This article is inspired by the movie “How to loose a guy in 10 days” and by an article I saw in a news paper with excelent tips on how to get a job in the IT. This is a clever twist on the old job hunting tips genre.
I also think that on the other side of the coin, as for thousands of IT professionals every day in search of work, thousands of organizations are not desperate to fill positions. In fact, attract (and retain) high-flying technical talent is more important than ever, but many organizations can not close the deal because of the mistakes of the recruitment process. So here are my 10 tips on how not to recruit IT job seeker (some of which are based on personal experience):
1. Make sure that the responsibilities are not clear. There are many ways to do it. Some good words to use:
“We like people who can do a little bit of everything.”
“I can give you an idea, but things change quickly here.”
“Once you’re on board we can figure.”
2. Bait and switch. The candidate comes to speak about the work he or she applies, but you are talking about this other work that is available. Not one, of course, that pays more than a job applicant was interviewed for. This happened to me.
3. Trash person who previously had the available positions. This clearly indicates that the applicant, if hired, he or she may also be slimed sometime in the future.
4. Make the applicant to wait for at least the last half and hour after the interview appointed time. This ensures that the applicant knows you are disorganized, rude or consider positions to be filled with low priority.
5. Eat at your desk during the interview. This happened to me, some 10 years ago in Computerworld. (This is true, I’m going to name.) Best sandwich is messy, smells (tuna is effective here), and chew with your mouths open.
6. Make it clear in the interview that you read the applicant’s resume the first time. Nothing crushes the interviewee pride more than a feeling that he or she is so stupid some anonymous, not somebody who really are happy about the interview. Well, except for the number 5.
7. Take personal calls during the interview. The longer and more trivial the better. Make sure to turn their backs on the plaintiff. In addition, personal experience.
8. Being totally inflexible about the benefits. Of course, some organizations to negotiate with applicants for such things as vacation time, telecommuting, etc. You can avoid this Pandora’s box, just say no. Here’s an excellent decision-murderer: No vacation time during the first six months, or even in the first year. The newspaper industry base that can be easily adapted to the IT sector.
9. Being evasive about his company’s financial health and market strategy. Curious job seekers do not need to know everything. In addition, it is not, how can you predict the future.
I hope this guide will help your organization in its efforts to not hire the best IT professionals.