jobs in Linux / IT

[Andrew Hammond]

On 22-Dec-05, at 20:54, Scott Elcomb wrote:

> In many cases, people are hired by a recruiting team that doesn't have
> a clue as to what the job actually entails.  They simply work off a
> description of the job written on a piece of paper or two.

I don't know what the process is at other companies, but here's how  
we do things for the Data Services department here at Afilias. I give  
our HR lady the job description (which is mostly for candidates) and  
a brief description of what I'm looking for. She passes this along to  
the recruiters. For example:

About 7 years industry experience
At least 3 years working with databases, preferably postgres
2 years working in a 24x365 production environment
comfortable working in and administering a unix / linux environment

The recruiters send resumes of potential candidates to our HR lady  
who forwards them to me. If they look any good, I ask her to give  
them a call and run through an initial interview. If they meet her  
approval, then I ask them to come in for an interview, and the  
process goes from there.

The goal is two-fold:
1) To find decent candidates.
2) To defend my time from the incredible flurry of applicants who  
don't even know what "a unix" is, but sure as heck want the job.

We also post to pgsql-jobs, but that seems more oriented towards  
contract than full time permanent.

> Certifications tell these types of people that you know "about this
> much" of the skills/information specific to their needs.  I don't
> think it's a time wasting process; there's some value in getting that
> piece of paper.

With a few exceptions, certifications tell me that you've got the  
background for an entry level position and that you cared enough to  
go get the cert.

> Btw - LPI Certs are considerably cheaper than MS Certs, contain much
> less advertising, and are somewhat more challenging I think.

And guys like me don't get a chuckle out of seeing LPI certs on a  
resume, unlike some of the MS certs. However, I'm not looking for  
people to run windows boxes.

__________________________________________________
Andrew Hammond    416-673-4138    ahammond-swQf4SbcV9C7WVzo/KQ3Mw at public.gmane.org
Data Services Group Manager, Afilias Canada Corp. Ltd.
CB83 2838 4B67 D40F D086 3568 81FC E7E5 27AF 4A9A

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