I’m often asked by clients who are hiring administrators what they need to look for in IT talent. Often they’re not technically trained and feel unsure of what to look for in a candidate or otherwise figure out if a candidate is trying to pull the wool over their eyes. Here’s a summary of some of the advice I give them. Hopefully it helps you out.
A Compatible Attitude to your Corporate Culture
The number one thing to look for in a candidate is attitude and a willingness to contribute. Candidates must be able to work well with others and be eager to support your staff.
When you boil it down, finding IT talent isn’t that much different from finding any other talent.
Unfortunately, the profession has a reputation of lots of smoke and nebulous magic created by people who try to make others believe what they do is mysterious and miraculous. Not everybody understands IT so many administrators often feel they can get away with this type of attitude.
Walk away if you ever get that feeling of superiority from a candidate. Follow your gut on the person and you probably won’t go wrong. Don’t tolerate the superior “know it all” attitude. Nobody knows everything and everyday you (should) learn something new.
A Word about Certifications
Certifications such as an MCSE or MCP from Microsoft are helpful in that they represent that the candidate has undergone some level of basic training and has managed to pass the associated examinations.
Unfortunately, my experience has shown that the mere possession of a certification does not in and of itself mean the individual really knows what they’re doing. I’ve met plenty of very talented people without any certifications and I’ve thrown certified administrators off my network in the past.
So don’t rely too much on certification. Use it as a baseline, and be prepared to follow up with some vetting questions of your own which I’ll cover in Part 2.
