What is it about hiring technical people?

I know companies don't want to hire people who can't perform. Using interview tests has been around for a long time. Personally, I hate them. If a prospective employer ever reads this, I'm sure I'll be doomed with some type of test. And that's the problem.

I believe employers have the wrong expectations when it comes to surprise interview tests. I believe most employers administer them out of ego rather than necessity. Almost every perspective employee will go through several types of emotions. The least of which is panic. Speaking from experience, when faced with one of these tests, I'm always on the defensive, wondering what they really want from the test, will my coding style be their style, will my approach be what they consider acceptable.

Now, if the test is simply to learn how someone approaches a problem, review their coding style, and as described in the link above, experience how they explain their solution, then I'm all for it. I'm not a walking encyclopedia of syntax. I may not always know the correct syntax from memory, but I might be able to pseudo code something on paper or even a text file, and explain how I would solve the problem.

If I can leave any amount of influence on these types of test is that employers truly look for characteristics of the prospective employee, rather than how much syntax they can recall from memory.

Oh, and to tie in my subject line, what is it about hiring technical people? It seems employers hiring for technical positions are hell bent on testing someone's skills, but don't think twice about testing someone for a product marketing, project management or administration position. If you do, what kinds of test do you perform?

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Flying home

Flying home
Originally uploaded by thomallen.

Coming back from a trip to Missouri. Cramped in a commuter jet. Ouch.

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Blogger is frustrating

I want searching capabilities and I want categories. Arrgh. I mean come on, the biggest search engine in the world can't include the ability to search in a blog? Almost every other blogging software I've looked at has this capability. I'm seriously considering moving to another application that has these features.

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My visit to Washington DC

I had the opportunity to visit Washington DC last week. Unfortunately for me I was only able to visit the memorials late at night. It was a day trip, arrived in the morning, stayed one night, left the following afternoon.

Here is a great picture of the White House. There is construction going on for the inauguration in a few weeks. So there was this huge structure in front of the white house.

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Salt Lake City good for High Tech

A story on deseretnews.com explains why Utah is good for technology. Here is my take.

Yes, we have a very technology thinking work force. It starts very early, in elementary school. Our children are exposed to a lot of technology. Spend a few hours in the afternoon at the local library and every computer has a student aged user sitting in front of it. Almost everyone that I know has at least one computer in their home (and if you're like me, several.) So our kids are exposed at the earliest age.

Then there’s the work force. You can't get a job today without being exposed at some point to a computer. Every police vehicle has a computer. Local Utility company vehicles now have laptops in them. We no longer have cash registers; we have computers with cash drawers hooked to them. You can apply for or renew licenses online. Pay your bills, order products, read news. It goes on and on.

But high tech isn't just about computers. It’s about the technology used in business. There are some very high tech companies in Utah that have nothing to do with computers. One example is Hexcel Corporation which has a plant in West Kearns. The plant is one of many throughout the US that manufactures a graphite composite used in a lot of products we buy. They primarily supply product to the Airline industry (next time your on a Boeing airplane, remember that the skin holding the thing together is made with a graphite material manufactured in Utah), golf club shafts, kevlar helmets and bullet proof vests, hi-end bicycle frames, ski poles, skis and many other product.

Utah is also home to Helicopter manufactures, medical supply manufactures, rocket engine manufactures, irrigation manufacturing and mineral mining. All of these companies rely on employees who know and understand technology. These people are smart, educated, and go outside the box with innovative ideas. The Utah work force seems to embrace this technology. They crave it. They expect it. It makes the work day fun and challenging. It also helps our economy.

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