journal features

hiring is tough work

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Toronto, 2015.04.09

I'm currently hiring for two disparate roles, and it's tough sledding. First, about 90 people have applied. And in strict opposition to current "practice", I'm treating these applicants like humans, responding to their applications and telling them to contact me with questions.

Strangely, the ones to send questions are the foreigners. We're not looking to hire from overseas but the Canadian applicants have been mostly mum.

So on I go, reading resumes and looking for signs of a fit for the roles. I'm doing the initial screening calls and trying to think tactically about the hires. It absorbs a lot of time.

Moreover, it's clear that we titled one of the job postings poorly, because I'm getting a lot of people looking for a position with a different interpretation of that title. And of that group, it's astonishing to see how many MBA's are applying for a role that's got "analyst" in the title. It's not the sort of gig that's going to pay down a $100,000 tuition in a hurry!

rand()m quote

One day you will take a fork in the road, and you're going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go one way, you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and get good assignments. Or you can go the other way and you can do something [...] for yourself. If you decide to do something, you may not get promoted and get good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won't have to compromise yourself. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That's when you have to make a decision. To be or to do.

—John Boyd, US Air Force