Hiring The Best Knowledge Workers, Techies & Nerds: The Secrets & Science Of Hiring Technical People

by Johanna Rothman, Gerald M. Weinberg

Good technical people are the foundation on which successful high technology organizations are built. Establishing a good process for hiring such workers is essential. Unfortunately, the generic methods so often used for hiring skill-based staff, who can apply standardized methods to almost any situation, are of little use to those charged with the task of hiring technical people. Unlike skill-based workers, technical people typically do not have access to cookie-cutter solutions to their problems. They need to adapt to any situation that arises, using their knowledge in new and creative ways to solve the problem at hand. As a result, one developer, tester, or technical manager is not interchangeable with another. This makes hiring technical people one of the most critical and difficult processes a technical manager can undertake. Hiring the Best Knowledge Workers, Techies & The Secrets & Science of Hiring Technical People takes the guesswork out of hiring and diminishes the risk of costly hiring mistakes. With the aid of step-by-step descriptions and detailed examples, you’ll learn how to * write a concise, targeted job description
* source candidates
* develop ads for mixed media
* review résumés quickly to determine Yes, No, or Maybe candidates
* develop intelligent, nondiscriminatory, interview techniques
* create fool-proof phone-screens
* check references with a view to reading between the lines
* extend an offer that will attract a win-win acceptance or tender a gentle-but-decisive rejection
* and more You, your team, and your organization will live with the long-term consequences of your hiring decision. Investing time in developing a hiring strategy will shorten your decision time and the ramp-up time needed for each new hire.

Genres: Management, Business, Programming, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2004

About the author

People know me as the “Pragmatic Manager.” I offer frank, practical advice for your challenging product development problems.

I help leaders and teams see their current reality. Because one size never fits all, we explore options for what and how to change. The results? Leaders and teams learn to collaborate and focus on outcomes that matter.

My clients and readers appreciate both my trademark practicality and humor. I've written 21 books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts. See all my writing and monthly newsletters at www.jrothman.com and www.createadaptablelife.com.

I write in all genres except for horror because I need my sleep, and horror gives me nightmares. My short fiction has appeared in Pulphouse Magazine, Fiction River, and Heart’s Kiss in addition to several other anthologies.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is only a good book if you need step-by-step guidance to hiring in general, and I would not say that the advice is up-to-date with current best practices at all. The author also recommends in so many words to not trust your HR department and recruiting team with partnering with her (the hiring manager), which is terrible advice if you want to also hire for your culture in addition to technical acumen. Check out Joel Spolsky's "Smart and Gets Things Done" for a more up-to-date look at best practices.

[Scott Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today’s world is increasingly dependent on technology to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our businesses. Yet assessing which technical person to hire can be a tall task. Do you just hire the one that is most like you? Or do you hire the one with the most accolades? And how do you advertise? Johanna Rothman’s book empowers readers to figure out their own answers. Although the technology of hiring has changed significantly since its 2004 publication, the people side has not. This book will make readers much more savvy about how to attract, evaluate, and hire the best for their organization’s tasks.

The world of technology often falls into traps of constant infatuation with fads. Certain buzzwords and concepts can be trendy, but fundamental skills are often overlooked. I suppose the same is true with human resources. Thankfully, Rothman teaches us to see through the ephemeral fads. Her book shows how to think through the specific requirements of the job at hand and how to match individuals to that description. She also demonstrates how to corral an organization into making the new hire successful for the long term.

This book is written to hiring managers, but as someone who does not work in human resources, I still found her advice helpful. Anyone who evaluates talent – the most important managerial task for any organization – can benefit from her wisdom. I’m trying to improve my skills about gauging software developers’ skillsets and don’t want merely to hire someone because they’re most like me. She showed me how to observe their skill through a resume and an interview process. Her book also demystified the hiring process whenever I might have to reenter the job market. For those things, I am grateful.

[Christoph Kappel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book in the general topic of hiring and I got so many insights and hints from it - therefore it is clearly five stars.

I especially liked that it is geared towards technical people and that it includes many lists and templates for different activities, which is a good starter for me at least. It is probably nothing new for full-fledged HR or managers with lots of experience in the hiring game though.

[Lars Corneliussen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good playbook into how to write good job descriptions and advertisements and then hire the best talent.

[Christophe Addinquy · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Johanna Rothman, my expectations are always high. Maybe I don't rate her with the same standard, but the truth is: at worse her books are just above standard ! This book covers hiring with a very broad view of the process lifecycle. Each step : writing job description, selection, interview preparation is described in depth. I also see a "cultural fit" with US way of hiring. Even so the elements can be reused inside french culture, it's not a direct applicability.
I didn't had a "ah ah" moment, but a list of interesting stuff to improve the way I would manage hiring.
ma note de lecture en français ici

[Tijn]

Advertised as teaching how to:
- write a concise, targeted job description
- source candidates
- develop ads for mixed media
- review résumés quickly to determine Yes, No, or Maybe candidates
- develop intelligent, nondiscriminatory, interview techniques
- create fool-proof phone-screens
- check references with a view to reading between the lines
- extend an offer that will attract a win-win acceptance or tender a gentle-but-decisive rejection
- and more
Any reason *not* to read this book?