It’s not where you came from
November 12th, 2008 | Published in recruiting | 1 Comment
…it’s what you did while you were there.
Instead of focusing on the candidate’s skills, many companies wrongly focus on what school the candidate received their degree from. In their minds the better reputation and rank of the school they attend, the better the candidate. That’s a huge mistake. There are plenty of good software engineers that come from little-known schools; they just don’t have the luxury of a top-tier school’s brand and reputation to get them in the door.
Aside from actually considering a candidate’s skills and experience, another trait I always look for is whether or not they have a passion for computer science. Too many of the students (and even new college graduates) I’ve interviewed have had no industry experience (including graduate students!). They claim to love computer science, but when asked about side projects - things outside of their assigned course work - they all too often have nothing to say.
I like hiring people who made the time to try something without an external force motivating them. These are the people that are interested enough to explore something they don’t know about and play around with it until they understand it.
In short, look for students that know how to get shit done.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:52 pm (#)
I absolutely agree with you. I’ve also noticed people look at what someone “did” as though it were a present situation not considering what the environment was at that time.
For example looking at a leadership candidate and saying “well those examples weren’t enough…” and ignoring the fact that they did them when they were new to their career.
Or in my case, when applying for a “research” position I was told I worked on “existing” technologies. Which completely ignores the fact that none of those were established until long after I started with them.
It’s the spirit of the candidate not the school or the “tangible” accomplishments.