When I was young I went exploring. I'd ask my mom if I could go for a
bike ride. I never really specified where, and just kept ranging
farther and farther from home. I'd end up in creeks, culvert pipes,
climbing fences, walking through woods, construction sites, quarries,
and basically anywhere else I didn't get kicked out of. I got there on
my bike so in terms of parental permission I put it all under the
category of "going for a bike ride". I only got arrested once, but I
probably deserved it a few more times.
I also took things apart and used bits of wire and a battery to play
with the components. At an early job they were impressed that I
correctly used the word "potentiometer" in a sentence. I also plugged a
DC motor into a 120V AC outle --a valuable lesson there. I also melted a
NiCad battery on the carpet when I left it on the charger too long.
My hobbies included model trains and my RC car. I could tell you the
difference between a parallel and series circuit when I was 10. I tagged
along with my brother when he went out shooting with his Ruger 10/22. I
slept out in the woods for the fun of it, and sometimes didn't bring
anything but matches. Played with fireworks, made my own fireworks with
homemade black powder and/or match heads.
My dad made me do drywall, set fence posts, change the belt on a
lawnmower, and so on.
Every success and every failure contributed to a set of skills that I
took for granted until I encountered people who didn't have them. Things
like spatial reasoning, basic electricity, use of basic hand tools, and
a general sense of time, distance, and direction.
So the question for AFMUG is how do you find out whether a job applicant
is the curious explorer who wants to know how everything works? How do
I attract that applicant to begin with? I may want specific skills too
like a juggler who can juggle, but I really want people who can figure
stuff out and won't be deterred by every little bump in the road.
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