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The point of the blog post is that employers need to learn how to do hiring and not expect to outsource hiring to companies that get rich off of productive comp

The point of the blog post is that employers need to learn how to do hiring and not expect to outsource hiring to companies that get rich off of productive companies being clueless about hiring. That sounds like good advice. As a data point, one of my all-time most-liked comments here on HN[1] is my FAQ about company hiring procedures. Yes, people who run companies that innovate and make new products and services still have to learn the timeless facts about how to hire good workers. There is no substitute for the head of the company having a firm, reality-based idea about how to add workers to the team. Successful hiring is an outgrowth of successful management. Know what you are looking for in new workers--not just what they should be able to do the day they are hired, but what they will grow into as your company grows. Be clear about the difference between hiring clones of yourself whom you'd like to have as friends and a diverse workforce full of smart people who get things done. As my FAQ says, use work-sample tests for all your hiring. Don't trust educational credentials, but rather verify. Use legally safe means to find out who is smart and can learn more on the job. (References and expanded details on these points are available at the link.) [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4613543 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4613543

malandrew 13y ago
The saddest thing I've seen in my career is that most managers don't realize that hiring is a huge part of their job if their team contributes materially to the bottom line (directly or indirectly) and can grow that contribution by hiring people. The people the hire managers and promote people to managers rarely stop to ask: (1) Can this person keep the people underneath them happy and productive and make them happier and more productive? and (2) Can this person actively seek out other people to work under them that are productive? Hiring in too many businesses is outsourced to HR. i.e. A department manager goes to HR and says "give me someone who can do X, Y and Z". HR is then left with only keywords and has little knowledge of whether or not a candidate with a differing skill set could also perform the job well or better with a little training. Only the department manager has enough knowledge to hire correctly for the needs of their team. Why we ever let them get away with outsourcing this core responsibility to HR is beyond me.

malandrew 13y ago

The saddest thing I've seen in my career is that most managers don't realize that hiring is a huge part of their job if their team contributes materially to the bottom line (directly or indirectly) and can grow that contribution by hiring people. The people the hire managers and promote people to managers rarely stop to ask: (1) Can this person keep the people underneath them happy and productive and make them happier and more productive? and (2) Can this person actively seek out other people to work under them that are productive? Hiring in too many businesses is outsourced to HR. i.e. A department manager goes to HR and says "give me someone who can do X, Y and Z". HR is then left with only keywords and has little knowledge of whether or not a candidate with a differing skill set could also perform the job well or better with a little training. Only the department manager has enough knowledge to hire correctly for the needs of their team. Why we ever let them get away with outsourcing this core responsibility to HR is beyond me.