Author Archives: Larry Janis

Hiring in 2020

Recruiting and interviewing during the COVID-19 crisis with the stay-at-home order, remote interviewing has become a requirement, not a luxury. Tech tools for hiring such as Zoom, Skype and Go-to-Meeting, have been a boon to remote job interviews. Seeing the candidate is so much better than just interviewing them by phone. However, remote interviews can be more troublesome than in-person interviews.

We had the opportunity to tap into our network of professionals on both the corporate side (looking to hire the talent) and candidate side (the talent for new opportunities) to get their input and thoughts around new issues and processes that they have encountered – and how to improve the remote interview experience.

From the corporate side:

  • You want to show all potential candidates that just because the interview is remote, it is no less professional than if you were to meet face-to-face.
  • Introduce your company culture; your candidates might not have the opportunity to see your office and meet your team. Or maybe you don’t even have an office. So make sure candidates don’t miss out on finding out all about you.
  • Communicate the interview details when remote interviewing.  It is better to over-communicate: this may be your hundredth remote interview, but for the candidate it might be their first and the tools you’re using might be new to them.

From the candidate side:

  • Get to know your video platform beforehand. These days, a lot of different video platforms require a myriad of account sign-ups, app downloads, or permissions on your device.
  • Don’t just dress for where the camera can see. Professional dress codes are expected in video interviews. The best way to guarantee your confidence and seriousness in the conversation is to dress the part.
  • Hiring managers are drawn to candidates that show up curious, so come prepared with a list of questions that will prove you’ve done your research.
  • Control your environment. In addition to properly preparing for your job interview, you have the added challenge of preparing the right space within your home for this important meeting. Find a spot in your home that’s quiet, clutter-free, and well-lit. Download any necessary software or updates ahead of time and test the equipment with a friend to ensure your lighting, audio volume, and the positioning of your camera is just right.

 

 

It’s Really Time To Get Your Home Office Ready For Remote Meetings

If the old saying is that your home is your castle, today it’s that plus your office. And it stands to be like that for months to come, if not years. Employers and employees alike are talking about a new paradigm where remote work has a dominant everyday role. The home office that has often been an afterthought, tucked into a cluttered nook or a dingy basement, may increasingly be as central as a bedroom or a kitchen given the number of hours it will be in use. As this trend seems here to stay, it’s time to really think about your home office as your full-time office and outfit it accordingly for both individual effort and the remote meetings in which you’ll participate.

Because home offices often just sort of come into being instead of arising from intentional decisions, they will have all the necessary equipment, but not at the quality one would want for a full-time workspace. For example, typing up reports and sitting through online meetings is tedious enough without having to do so in an unforgiving chair dragged in from the dining room or unfolded from a closet. If you’ll be sitting there for much of the next year, a better chair is probably a good prescription (or perhaps just borrowing the one from your vacant office). Further, to feel ready to do business, it makes sense to have a first-rate tech setup. A small screen may be fine when you can perch a computer on an office table and type notes into it while watching and interacting with someone in front of you. However, when the screen has to play the dual roles of workspace and the faces of your fellow meeting participants, it calls for something bigger. If you’re in a videoconference where you’re reviewing documents, doing your own presentation, looking at other participants and inevitably watching yourself, a 14-inch screen just isn’t enough real estate to fully or easily participate. (more…)

Senior Architect

The Software Developer III is an architect level position for developers who possess demonstrable experience and skill, having worked for an extended interval as a professional software developer, on production-level software products.

 

This position, the individual is responsible for the technical design, coding, testing, debugging and documentation of complicated software components.  The individual is expected to use best practices; adhering with coding standards & conventions, under the direction of the Software Development Team Lead or Manager.   Individuals within this position will be assigned software development projects of with loosely defined scope and size, with the expectation that they identify and define parameters and deliverable milestones for the project.

Responsibilities

This position requires individuals who are able and willing to take responsibility for complicated projects with tight deadlines and high qualitative expectations, with a reasonable degree of creativity and latitude.

  • Develop detailed technical designs as assigned, based on requirements and/or functional designs.
  • Produce software components, interfaces, classes, functions, web-pages, etc., as necessary in order to faithfully implement designs, as assigned.
  • Create complete and accurate documentation, both within the code being created, and externally as input to the documentation team, or in the form of technical white-papers or other publications.
  • Test and debug software to ensure correct behavior, including unit- and regression-test production and maintenance, where appropriate.
  • Complete assigned software projects on time and within budget.
  • Mentor junior staff members.
  • Break projects down into logical components that can be worked on by other staff.
  • Work with team leads and managers to facilitate progress and identify blockers to achieving milestones.
  • Adhere with all policies and procedures applicable to the position, department, division and larger organization.
  • Individuals within this position will work directly with our clients on software development projects of moderate size and scope
  • Complex debugging of client issues requiring development assistance.

Education & Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field.  A combination of education and experience may be substituted.
  • 8 years or more professional experience, working with production (preferably, enterprise-level) software products.
  • Highly proficient in either Java or .NET.  Both preferred, but not required.
  • Highly proficient with JavaScript.
  • Proficient with SQL and relational databases.  Oracle preferred, but not required.
  • Demonstrable knowledge of software development best practices, including demonstrable practical experience in best-practices associated with software design, coding, debugging, testing and documentation.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to convey technical concepts clearly and effectively.
  • Proficient  with source control systems like SVN and Git.
  • Experience with agile methodology (SCRUM) .
  • Experience with Atlassian eco system of tools (example JIRA, Bitbucket, and Confluence) preferred but not required

Location

Columbia, South Carolina

If this could be of interest, please email me:

Larry Janis, janis@issg.net

Hiring in 2020 from your perspective

With the pandemic, the traditional face-to-face interview was suddenly replaced with video conferencing using tools such as Zoom, Skype and Go-to Meeting– leaving many in the interview space scrambling to figure out how to best assess candidates in an entirely new way.

Since everyone is adapting and learning in real time, we thought it would be helpful to crowd source ideas for improvement from our network of professionals. We can all benefit from understanding the challenges you have faced and the actions you have taken to foster improvement around interviewing.

Below are questions to consider. Please feel free to choose from them and/or contribute your own thoughts and insights.

For Hiring Managers

  • What steps have you taken to transition interviewing to a virtual environment?
  • What have you done to set the stage for professionalism in a virtual interview?
  • How have you conveyed the company culture when candidates don’t have the opportunity to see your office and meet your team?
  • How have you made it comfortable for candidates to be their best selves virtually, especially if they are unfamiliar with your conferencing tool of choice?
  • What have you learned by doing virtual interviews? What tips can you offer?

For Candidates

  • What steps have you taken to understand the company that you didn’t need to do for a face-to-face interview?
  • What tips on dressing can you offer to ensure you and your environment reflects a professional image?
  • What have you learned by doing virtual interviews? What tips can you offer?

Many thanks in advance for your contributions and please let us know if you would or would not like us to use your name in our published report.

Thank you in advance for your time and contribution to our blog. We will send you a link when we have compiled the results.

Please email us:

Larry Janis janis@issg.net

Jeff Bruckner bruckner@issg.net

Integrated Search Solutions Group

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Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Rethink Talent and Leadership

Startups and scaleups worldwide are facing a make-or-break moment with coronavirus, a health crisis with vast and unprecedented economic consequences. Each entrepreneur is in a unique situation, whether they’re well-funded, planning their next funding round or struggling through the uncertainty.

As a result, founders are turning to their VCs and mentors for support and conversations are, unsurprisingly, centred around cash. In the UK, while £81m has gone to startups that haven’t received investment previously, there’s been a 31 percent decrease in deal numbers compared to the same period last year—so it’s a pressing issue.

But cash alone only presents half the story. As startups seek advice on how to weather the storm and find positives in the situation, the conversation broadens. To survive this period of instability, growing businesses should look toward the key cornerstones of success: talent and leadership. After all, the best founders never waste a crisis and now is a good time for them to refocus.

The vision could be great, the founders innovative and cash readily available, but without strong leadership and world-class talent, businesses can’t continue to thrive in this climate. How to look after and manage teams during this time, as well as understanding what staff cuts to make and how, are important considerations that startups are looking to VCs for support and advice on.

A conservative approach. 

Any business plans that organisations had in place ahead of the pandemic are now likely to be irrelevant. Businesses need to start from scratch with a clear view of their burn rate and shouldn’t be afraid to rip up the rule book and abandon existing plans. Startups already doing this have looked to renegotiate their office rents, contracts with providers and suspended online advertising, for example.

Reducing such costs is sensible in a challenging fundraising environment. Deals have slowed down and the Pitchbook European VC Valuation Report points toward a decrease in early seed rounds. New investments certainly have stopped and great companies always get funding, but many investors are focusing on how to support their existing portfolio. The crisis isn’t over yet and, with further outbreaks still possible, now is the time to be conservative. (more…)