Scrambling to Fill IT Openings Doesn't Mean Throwing Caution to the Wind

The Business Journal had an article last week on IT firms scrambling to fill openings.  Based on what we are seeing in the marketplace, we don't think that IT firms are the only organizations with IT openings to fill.  We have clients who are searching through dozens, and in some cases, hundreds of resumes, trying to find the one person who is a great fit for them.  Based on what we are seeing and hearing, and our experience through years of hiring ourselves, we offer a few nuggets.  Everyone knows these; sometimes it helps to see them again, especially in a "frenzied" hiring state like the IT industry is in.

You can train tech; you can't train 'tude.  A person with the right attitude, who is open to new ideas, and is a cultural fit within the IT organization will usually be a better hire than an extremely technical person with the wrong attitude.  Take a great person with some of the IT skills you seek and train them in the rest of the skills they will need.

If you aren't sure about a person, the answer is no.  Seriously, how many times have you been unsure, done it anyway, and regretted the result?  This holds true for hiring team members, buying a new suit, painting a room in your house, and most other decisions.  If you aren't sure, wait until you are sure.  An unfortunate hiring decision that lasts for two weeks can cause damage within the team that takes months to repair.  Being unsure is your gut's way of telling you "it's a bad call." 

The only people you can train at 90 miles an hour are those who can go 90 miles an hour with you.  If your organization is so fast-paced, active, and downright busy that there is no time to take time out and train someone in the skills they need, devise a way to determine in the hiring process if a candidate can keep up with the pace of your IT organization.  If he can, and is the right fit, hire him (or her).  He will learn quickly. 

Don't be tempted to compromise in your hiring profile.  If you can't find someone who fits your hiring profile, don't settle.  Use an IT company you trust to do a project or provide resources while you continue to look for the right person or people for your organization.

Remember the triangle.  Some of the best advice on evaluating candidates was given to me years ago, along with a picture of a triangle.  The three legs of the triangle are labelled "Can-Do," "Will-Do," and "Team Fit" and the concept is that the candidate is only as strong as the shortest leg.  Can he do the job?  Will he do the job?  Does he fit within the team that we have already built?  It is possible to have people who "will do" but don't have the skills (or the motivation to learn them), and people who "can do" but don't fit within the team, etc., and the overall evaluation of the potential hire needs to be based on the shortest leg of that triangle.  If a person does not have all three attributes, they are a "no-hire." 

Get the right people on the bus, then worry about the seats.  Sometimes, the right person comes along but doesn't fit exactly into the pigeonhole created by your currently-open job description.  Think about whether reshuffling the existing team members and adding this new person would fill all of the gaps - just not in the way that you originally expected.  Added bonus - the existing team members usually love to be a part of adding a great person to the team, and a situation like this is a great way to get them involved.

There are dozens of other factors in getting the right people into the organization and keeping them engaged - having clearly defined growth opportunities, employee development programs, on-line knowledge libraries, great processes in place and in action - these are a few that come to mind.  The bottom line is, in what is feeling a bit like the "prelude-to-Y2K-hiring-climate," we should not throw caution to the wind nor ideals to the curb.

What other key "nuggets" would you add to this list?  Any disagreements with the nuggets we've shared?