Re: What to Look for When Hiring

[Melissa Hunter-Kilmer <mhunterk -at- BNA -dot- COM>]

Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM> wrote:

> To my endless bemusement, I find myself about to hire
someone for the first time.

> I have my own ideas about what to look for. However, I'd
like to hear what other people look for when hiring.

As with so many other questions, the answer is "It depends."
 But I'm sure you know your technical needs.  It looks like
you're asking about the intangibles.

I have been instrumental in hiring three temporary/contract
writers.  Each time I looked for somebody who would fit with
the rest of the team.  For me, that meant a commitment to
quality and the users, a sense of humor, reliability, and
the ability to work as part of a team.  We needed writers
who could take direction, too -- people who wouldn't get all
hoity-toity about the "correct" way to do something when our
way differed.

My favorite kind of writer is one who performs as directed
(and points out stuff that we need to know about) and then,
if the project blows up and we all have to go back to square
one, just shrugs and starts over.  But then, my philosophy
is always that I get paid to write.  I do the best I can,
and if none of it ever gets used, I don't care, because I
got paid.  (Can you tell that this has happened to me more
than once?  ;-]  )

We always had enough applicants that I could find the
desired intangibles in candidates who had the necessary
technical skills and were represented by typo-free resumes.
I don't know what your situation will be.

Good luck!  And please post a summary to the list!

Melissa Hunter-Kilmer
mhunterk -at- bna -dot- com
(standard disclaimer)

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