Don’t hire an IT tech alone. (This is the second of three posts on how I conduct the IT interview).
THE DISCUSSION
Some companies have a fairly strict process on how to hire. Some companies have a process but with plenty of personalization for the business unit. And finally others have no process other then work with HR on the requisition and let them know who you want to hire. I have a fairly simple hiring process; I like to get as many people involved as possible.
As far as I am concerned hiring is one of the most important, if not the most important, things a manager does. It’s simple. Once they are hired they’re yours whether a fine employee or a poor employee. Your job as a manager is to increase the odds that you will be getting a fine employee.
Get as many people involved, both inside and outside your company, as possible during the hiring process.
Remember, the more the better to increase your odds.
THE ACTION
-Have your subordinate manager make the interview selections from the referral list (see my previous post) and make the interviews. For a non manager IT position they would make what I call “technical interview”.
-During a technical interview the manager assesses not only the person but the technical skills of the applicant. I have actually seen and used ExamCram or similar questions to assess skills.
-The initial subordinate manager also calls all references. In the case of a government job the supervisor should call as many of the applications past supervisors as possible.
-Call around and see if anyone knows this person. Look both inside and outside the company. The IT world is not as large as you think and folks know each other. I’ve shut down about 50 possibilities just from this step. One of the most intriguing comments was, “You will have to see if he will be a good organizational fit”. You make the call on whether you would have hired this person.
-Once the subordinate manager narrows his list down to 3 to 5 or so he passes them up to the next level manager for interviews.
-After the technical interview the up level managers conduct the more traditional interview. I call this the “do I like you” interview. Ask your questions and make your choices.
-After all interviews are complete all managers gather together to discuss the best choices. Make sure to rate each applicant against the job criteria. Not against each other. The first question to ask all the interviewers is a recommendation to hire yes or no.
-Make your final choice.
HINT: The final choice belongs to the hiring manager. This is not a vote among the interviewers. All they do is recommend. Ultimate responsibility on the hire lies with the hiring manager.
-DO IT NOW AND ENGAGE-
