There are some great tools out there for hiring (Predictive Index is my
favorite), but I don't think hiring is as easy as you make it sound.
Sometimes you can take an otherwise good employee and put that employee into
a job that is not suitable. Just because someone doesn't work out doesn't
mean that the person blew smoke up your rear-end, or lied to get the job. A
degree is most helpful for those candidates who have only a few years of
experience -- it is a "gate" that they pass through. The degree certainly
should not be the most important determinant, but given two equal
candidates, I would definitely consider the degree.
You also mentioned that you passed a rigorous question/answer session - you
obviously did very well. But don't be fooled - they typically aren't
trained to do interviews. I know they can spot someone who may not know a
technical area well, but I don't think that current skill sets should
prohibit hiring excellent candidates who can grow into a position. About 6
years ago I was interviewed and offered a job by IBM for a position in their
IP support group. The interview was typical - fly in to Rochester, spend
the day with 8-10 different people, play pepper with a small group of techs.
Anyway, it was a busy day, but I thought that they really missed the mark on
their questions. There was a real focus on technical ability, but discussion
or testing regarding my fitness to work in the role offered.
-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Langevin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2001 7:23 PM
To: CF-Community
Subject: RE: For those of you without a CS Degree
The fact is, that any manager worth their salt should be able to interview
the BS out of a candidate. The most thorough interview process I've ever
been through was trying to get a job at Citrix Systems here in Fort
Lauderdale. It was a Test Engineering position, for which I was interviewed
first through a phone interview by one of the rank-and-file Test Engingeers,
who qualified me as a good candidate, and gave his referral to the hiring
manager. Then the next day I was interviewed by phone by the hiring
manager, and he obviously liked me, because the next day I had an onsite
scheduled.
The onsite was an all-day affair which consisted of a series of interviews,
by:
1) The hiring manager
2) The VP of Test Engineering
3) The Director of Test Engineering
Then...the most dreaded of all interviews...the Citrix TI (Technical
Interview)...
The TI consisted of me sitting in a small room with two Senior Test
Engineers and one 3rd Level Tech Support Engineer, all of whom had forgotten
more about computers and software development than I'll likely ever know
myself, with the three of them firing off question after question on all
manner of technical issues...hardware, software, operating systems,
networking models...everything about which I've ever said, "I don't need to
know that, really...I've got it all in that book on the shelf in my home
office"...It was the most grueling, brutal interview I've ever been through,
and I was totally honest about what I knew and didn't know...because I knew
that if I tried to BS these guys, they'd nail me to the wall in a second.
Now...I did get the job (I consider myself very qualified for the job) and I
do have a CS degree...but a guy started on the same day I did, at slightly
higher level than myself, and went through the exact same process, with the
same type of TI that I did, and he didn't have a degree. My point is that
if a company's interview process is thorough enough, the degree isn't
important...the only thing that matters is if the candidate knows what
he/she needs to know, and can/is willing to learn what they need to know in
order to do the job.
<CFUG-SFL Manager>
-Kev
</CFUG-SFL Manager>
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