DISQUS

Windley's Technometria: Starting a High Tech Business: No Cold Hires

  • Name · 1 month ago
    I understand why you feel this way, but this is very discouraging for a person trying to get a break. Networking at conferences and user groups does not easily transform a person from "cold hire" to "trusted smart and gets things done".

    People exist who need jobs, who don't know your or your current employees, who may be an excellent fit with your business.
  • Phil Windley · 1 month ago
    Your last sentence is very true and that's frankly a risk. There may be better people for a particular job than those in your network. Even so, the risk of cold hires is huge.

    Finding ways to bring new people into the fold in a way that you can "date" them before marriage is a good idea. Hiring someone on a project basis as a 1099 is one way to do that. Frankly I've had more than one person volunteer time for that reason.
  • Name · 1 month ago
    The project/temp to hire concept had slipped my mind at the time of writing, I've volunteered myself for this sort of thing. While not always accepted by the hiring party it is an excellent way to demonstrate your commintment.
  • Ed (pramatr.com) · 1 month ago
    "we did a lot of cold hires .... but some didn’t fit the culture and that caused a lot of problems"

    Trying to determine whether a cold hire will fit in to the company culture is almost impossible to do for a small business. The only way seems to be through intuition and experience.

    An interviewee tries to impress; elaborating experiences, saying keywords and generally trying to dazzle wherever they can. In many cases the interviewee you see during an interview isn't really the person you end up employing.

    I have yet to find a technique that gives good results in cultural compatibility. The best I have found is to work on what you can measure (technical/ problem solving abilities) and leave the rest to good fortune - and a probation period ;)
  • Phil Windley · 1 month ago
    Absolutely true. Anyone can put on a good show for a day. References can help, but they can't be "cold references." They have to come from someone you know, trust, and will tell you the unvarnished truth.