Wednesday, March 21, 2001
Reading Resumes
It's funny, the other day we posted a job listing on the Web site for a Web Graphics Designer. Yesterday it got printed in the Toronto Star and online at Workopolis. Since then I've had almost 40 resumes come my way, and I've pouring over them, assessing their individual merits. Spent the whole of the morning reading each resume, and looking at the Web portfolio of each candidate (assuming they had one). There are several really good leads, and have already emailed 3 very promising candidates. It's funny, being on the other end of the resume, looking for things that stand out and speak to me. Am definitely not interested in reading pat cover letters saying how somebody is a "good team player" and yet who also can be trusted to "work independently" -- I mean, which is it?!? ;-) In the end, I ended up making a spreadsheet, looking at the skills we said we are specifically looking for (Adobe PhotoShop, experience working on corporate Web sites, print production techniques, experience in Flash, and PHP), and plotting each candidate against it. Then, I look at the "extras", such as whether they show any artistic flair, and whether or not the Web site(s) in their online portfolio showed good Web design basics. Several promising-looking candidates got turfed after a glance at the Web sites they had worked on -- yick! While years of experience is a definite plus, am considering a few recent graduates who obviously have a way with creating graphics and have a good sense of Web design. Am surprised at the number of programmers who are trying out for the job, though I don't remember any of them striking me as having more of a sense of design or graphical skills than I do. And none of them had experience in print production, which is a necessary skill in this case. Oh yeah: a big minus are spelling errors -- they just leap off of the page (either resume or Web site). Shesh, do a spell check first! The resumes are still coming in! The process should prove interesting.
It's funny, the other day we posted a job listing on the Web site for a Web Graphics Designer. Yesterday it got printed in the Toronto Star and online at Workopolis. Since then I've had almost 40 resumes come my way, and I've pouring over them, assessing their individual merits. Spent the whole of the morning reading each resume, and looking at the Web portfolio of each candidate (assuming they had one). There are several really good leads, and have already emailed 3 very promising candidates. It's funny, being on the other end of the resume, looking for things that stand out and speak to me. Am definitely not interested in reading pat cover letters saying how somebody is a "good team player" and yet who also can be trusted to "work independently" -- I mean, which is it?!? ;-) In the end, I ended up making a spreadsheet, looking at the skills we said we are specifically looking for (Adobe PhotoShop, experience working on corporate Web sites, print production techniques, experience in Flash, and PHP), and plotting each candidate against it. Then, I look at the "extras", such as whether they show any artistic flair, and whether or not the Web site(s) in their online portfolio showed good Web design basics. Several promising-looking candidates got turfed after a glance at the Web sites they had worked on -- yick! While years of experience is a definite plus, am considering a few recent graduates who obviously have a way with creating graphics and have a good sense of Web design. Am surprised at the number of programmers who are trying out for the job, though I don't remember any of them striking me as having more of a sense of design or graphical skills than I do. And none of them had experience in print production, which is a necessary skill in this case. Oh yeah: a big minus are spelling errors -- they just leap off of the page (either resume or Web site). Shesh, do a spell check first! The resumes are still coming in! The process should prove interesting.
World War 3.0 - Thumbs Up!Spent the past two days working primarily on the revamped DV Web site. Just this morning got some good comments from the CEO of the firm, so things are green light on the project as a whole. While churning out code, spent my time listening to an audiobook of Ken Auletta's "World War 3.0 : Microsoft and Its Enemies". An impressive piece of court-room journalism on the case of US vs Microsoft, written by an author who reveals an impressive depth of knowledge not just about the case in the course of the book, but offers an interesting portrait of many of the case's principle players, including Judge Thomas Jackson, prosecuting attorney David Boise and of course Mr. Gates. He also looks at the way the media was reporting things, providing a good perspective not only on how things got reported (and the spin applied to them) but why they were reported that way. A fascinating study, and anybody interested in the Microsoft antitrust case will find it illuminating. Especially interesting is a behind-the-scenes look at the efforts of mediator Judge Richard Posner that got Microsoft to make significant concessions, but the deal was ultimately scuppered by various squabbling State Attorneys General. Of course, since the fate of Microsoft has yet to be decided, the book feels oddly incomplete. Yet it makes for very interesting reading (or in my case, listening). My bookshelves are getting pretty full, so I think I will end up sending it as a gift to a lawyer friend of mine.
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