Thanks to Toby at JobDig for this chart.
Yes, Dilbert, there has been a lot of confusion on what employee engagement is really about and if it truly provides a difference to the employee and the employer. A Gallup study published found that companies with employee engagement scores in the top 25 percent had 18 percent higher productivity, 16 percent higher profitability, and 49 percent fewer safety incidents.
During these tough economic times when productivity and profitability are measured with intense preciseness, the above data proves that employee engagement is important and should be to every organization. And it’s even more important to employers who are trying to hire the best talent.
A recent article on trainingindustry.com discusses the biggest misconceptions on employee engagement and explains in detail the benefits. Let’s hope more companies start to understand employee engagement and not back away from the concept.
This help wanted as is from 1936. I guess they were still marketing Home Economics classes before they became mandated in high schools.
See more Vintage Recruitment Ads.
The Non-Programming Programmer
From the blog Coding Horror by Jeff Atwood (View original article)
I find it difficult to believe, but the reports keep pouring in via Twitter and email: many candidates who show up for programming job interviews can’t program. At all. Consider this recent email from Mike Lin:
The article Why Can’t Programmers… Program? changed the way I did interviews. I used to lead off by building rapport. That proved to be too time-consuming when, as you mentioned, the vast majority of candidates were simply non-technical. So I started leading off with technical questions. First progressing from easy to hard questions. Then I noticed I identified the rejects faster if I went the other way – hard questions first – so long as the hard questions were still in the “if you don’t know this then you can’t work here” category. Most of my interviews still took about twenty minutes, because tough questions take some time to answer and evaluate. But it was a big improvement over the rapport-building method; and it could be done over the phone.
After reading your article, I started doing code interviews over the phone, using web meetings. My interview times were down to about 15 minutes each to identify people who just can’t code— the vast majority.
I wrote that article in 2007, and I am stunned, but not entirely surprised, to hear that three years later “the vast majority” of so-called programmers who apply for a programming job interview are unable to write the smallest of programs. To be clear, hard is a relative term — we’re not talking about complicated, Google-style graduate computer science interview problems. This is extremely simple stuff we’re asking candidates to do. And they can’t. It’s the equivalent of attempting to hire a truck driver and finding out that 90 percent of the job applicants can’t find the gas pedal or the gear shift.
I agree, it’s insane. But it happens every day, and is (apparently) an epidemic hiring problem in our industry.
You have to get to the simple technical interview questions immediately to screen out the legions of non-programming programmers. Screening over the telephone is a wise choice, as I’ve noted before. But screening over the Internet is even better, and arguably more natural for code.
I still wasn’t super-happy with having to start up the web meeting and making these guys share their desktops with me. I searched for other suitable tools for doing short “pen-and-paper” style coding interviews over the web, but I couldn’t find any. So I did what any self-respecting programmer would do. I wrote one.
Man, was it worth it! I schedule my initial technical screenings with job applicants in 15-minute blocks. I’m usually done in 5-10 minutes, sadly. I schedule an actual interview with them if they can at least write simple a 10-line program. That doesn’t happen often, but at least I don’t have to waste a whole lot of time anymore.
Mike adds a disclaimer that his homegrown coding interview tool isn’t meant to show off his coding prowess. He needed a tool, so he wrote one — and thoughtfully shared it with us. There might well be others out there; what online tools do you use to screen programmers?
Three years later, I’m still wondering: why do people who can’t write a simple program even entertain the idea they can get jobs as working programmers? Clearly, some of them must be succeeding. Which means our industry-wide interviewing standards for programmers are woefully inadequate, and that’s a disgrace. It’s degrading to every working programmer.
At least bad programmers can be educated; non-programming programmers are not only hopeless but also cheapen the careers of everyone around them. They must be eradicated, starting with simple technical programming tests that should be a part of every programmer interview.
Sally Hogshead, a writer/blogger from AdAge, posted this question on Facebook:
Would you rather work for a talented jerk or a sweetheart hack?
Interesting question….and I’m sure, like me, you’ve worked for both. Sally found that most comments/posts she received thought that working for a talented jerk was much better for their career. Let’s just hope you are not currently working for someone who is jerk and a hack! (and if you are, please remember that there are Las Vegas employers still hiring.)
I thought this quote from the article really sums it up though (and full disclosure, my first job out of college within two weeks after moving to Los Angeles was at DDB Worldwide):
Bob Kuperman, former president-CEO DDB Worldwide, New York, quoted the ultimate source, Bill Bernbach: “We have two requisites for people working at Doyle Dane Bernbach. Number one, they have to be nice people. And number two, they have to have a lot of talent. I’m sorry for the nice guy who doesn’t have talent, but that’s bad for my business. And I don’t give a damn how much talent the son-of-a-bitch has. I don’t want him. Life is too short.”
Thanks to Adam Sandler from the Nevada Broadcasters Association on providing this article:
According to consumer and media research firm Scarborough Research, Detroit, Providence and Las Vegas are the leading markets for Online Job Searchers. Nearly one quarter (24%) of Internet Users in each of these markets conducted an online employment search in the past month. In contrast, Salt Lake City and Tulsa are the markets least likely to have Online Job Searchers, as 12% of Internet Users in these cities searched online for a job. Nationally, almost one fifth (19%) of Internet users conducted an online job search during the past 30 days.
Job websites have obvious appeal to anyone looking for employment. Scarborough Research finds that employed adults are utilizing online job search to keep their eye on the market. The majority (74%) of Online Job Searchers are, in fact, employed full-time or part-time.
“Employers can reach both active and passive job seekers, nationally or in specific local markets, by using employment web sites,” said Gary Meo, senior vice president, digital media services, Scarborough Research. ”These types of sites are a powerful tool for marketers to connect with consumers – on many geographic levels.”
In examining Online Job Searchers locally, Scarborough Research finds this group is distinctive based on location. At a state level, all of the top local markets – Detroit, Providence, and Las Vegas – are located in states that have higher than average unemployment rates as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In drilling down to the local market (DMA) level, more demographic differences are revealed. For example, Las Vegas Online Job Searchers are less likely than the national average to be employed. 59% of Las Vegas Online Job Searchers are employed versus 74% of all Online Job Searchers nationally.
Online Job Searchers in Detroit and Providence, on the other hand, are more on par with the national average. 71% of Detroit’s Online Job Searchers are employed, and 77% of Providence Online Job Searchers are employed.
“While some generalizations can be made about the makeup of Online Job Searchers at the national level, our data shows that the demographic profile and Internet usage patterns of Online Job Searchers are unique to the local market,” said Meo. “It may seem obvious that Detroit, Las Vegas and Providence are high ranking given their rates of unemployment. But when we look more closely at Online Job Seekers in these cities, we find differences including age, ethnicity, income and white collar versus blue collar employed.”
Scarborough Research examined the demographic makeup of Online Job Searchers nationally, as they compare to other Internet users. Online Job Searchers are much younger than average Internet Users. They are 47% more likely than the average Internet User to be between the ages 18-29. The average age of Online Job Searchers is 37 compared to Internet users’ average age of 43.
They are 70% more likely to be African-American. While Online Job Searchers are embraced by adults from all income levels, those with lower incomes tend to be more likely to conduct an online job search. Further, more than half (54%) of Online Job Searchers have one or more children in the home.
While 68% of employed Online Job Searchers are white collar workers, 32% are blue collar workers. This is on par with employed Internet Users nationally as, 70% of employed Internet Users are white collar workers and 30% are blue collar workers. As further evidence of their focus on improving their employment opportunities, Online Job Searchers are more than twice as likely to plan to go back to school in the next year.
Some good news to share!
Employment is expected to grow much faster than the average for all human resources, training, and labor relations managers and specialists occupations. College graduates and those who have earned certification should have the best job opportunities. See below for specific data from BLS:
Please remember to check our website for HR Events and Conferences, where you can network with other HR professionals in Las Vegas.
……to take us to the Moon. Check out this help-wanted ad from 1967:
The below is a (supposed) interview question that was asked. The young man being interviewed was quick on his feet and provided an answer ‘Outside of the Box.’
HERE WAS THE INTERVIEW QUESTION:
You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:
Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?
Think before you continue reading. This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.
You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.
The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer.
He simply answered: “I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams.”
Never forget to “Think Outside of the Box.”
