On Wed, Aug 25, 1999 at 04:16:44PM +1000, Dennis Plunkett wrote:
>
> Interesting to say the least, and very sneaky!
> The question is what was the percentage of people whom looked at the non
> technical related stuff to those that did?
> In my situtation I don't think that one minute would be enough before my
> inquisativness got the better of me. Also I think that I would be concerned
> about a company that left it's "washing" out in a waiting room for everyone
> to see. Perhaps these items placed in a more real situation would prevoke a
> btter response.

Generally, my office is enough. I tend to use the
archeological filing system (I think about how long ago
I last saw it and I look about that far down into the
piles) and the collection of stuff at the surface usually
covers a pretty wide range.  I consider it a big plus
when applicants keep getting distracted, staring at the
various stuff, or even better commenting on the relative
merits of various parts that happen to be out.

OTOH, just yesterday I was interviewing applicants
for a procurement position, a job that requirs intense
organzational skills and attention to detail. One of the
applicants could hardly stand it and was picking things
up off the floor and moving things so they wouldn't fall
off the desk. I gave her a lot of bonus points for that...

> Question for everyone->
> Why do we think that people whom have a hobby of electronics are better?

In my case, I'm more often hiring people to do computer
support, but the preferance is the same; I always look
for the person who has set up a bedroom network with
five PCs assembled from parts gotten from yard sales and
cast-off equipment, and running as many different operating
systems. My reason is this: Such a person quite clearly has
an insatiable thirst for learning about this technology.
In a business that changes as rapidly as ours, the fact
that an applicant has learned a few things in the past is
virtually irrelevent. In my experience, only the person
who stays in a constant state of learning regarding the
technology can do really well. If an applicant tells
me that "I've been hearing about this Linux stuff for
some time, but I can't really mess with the family PC",
I take this as a strong indication that this is one of
those horses that will keep begging to go to the trough,
but every time he gets there will find some excuse not
to drink.

> Before you answer that contemplate this off the cuff situation:-
> Do you care that your family doctor does not practice surgery as a hobby?

No, but I might be impressed if he spent his free time
volunteering at clinics in lower-income neighborhoods
or, as my doctor (who has a private, general practice)
does, writing papers for and letters to medical journals,
and regularly bringing medical students into his office
to observe. I would strongly prefer someone who loves
the practice of medicine and who might reschedule a few
appointments to attend a morning seminar or maybe would
carve out time to coach his daughter's soccer team, but
would never shutter his office on Wednesday to play golf.

--Bob

--
============================================================
Bob Drzyzgula                             It's not a problem
bob@drzyzgula.org                until something bad happens
============================================================