On Mon, 14 Jun 2010, Esther Schindler wrote: >>> I'm a freelance writer working on an article tentatively called "5 Things >>> the CIO Should Know About Hiring Network Admins" or "The 5 things to ask a >>> prospective network admin" for ITExpertVoice.com. (Or 4 things, or 7 >>> things.) I'd like your help in figuring out what should be on the list. >>> >>> Let's assume that you've asked the most obvious "suitability" questions, >>> like "Tell me about your experience using the server software we rely on" >>> and "Which certifications do you have?" By this point in the interview
Hi Esther. IMHO one of the biggest mistakes a hiring manager can make is to filter out candidates on the basis of certifications, at least for senior positions. Granted if they are flooded with applications they may use this as a means of reducing the number of resumes to a managable number. I'm afraid I have found HR departments filter out a lot of good people for questionable reasons. I think they just don't understand technical resumes and simply get it wrong. I've seen this happen as a member of interview panels - I know the resumes handed to me for a senior position can't be the best people who applied. On the plus side this seems to be less of a problem than it was 5-10 years ago. >>> you've established that the candidate has the right background. How do you >>> discover true talent, so the department -- and the company -- can be as >>> productive as possible? >>> >>> To keep it simple: If you could ask a candidate for a network admin job >>> one thing, just ONE THING, what would you ask? (And why would you ask In a real situation I ask a combination of technical and non-technical questions but if I have to choose _one_ I'll make it a technical question: * Describe a TCP 3-way handshake to me. This is one of the stock questions I always ask in interviews. Really everyone going for a technical position today should get this right but they don't. Seriously... the network really is the computer Rule #1: *Understand* networking at each layer. > Lisa will need to quote you in the article. Ideally that's name, company, > title. But if necessary we can be circumspect as long as it's clear that the > source is for-real: "Esther, a network admin at a large midwest insurance > company." Well if you want to quote me... Robert Brockway System & Network Administrator A software development firm based in Toronto, Canada Cheers, Rob -- Email: rob...@timetraveller.org Linux counter ID #16440 IRC: Solver (OFTC & Freenode) Web: http://www.practicalsysadmin.com Open Source: The revolution that silently changed the world _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lopsa.org http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
