

The No. 1 Reason Employers Can't Find the Right Talent - vonmoltke
http://onthejob.45things.com/2013/10/the-no-1-reason-employers-cant-find.html

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vparikh
Basically the problem is everyone is looking for the "Rockstar". News for all
the employers out there -- if you want to the best then YOU have to be the
best. If all they are hiring for is someone to write a web front end for a
simple database backend, you don't need a "Rockstar". You don't need an MIT
graduate with a PHD. You need a developer who can read documentation and
figure out how to build your solution, and build it so that it can be
maintained and upgraded. That is a lot easier to find then the greatest
developer known to human kind.

~~~
memracom
If people advertise that they want to hire a rockstar, then write back and ask
them how their work environment supports and enables a person to produce
rockstar results. If they cannot or won't articulate this in a satisfactory
way, then move on. They don't really want rockstars, they just want to delay
the inevitable bankruptcy and are clutching at straws.

~~~
rrich
Very true and a good rule to follow. I've yet to see a rock star environment
at a place searching for the elusive unicorn, and ping-pong tables, arcade
machines and fridges stocked with craft beer do not count. It takes much more
to make an environment that is conducive to the artistry required to program
for hours each day.

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RougeFemme
They are also incredibly risk-averse. Even though they they have a no-risk,
probationary period during which they can release an employee who's not
working out, they are deathly afraid of hiring someone who's not perfect. And
a 90% fit simply won't do; they must be guaranteed of a 100% fit. In the
meantime, their current employees are stretched beyond their limits, deadlines
are missed OR made with a very high price (team morale, long-term
productivity, other missed deadlines), the business becomes more tactical than
strategic, etc. And if things eventually go to hell in a handbasket, it's
blamed on the "lack of qualified applicants".

~~~
maerF0x0
Employers also forget the cost of not hiring someone. The value of the work
not done, missed opportunity etc all add up.

So basically the economic is something like [Cost of Not Hiring] = [Value of
Missed work] - (1- ([%fit of applicant])) * [cost of employee mismatch] ;

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memracom
I don't know about the USA but in Canada an employer can fire you with no
reason for the first 3 months of your employment unless there is an employment
contract that says otherwise. And employment contracts are rare except for
senior management roles. So why don't more employers build their recruiting
around that? Don't sweat the exact skills and experience. Instead ask
questions that reveal a candidate's attitude and how they would approach
dealing with various hypothetical situations. Then when someone pass those
tests, and also promises you that they do indeed have the skills to do this
job even if their experience is not a 100% match for the requirements list,
then hire them. Put them to work. Check up on the results every couple of
weeks and if it is not on a trajectory to where it needs to be in 3 months,
then fire them.

This is more like how people were hired before the 1960s. The company was less
concerned with your exact skills and more with personality, attitude and
intelligence. Then you had to bust your ass and learn on the job, working in a
team that would support you.

Time for the pendulum to swing back again. In particular with technical roles.
Quite frankly, if someone has a couple of years building .NET applications
then they should be able to contribute real value to a project building an iOS
app, or an Android native app, or an underscore.js app with node.js backend,
or a Java webapp. The technology stack is just a pile of minor details that
you can learn or google on the job as needed. But the essence of coding is the
same.

~~~
rrich
I often refer to the terse arcane requirements as being a sign of a company
that expects its developers to create great software with their hands tied
behind their backs. It's a common to see in most job descriptions and
qualifications. Aptitude and the ability to use every tool to solve problems
is trumped by having experience with the last five frameworks of the week,
information regurgitation and amazing project osmosis skills, or the fine
tuned skill to just fake it.

