Re: degree requirement / employment / careers

["William Washington III" <w.washington@xxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
<<snip>>
> What concerns me most is the statement "every time I start a new job
> ...".  One of my customers said it best ...
>
> "GIVE ME TWO EMPLOYMENT CANDIDATES ... ONE WITH 20 YEARS IN ONE JOB & THE
> OTHER WITH 20 YEARS IN 10 JOBS ... I WILL SHOW YOU ONE INDIVIDUAL WITH 20
> YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND THE OTHER WITH TWO YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ... THE
> DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE ONE WITH 20 YEARS IN ONE JOB LIVED THROUGH THE
> ENTIRE LIFE OF THEIR PROJECTS".
>
> As an employer, we are VERY careful with folks with a string of 2 year
jobs
> on their resume.   We are also VERY careful with the distance that an
> employee will have to commute to our offices.  We give technical tests for
> all programmer candidates to measure their general level of skill /
> knowledge.  These issues are MUCH more important than whether the person
> has a degree.
<</snip>>

When I was an employee for a service company, my manager would always ask of
someone with more than 6 or 7 years at one job whether or not they really
have that experience (6 years +) or do they really have one year of
experience over and over.  Other folks have told me that if someone stays in
one position for an extended period of time, knowing how companies give
salary increases and all, it may indicate a lack of marketable skills (or
worse, lack of smarts).

I guess that it really comes down to the reason a person went to another
company.  It is much more preferable to go to another company for an
opportunity to do something new that to leave a company to get out of a bad
situation.  Some folks like steady, routine work.  Others like variety,
newness.  Neither is good or bad, but you have to slot them for the correct
position.

My way of thinking is if there is a "flight risk", the prospective employee
must jump thru more hoops to get in (degreed, show they can stick with a
job, etc.)  If someone just wants to be a programmer, I'd loosen up on the
degree requirement.  (But those types are the 1 year experience, many years
type.)  But you can only go as far as company policy lets you...

William

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