

The Most Successful workplaces of the Future… - cwan
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2012/08/mba-mondays-guest-post-from-dr-dana-ardi.html

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potatolicious
Most of this advice can already be seen in the "top" software employers,
except this one:

> _"Don't buy resume or credentials. Buy competence, track record, character
> and culture fit."_

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and other "tier-1" companies are
notorious for this. Early-stage Google was even notorious for being a strict
Stanford-only shop.

And this is IMO a large part of the talent shortage - the shortage is real,
but is not anywhere as acute as we've made it out to be, though I am a
beneficiary of this, having gone to a reasonably prestigious school. Software
engineering salaries are climbing through the roof while competent programmers
get passed over all the time for not having the right credentials. Employers
complain constantly about the difficulty of hiring, while giving only cursory
glances (if that!) at resumes from non-top schools.

This annoys me to no end - many of the best coders I know never went to MIT,
Stanford, CMU, or Berkeley, and many of them never got their "break" until
much later. _Eventually_ , after years of treading water, a name brand company
will give them a shot, and once they've covered themselves in magical
recognized-employer pixie dust, the offers start flying in.

It's all incredibly inefficient and awful.

~~~
tptacek
I know this sounds true, but I somewhat doubt that it is. Google, for
instance, has a reputation for preferring candidates from top schools. But it
is also hiring out of many of the subfields where the talent shortage is most
acute. I'm pretty familiar with one of those (appsec), and my perspective is
that Google is (a) absolutely not passing on people because of credentials,
and (b) having as hard a time as anyone staffing.

Similarly: it is very hard for us to hire (in particular, it's very hard to
fill the top of the recruiting funnel) --- and we could obviously give a shit
where anyone went to school. Again: same prickly subfield. But I've got reason
to believe this is true of mobile development, Rails, customer
acquisition/marketing, and high-end UI as well.

I'm sure there are people who know Java and C++ and went to SIU instead of
UIUC who are having a hard time, and that they'd have had an easier time if
they went to a different school. But they'd also have an easier time if they
watched the market and made sure to cultivate aptitude in the subfields with
the most demand.

------
Peroni
_Hire competencies but remember: hire with your heart. Make sure new workers
fit into the preexisting culture, while also importing their expertise. Become
their sponsor – onboarding is essential. Spend time listening. Give them what
they need to succeed._

Absolutely fantastic advice. Too many employers bring in someone new, help
them get up to speed and then abandon them to assimilate themselves into the
workplace.

The best leaders listen to their employees and give them the tools to help
them play to their strengths. It's also frustrating how few people realise
that the simplest things can make the world of difference to an employee such
as a better chair or fresh fruit deliveries.

