(^14) 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
Add Talents, Not Skills, to Your Team
Richard Sheridan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
I USED To hIRE ThE WAy EvERyonE In oUR InDUSTRy hIRED: skills, skills,
skills. One day an interview candidate threw cold water in my face, figura-
tively, and it changed me.
I was looking to add a new hero to my team, someone with years of Microsoft
experience. Looking over Bill’s resume, I could tell he was perfect for the posi-
tion. He had over six years of experience in all the relevant skills. If I could hit
the right price point, this was going to be easy.
Bill came in for the interview. We talked and I described the projects we had
on tap, and what a perfect fit Bill was for this position. I was sure this was going
well. Suddenly, I realized I wasn’t going to get him. I stopped the interview in
mid-stream and asked Bill what had happened. I told him he was perfect for
the position, but that I sensed he wasn’t coming.
His response was, “Rich, if I wanted to do what I’ve been doing the last six
years, I’d stay where I am. I heard you had some cool, new Java projects coming
up and I wanted to work here because I saw it as a chance to learn and grow.”
That’s when it dawned on me. Hiring by running a “resume versus skills”
match is the stupidest way a manager could ever build a team.
You see, my partners and I got into the high-tech industry because we
wanted to be at the leading edge of technology. None of us hoped to spend a
career recycling the same skills we learned in college. We got into this game
because it would always be about new frontiers and learning new techniques
and technologies.