Certification - September 2008 - (Page 31)

Collabera also can leverage these lessons learned in a way that significantly benefits the company and its clients. “There are lots and lots of different ways in which .Net is used and lots of different types of applications with different scale and complexity,” Elder explained. “So we try to dig deep into that mid-tier person [to learn] how they’ve used technology and what creative ways they’ve seen technologies used in the market that could potentially add value for our clients.” A degree also signals to employers that the person in question has experience thinking critically on his or her feet. This pertains particularly to college recruits, who typically have little experience to fall back on. For this reason, when Collabera interviews job candidates, the company works to “evaluate what it is that they actually learned in getting that degree,” Elder said. One of the ways the company does this is through the “situational interview,” Elder said. Once a potential hire has passed Collabera’s rigorous technical screening process — which typically consists of online testing, coupled with an interview with a senior member of the technical staff — the candidate is presented with a real-world problem that the company is dealing with. He or she must think through the issue on the spot and offer a solution. “It’s a way for us to be able to judge how somebody thinks, how they go about solving problems and how they arrive at solutions, and how they defend why they think that is — all things considered — the best way to go,” he said. The situational interview also presents an opportunity for the potential hire to demonstrate soft skills. “What we really view as the secret sauce within our organization is our ability to marry the technical capabilities and technical skills with the soft skills,” Elder said. “For us, it’s a real differentiator. [The] ability to see around the corner and help solve problems, that’s a core part of our business.” Another core element is Collabera’s dedication to integrity, which is one of the company’s stated business values. For this reason, a number of the newhire interview questions are intended to gauge a person’s ethical compass, Elder said. “That determines whether or not they’re a fit long-term within our organization,” he said. If the candidate is indeed deemed to be a long-term fit, the real adventure begins. Each new hire sits down with Collabera staff and charts out a career path based on personal preferences. “We look at that career ambition over a five- to eightyear horizon [and] map out for each of those individuals how you get from A to Z,” Elder said. For example, if a new hire with software development experience says he wants to be an enterprise architect, “We will chart out a path that allows him to be involved 80 percent of the time [in] enhancing his software development skills. And 20 percent [of the time], we’re going to start moving him into more strategic-level discussions around architecture,” Elder said. It’s also possible for an IT pro at Collabera to move into program management or business analysis, Elder said. The company will plot out the employee’s best course of action and offer related opportunities. Of course, new hires aren’t locked into their career choices and their profiles can — and likely will — change over time. But each year, based on the career paths delineated, the company sets aside a certain number of training dollars. Some of the training is corporatemandated, some self-directed, but all is valuable. “It involves not just technical certifications, but also some softer elements, as well,” he said. That’s because Collabera recognizes the inherent value in investing long-term in its employees. After all, that investment, combined with the company’s unique approach of leveraging its employees’ real-world experiences and building a culture of “shared commitments” with clients, has a distinct positive impact. Not only does it help employees feel valued and create opportunities for growth and advancement, but it ultimately improves the quality of service to clients, helping the company toward its vision of building clients for life. 8 – Agatha Gilmore, agilmore@certmag.com September 2008 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE 1 http://www.microsoft.com/NET/

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Certification - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Virtual Village Tech Careers Dear Techie Troubleshooting Academic Connection What We Like Look Ahead So You Want to Be an IT Major The Title Is Information Officer… Chief Information Officer Interface Network Administration: Working From the Ground Up Inside Certification Ad Index Endtag

Certification - September 2008

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