The IT and IS community is huge. There are many different fields in
IT and IS communities just like a state has different cities. Since IT and IS are vast, there are many different job titles, not all of them make sense and this is what makes it confusing as to what type of job to apply for and who to hire.I will attempt to give Human Resource (HR) folks tips on hiring IT and IS personnel, what HR should not assume, why HR should not think that a certification is a deciding factor in hiring someone, and bring to light some of unrealistic qualifications I have seen on job boards.
First thing is to ask an existing Information Technology (IT) or Information Systems (IS) employee to review resume! They have a better understanding on whether or not applicant can perform job. If you have no IT or IS employees, find a consultant in one of two communities – try a company that has an IT or IS department.
Try to remember these simple tips:
-Ask which field within IT or IS applicant is experienced or interested in
-Most object-oriented programmers can pick up another object-oriented programming language in no time - just like assembly language programmers can pick up another assembly language in no time
-Most graphic designers can learn another graphic software in no time
-Don’t assume that a network technician can design or develop your website (or want to)
-Don’t assume that a web designer or web developer can also take on network technician duties
-Don’t assume that a web designer is a web developer and vice versa – although it happens often
Just because an applicant has a certification does not mean a hill of beans. A lot of time, all this means is that applicant could afford to take test. There are many people out there who can do job you have available. To hire someone just because of certification is not only decreasing your chances of finding right applicant, but you are excluding quite a number of people who can accomplish your mission. Don't get me wrong about certifications though, these people have more than likely studied hard to get them, but still, it should not be your deciding factor in hiring someone. How many of you have hired someone because applicant had a certification only to wish you had not done so?
