even imagine having to screen candidates in this field. I know my skillset is narrow and specific and while I am fully confident in my ability to learn to operate in a new environment, there would absolutely be a learning curve and I would not be able to hit the ground running on any project. It sounds like the sister company should re-evaluate the relationship with the offshore company.


Are the beach chair sitters incentivized to get the position? Would it pay better than sitting on the beach? Maybe communicating to them directly the narrow set of skills you guys are looking for.

You may be surprised at how quickly some developers can self-teach skills in a new environment, especially if they are busy-bodied and currently are sitting in a beach chair.

 

[efil4stnias]

We gave them a very specific skill set

see, im so juvenile id start the interview with

Which is probably why ive been with same company now 24 years...they entertain my immaturity lol

 

[gboudx]

I don't envy you Bleu. I've worked enough with offshore teams and companies to know that it can be frustrating and painful. I think you deserve Hazard Pay.

 

[Swamprat]

I JUST got off the phone with a colleague... we have a VERY similar situation, but the one difference is that 'recruiting' dept is our very own internal HR... I work for large company and HR recruits people for other places/positions around the world and we get the people from that pool... mostly sight unseen... It's not much of a surprise they do not want to do the type work we do and immediately want to leave...

Good luck.

 

[Bleu Raeder]

I work in DevOps and I have worked in management in other fields previously. I cannot even imagine having to screen candidates in this field. I know my skillset is narrow and specific and while I am fully confident in my ability to learn to operate in a new environment, there would absolutely be a learning curve and I would not be able to hit the ground running on any project. It sounds like the sister company should re-evaluate the relationship with the offshore company.


Are the beach chair sitters incentivized to get the position? Would it pay better than sitting on the beach? Maybe communicating to them directly the narrow set of skills you guys are looking for.

You may be surprised at how quickly some developers can self-teach skills in a new environment, especially if they are busy-bodied and currently are sitting in a beach chair.

Yeah, you understand there are several groups within the DevOps field, and knowing certain skills can get you steps closer to hitting the ground running. We cannot even get anyone close.

No one in the beach chairs is incentivized save to keep income coming in. If you're on the beach too long and cannot be placed for whatever reason you're out. Each developer, designer, architect, coder, etc. is a mini-profit center and is only as good as the work they can do. When the concept came about it was a way to make sure consultants could earn a steady living, have health insurance, etc. while being available to work on a variety of contracts. It fixed a big problem that existed then, not so sure it does now.

Over my career, I have been very surprised at how quickly some can adapt and learn. Many years ago, I and a group of developers I worked with essentially started doing what is now DevOps for all of our systems. The tools grew up around us and it was apparent at that time there would be several distinct sets of skills that could get you from point A to point B, all you needed to do was start picking. Then, someone named it.

 

[rajncajn]

see, im so juvenile id start the interview with

Which is probably why ive been with same company now 24 years...they entertain my immaturity lol

Was my first thought when I started reading the post.