Why I would take on some contractors and not others
Thursday, 18 September 2008
The Interview
OK, so the contractor has now sat down to be interviewed. I have already made up my mind whether I like this person or not and whether he or she could fit in at our company in terms of personality.
Now, I’ve got to find out if he or she will be able to do the job, and whether they will advance my career or be detrimental to it.
There may be other clients who will judge people by their age, sex, colour of skin etc. etc. etc. but I’m not one of them.
I suspect that there are not too many other Project Managers like that either. What we mainly want is someone who can do us some good and help advance our careers by helping us get the job done. That’s the priority for most of us.
Our priorities are:-
1) Our careers
2) The Project
3) The Company
…in that order.
So what do I want from a contractor towards that end:-
1) Knowledge
First and foremost I need to know that the contractor is technically able to do the job, i.e. that he or she really knows the skills that are needed on the project. That may come out via questioning, via his or her CV, or via a technical interview
2) Experience
I also need to know that the contractor has had experience of using the skills that I require. I don’t want someone just off a training course on the subject who can give me all the answers.
I want to know where they used the skill before, what parts of the skill they used, to what extent and for how long.
3) Problem Solving Knowledge
It could be that I have someone that is able to pass the first two of the categories here but I still won’t take them. It’s possible that they did a good training course on the skill, was at a place where the skill was used extensively, but didn’t use it much themselves.
Things are going to go wrong when they use the skill. I want to know that, when that happens, they are going to be able to put them right. I therefore want to hire those contractors who know what can go wrong when using a skill, and also how they can fix it or put it right.
If I am able to satisfy myself that they have passed all three of these categories then I’m starting to feel pretty good about the candidate.
They are now in pole position but they haven’t got it yet. However, it’s only theirs to lose now.
4) Good Communication Skills
Being able (and willing) to communicate is crucial on a project. I really think that communication must be a huge disadvantage to those sending projects offshore. A huge amount of interaction needs to take place on an IT project. Nothing is cast in stone.
As you drill down in a project, you are able to see more clearly whether the requirements and the design are correct. The requirements will change, as will the design, and the project specifications will be constantly changing as the developer looks closely at them.
Therefore, someone who can interact with whoever supplies him or her, and whoever he or she supplies is a big plus. Those that beaver away and never ask any questions before submitting their work might as well be working offshore.
I will be watching at the interview, therefore, to see who can communicate well (and will) and those who can’t.
5) Easy to Get on With
One makes up ones mind in a pub or night club, or if one needs directions in the street, as to which people look more approachable and friendly than others, and which ones might bite your hand off. We are making these decisions all the time.
When we are taking on someone to work with us, and for us, at a company we make the same instant decisions too. Someone who is witty is good, but not someone who is sarcastic. A genuine smile is good as opposed to a smirk or a sneer.
Someone who can tell a good anecdote is good – unless it is against their old boss or teammates.
6) Sharp Witted
One has to think on one’s feet. This is especially true if we are offering a post that has interaction with users or external customers. We don’t want some idiot who keeps blurting out stupid things to our users and customers.
If they say stupid things to us at interview, then they’ll probably do it when we leave them alone with customers.
I ask the hated question about what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are. This is not to find out what your strengths and weaknesses actually are, but to find out how astute you are.
Anyone who replies by telling me what their actual weaknesses are wouldn’t be people who I would want to leave alone with our users or customers.
I also ask other questions along the same lines, what I call ‘bowling the bouncers’, designed to find out who can think on their feet and who can’t.
7) Quick Learner
The interviewee may well have all the skills that we want, but nothing is ever quite the same at any two sites. The set-ups are different and there will always be something that the contractor has to learn. I therefore want to know how quickly that he or she can pick things up.
I’ll therefore choose a skill that he or she has only used for a short time and at one previous site and ask him or her questions on that.
I will also ask him or her questions later in the interview, about things that I’ve told them earlier, to see if they have been paying attention and that they’ve managed to pick up what I’ve been telling them.
8) Prepared
We want someone who is diligent and who prepares themselves well on the project. Therefore I always try to find out if they’ve done any preparation for the interview. I don’t really care if they have heard of our company and know what we do. What I do want to know is if they’ve put the preparation in for the interview by finding out the answers to these questions.
Do I really want somebody who can’t be bothered to go into our company website to find out who we are and what we do? Would I want to pay him or her at the rate of up to a hundred grand a year to work for us when he or she couldn’t spend a couple of minutes preparing for the interview?
I would also expect the contractor to have asked the agent about the actual job that he or she has applied for.
Conclusion
Not all of these categories are as important as others. I would say that the first three are the most important. If the contractor can pass the first three and only do averagely at the rest I would probably still take him or her on.
However, if there is a big negative in one or more of the other areas I probably wouldn’t.
That’s in normal market conditions though.
In current market conditions, where there are more contractors than there are contracts available, I can afford to be choosy.
I am likely to get several who satisfy the first three categories. It comes down then to who has the greater number of plusses in the other areas.
These other areas are currently what are giving one contractor that competitive edge on other contractors.
At the moment I can get contractors who are knowledgeable, experienced and good problem solvers, but also ones who are good communicators, can think on their feet, are quick learners and who come well prepared too.
I can’t speak for all clients but I suspect that they think along similar lines to myself. I write this in order to give contractors an idea on how, when there are plenty of contractors who fit the first three categories, they can get that little edge themselves.
I know of one set of interviews where I couldn’t choose between two candidates and I gave it to the one who had done the most preparation for the interview.
On such small things may tens of thousands of pounds in lost
This article originally appeared on the British contractor's website NamesFacesPlaces.
A client
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Witts and humourA person who has the witts to fool customers will also fool the boss. And "Sense of humour" does not imply "Sense" Bricklayer, 09/18/2008 10:36:24 PM
RecruitmentWhat a load of wank. Any IT/Project manager who could spare the time to both write that article and put that much preparation into a contractor interview obviously doesn't work in the real world. Vaughan, 09/23/2008 11:03:29 PM
Shrinking Recruitment marketWith Kaz dumping 100 staff the long term trend is shrinking work and dire times for IT recruiters. Kaz sheds IT staff Aussie Blue, 09/24/2008 06:04:02 AM
great articleI disagree with one of the previous posters - this is a realistic and insightful guide. I recognise much of it from experience (though it's better articulated in the article than it was in my head). I used some of these techniques when I was a PM hiring staff. Now I'm a credit crunched contractor looking for work this is a most useful aide memoire of what people might really be looking for. noedig, 09/24/2008 05:59:03 PM
working with contractorsI despise contractors, its that simple. Earning 4 times as much as me and doing less work and knowing much less. I refuse to work with them when they ask for help. THey should know every thing. MC macca, 09/26/2008 03:11:46 AM
Beware Wall St BearMacca best take relaxation risks eaten by wall street bear. Bush and Rudd without answer. Consult Warren Buffatt and Rupett Murdoch foggy crystal ball. But man no clue close gate after burglar visit. Fools all. China with answer new world power. Now lunches great space rocket. World notice, change to rebalance for USA downfalls. Australia safe when stay with big boy China + India. GL Great Leopard, 09/28/2008 10:18:47 AM
BB - The Nerve Centre of Australian IT?Just reading the last couple of months postings makes me laugh when I read the hookline! If this is the Nerve Centre of Australian IT... GOD HELP US!!!! brownie, 09/29/2008 04:46:19 AM
Despise contractors?!?"Macca" hates contractors and will not help them? What the ...? So ... is it a problem with contractors or Macca (or whoever you are)? Perhaps he has been burnt by "consultants" who have bulldusted they way into a project's demise? WTF??? I cannot imagine walking into a project with 20 people and asking them one-by-one if they are or are not a contractor before commencing my work and being part of a "TEAM"!! HOWEVER! If I was to employ a contractor or a consultant or an employee then I would A) Have a case to include them in my team and B) Make available all reasonable resources for them to complete their tasks to make them successful. Their success is my success and I would have reservations in including someone like Macca, who is known to *poison* a team in such a manner ... Laz, 09/29/2008 09:34:22 AM
Contractor vs PermanentEarning 4 times as much as me..... This a a pherphie macca. I'll bet if you did some unbiased research and analysis a contractor costs an employer roughly the same as a permanent for the same position and experieince. ESPECIALLY SOMEONE WITH YOUR ATTITUDE Hawkwind, 09/30/2008 03:11:21 AM
You too could be a contractor maccaMacca, 4 times as much? You must be been underpaid. Remember as a permie you have job security, you have paid leave, and paid public holidays. A contractor on the other hand has none of that, if a contractor doesn't work they don't get paid, and that includes public holidays and days off. They also have little job security. At a set date they could have no job, and if that does happen there are no payouts or golden handshakes for contractors. They have basically traded off certain comforts to get the extra money. Besides, you can be a contractor if you wish, just leave your current job and apply for contracting jobs. anon, 09/30/2008 06:57:20 PM
working with contractors part 2What pissed me off with contractors, is I sacrifice my weekends on production support getting no recongnition for it an no pay, basically stealing my time. Contractors get paid an hourly rate for any over time. I quit my job in discust. MC macca, 10/01/2008 01:44:56 AM
fruitcakesI dont give a toss what you fruitcakes think of me. The economy will wipe you all out in the second dot com crash of 2008 - 2009. The depression is comming, mc macca, 10/01/2008 01:53:38 AM
Economy forecastMacca with problems when jealous for contractor. Underpaid help desk maybe match skill level. Low skills risks now make meals for wall streat bear. Dow Jones and ASX stability like Quantas plane. Bush and congress fat cat fight without answer. Rudd and Wain Swan in hopeless lost up above heads. Business not unions man turnbull only know solution. Macca maybes correct... world risk depression nobody safe. Project cancels... contractor sacking.. later falls permie. World face ruins. BRIC economy only hopes. If also fall all be lost. GL Great Leopard, 10/01/2008 09:55:06 AM
Raise your aim ...Macca, I'm sure that you have many reasons for hating contractors - but not getting recognition for weekend work is a bit unfair. Besides, some contractors get paid a daily rate (usually the even more expensive ones - usually) and work "overtime" without pay. But I digress. I think it's unfair that you did not get the recognition you deserved and the blame starts ... with you - but it does not end there! Ultimately your boss is to blame and not your peers who are getting paid for it. It is your responsibility that you look after #1 (ie you) and therefore you must do all that is reasonably possible to get what you deserve (or think you deserve). A good, open relationship with the boss is a good start. Personally, I looked after myself by seeking the recognition/reward and, failing that, went elsewhere - which is what you did (in discust). I hope you don't feel this way about ALL contractors! It's like saying ALL Collingwood supporters have no teeth or (ahem!) ALL ex-ITers studying to be a doctor are nuts!!! (here goes ...) Laz, 10/02/2008 07:45:50 AM
Razor Gang MKIIhttp://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24437591-421,00.html Anon, 10/02/2008 05:33:14 PM
Razor GangPeak welfare agencies, including Centrelink, Medicare and the Job Network, also are in line for a big overhaul to slash costs. About time. They are a totally useless and a waste of taxpayers dollars. Especially that f.... "Job Network". Should be completely abolished. They do nothing for us! Hawkwind, 10/05/2008 12:35:12 AM
Here is MoreThere will be many more like this over the next couple of years. HP to cut 24,600 jobs worldwide with EDS acquisition Hawkwind, 10/05/2008 12:41:34 AM
There will be many more like this over the next couple of years.I disagree! We have gone through that period. Both HP and EDS aren't the companies they used to be. Indian companies will fill that void in the market. Not because of HP and EDS's lack of trying to offshore work to India. More to the point that the Indian companies (Infosys..etc) used not just the IT talent from India, but the Managerial Talent they have. Imagine HP or EDS having an Indian on there board...poo hoo! D, 10/08/2008 07:01:04 AM
Indian on the board ?Who would want an Indian on their board? Gloomyshoes, 10/09/2008 01:39:59 AM
any more topicshas this forum died.. no more topics for ages. mc macca, 10/16/2008 12:26:51 AM
Govt to hire 50% less IT contractors Sweeping Govt IT changes Anon, 10/17/2008 05:13:39 PM
Heard it all beforeThis forum may be running out of ideas. Submit your own topic ideas below cyber, 10/19/2008 07:43:50 PM
Some topics to consider* How has the "credit crunch" affected your IT projects, org structure/job security or job prospects? * "Gen Y": Is your organisation willing to fit-in with them? * BPM! SOA! EAI! B2B! E2E! WTF?!? Does it really matter? * Active Troll forums. Are there any worth visiting? Laz, 10/20/2008 05:55:57 AM
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