How do you ensure a diverse, successful hiring process?
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My team is going to try to hire two software engineers this year. We've made some very poor choices in the past. I’d like to avoid that in the future. Our process has been simple; we advertise the job on our company web site and the local newspapers. All applications and resumes go to HR. HR reviews the resume to make sure they are applying for the correct job. For a software engineer, HR expects to see a computer science education or software engineering experience. Then HR creates a copy of the resume with all personal information removed, such as name, age, sex, race, e-mail address and where the applicant lives. Then HR forwards the redacted copy of the resume to software management for review. Last time we interviewed all five candidates that made it to management review. Four men and one woman. Interviewing three of the applicants was a complete waste of time. One candidate simply lied on their resume in order to get the interview. I know that some managers give applicants a test that is relevant to the job being applied for. Is that appropriate, or too much pressure for an applicant? I want to make sure our process is not biased on the basis of sex or race. And I thought we had done that. But, I’ve been told that is not enough. I need to ensure the team and the interview process are gender diverse. But, how is that achieved without quotas? Which would be unfair. Interesting that there is no requirement that I make the process racially diverse. Just gender diverse.
Having recently graduated myself I would like to suggest that you don't forget local colleges. I know that it is more work to take on a college grad that doesn't have much experience and it doesn't work for every situation. But, if you create a relationship with the teachers they can recommend to you the students better suited for a position. You can also hire them as on an intern bais which would allow you to see how they would fit with your company before deciding if you wanted to offer them a job. Probably not what you are looking for but I thought I would give a little shout out since I was really grateful that someone wanted to take a chance on me.
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Dave_6 wrote:
we advertise the job on our company web site and the local newspapers.
I'm with you so far, but the rest doesn't make sense at all ... it's just conventional ... Are you looking for junior or senior personnel? What are the strengths/weaknesses of your current team? When you've thought those things through, skip the interview and bring the potential candidates into the team - so that you can watch how they fit in. If you select candidates to address current weaknesses in your team - be prepared for a bit of tension, especially if you bring in an expert as this may alter the pecking order of your team, and some feathers might get ruffled.
Espen Harlinn Principal Architect, Software - Goodtech Projects & Services AS Projects promoting programming in "natural language" are intrinsically doomed to fail. Edsger W.Dijkstra
I'm looking for senior level personnel. Strengths/weaknesses: Probably half of the development done is only one developer. Others to do code review and testing. But, the candidate has to be able to specify requirements, design, code and deliver. "bring the potential candidates into the team" How do I do that? Only HR can hire. And they will only hire two people. I could pitch for using a temp agency and bring in more candidates for a couple of weeks, perhaps. But, is that long enough? Last time 60% were not worth talking to. I'd perfer to weed them out without bringing them in.
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let them do a brainbench test. The score they will get is very telling: http://www.brainbench.com[^] "I know that some managers give applicants a test that is relevant to the job being applied for. Is that appropriate, or too much pressure for an applicant?" If they deflate noticeably, it is probably appropriate.
From reviewing the replies here, I'll think having candidates that a test is going to become SOP. brainbench looks very promising. Thank you. I think I will require the candidate to take the test here, on site, with an observer. Probably me or someone in HR.
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I'm looking for senior level personnel. Strengths/weaknesses: Probably half of the development done is only one developer. Others to do code review and testing. But, the candidate has to be able to specify requirements, design, code and deliver. "bring the potential candidates into the team" How do I do that? Only HR can hire. And they will only hire two people. I could pitch for using a temp agency and bring in more candidates for a couple of weeks, perhaps. But, is that long enough? Last time 60% were not worth talking to. I'd perfer to weed them out without bringing them in.
Dave_6 wrote:
Probably half of the development done is only one developer.
Sounds like you've got what Harlan Mills coined the 'chief programmer', or the 'surgeon' according to Fred Brooks, but you don't have the co-pilot.
Dave_6 wrote:
Only HR can is allowed to hire.
It's almost certain that they can't - hiring the right person for your team is something that should be done by you and your 'chief programmer'. If I were to guess (perhaps wildly), your 'chief programmer' would wellcome somebody who's able to challenge him/her profesionally. When you do 50% of the work, you're usually way ahead of the rest of the team - which can be somewhat lonesome.
Dave_6 wrote:
I could pitch for using a temp agency
That sounds like a good idea.
Dave_6 wrote:
for a couple of weeks, perhaps. But, is that long enough?
You can learn a lot about a person in a couple of weeks ...
Dave_6 wrote:
Last time 60% were not worth talking to.
If you use an agency, make sure they understand what you want
Espen Harlinn Principal Architect, Software - Goodtech Projects & Services AS Projects promoting programming in "natural language" are intrinsically doomed to fail. Edsger W.Dijkstra
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My team is going to try to hire two software engineers this year. We've made some very poor choices in the past. I’d like to avoid that in the future. Our process has been simple; we advertise the job on our company web site and the local newspapers. All applications and resumes go to HR. HR reviews the resume to make sure they are applying for the correct job. For a software engineer, HR expects to see a computer science education or software engineering experience. Then HR creates a copy of the resume with all personal information removed, such as name, age, sex, race, e-mail address and where the applicant lives. Then HR forwards the redacted copy of the resume to software management for review. Last time we interviewed all five candidates that made it to management review. Four men and one woman. Interviewing three of the applicants was a complete waste of time. One candidate simply lied on their resume in order to get the interview. I know that some managers give applicants a test that is relevant to the job being applied for. Is that appropriate, or too much pressure for an applicant? I want to make sure our process is not biased on the basis of sex or race. And I thought we had done that. But, I’ve been told that is not enough. I need to ensure the team and the interview process are gender diverse. But, how is that achieved without quotas? Which would be unfair. Interesting that there is no requirement that I make the process racially diverse. Just gender diverse.
To test technical skills, I usually apply a small test, program something, for example in case i'm looking for someone with web skills, I give him the task to program a calculator in the web that uses javascript and a web service back end, if you know what you're doing it can be done in an hour, if you don't, it may take 2 hours; also I give them all the facilities, like internet access, so they can look for examples, or dig in documentation, curious to note, even given that, not too many are capable of doing something useful in the two hours limit.
CEO at: - Rafaga Systems - Para Facturas - Modern Components for the moment...