Candid CIO

I am in the process of filling a position and it generated some thoughts about tech hiring that I wanted to share.

This position is a part-time position that can be done from one’s home. I have been overwhelmed by the quality of the candidates that this position has attracted. Many of these candidates are moms that are looking to adjust their work-life balance. It strikes me that there is a largely untapped market of talented women professionals that are looking for these part-time, telecommuting positions. With the invent of broadband Internet access, WebEx and other web 2.0 collaboration tools there is no reason for many of our employees to come into the office.

My other observation is about how candidates prepare for interviews. I cannot imagine going into an interview without doing my research on Google. It just speaks to the candidates proactive nature. When candidates tell me that they found this blog they get bonus points. If they are totally unaware of our organization it tells me that they didn’t even bother to go to our corporate web site. That would be hard for me to get past.

For future candidates that have found this blog, here are some tips for interviewing, especially me:

• laugh at my jokes
• be a good listener, most people will tell you what to say before they ask you the question
• bring samples of your work such as copies of reports, presentations, writing samples, etc.
• show me that you are technologically savvy.
• show me you are a self-learner
• be personable – people want to hire people they like