Tuesday, June 05, 2007

How to determine the best position for a candidate

Put a hundred bricks in no particular order in a room. Said room has to have just one door and one window. Get two or three candidates in the room and close the door. Leave them alone and come back in six hours.

Analyze the situation:

* If they're counting how many bricks are there, put them in accounting
* If they're counting them for a second time, put them in auditing
* If they've made a mess with the bricks, put them in engineering
* If they're arranging the bricks in some weird way, put them in customer support
* If they're throwing the bricks to each other, put them in operations
* If they're sleeping, put them in security
* If they broke the bricks in small pieces, put them in software design
* If they're sitting around, doing nothing, put them in HR
* If the bricks are in the same position as before, but the candidates tell you they've tried different arrangements, put them in marketing or sales
* If they're looking out the window, put them in strategic planning

* If they're talking to each other, haven't moved a brick, and ignore you: congratulate them. You've found the new upper management team !