Sunday, January 25, 2009

Don't Irritate Small Company Hiring Managers

Where I work is a relatively small company. We don't have much the way of an Human Resource (HR) department. We've got one person that's in charge of general personnel related issues but the manager of the development group is the one that initially contacts prospective employees (candidates).

The manager of the development group is really just a glorified developer. Our development group is small enough that there's not enough management tasks to occupy all of his time. His time distribution is about 75% development and 25% management.

This time distribution is important because it means he's got disparate responsibilities, and in regards to contacting employment candidates that's not all he's doing — he's not sitting around all day talking to candidates. So if a candidates isn't courteous in his communication it leaves an impression — because he's dealing with a small number of candidates, and because he actually does other things.

This is why it surprises me when every once in a while I get a colleague that asks for a recommendation to start our (remember small company) hiring process, but they don't make every effort to remain in good standing!

One scenario went like this:

  • A past schoolmate contacted me, said he might be unemployed soon
  • I got him in contact with our company and recommended him
  • He started talking with our development manager
  • Promised to send us a resume, but never sent it
  • Development manager and I talked about him, and his unresponsiveness a few times
  • The development manager contacted him again (it should be the other way around)
  • He got back to us and said he'd decided on a another position

The failure was that he didn't tell us that he'd found another position even when he'd previously agreed to send us a resume. This wasted my time and more importantly the development managers time, annoyed both of us, and thusly made us both think he's an idiot.

Our opinion of him was underscored by the fact that he got a mere consulting / contracting position. So it was a stupid decision on his part given the stability of our company and the fact that we're a development “oasis” in Albuquerque were there are few software companies that offer such a low stress environment.

So, I think there are a few guidelines when talking with small companies:

  • Keep in mind that whoever you're talking to about getting hired probably has other responsibilities
  • Don't assume that they are dealing with so many candidates that they don't care if you don't follow up with them
  • Let them know when things change
  • Try not to irritate them because they'll remember you

If you follow the above guidelines it's more likely that even if you find another position you'll remain in good standing with the small company. Small companies can be great but they have different dynamics than bigger companies. Throwing away opportunities is bad in general, so it's important to keep the above in mind when dealing with a small company.