Before I turn my attention back to technology, culture and corporate management in the next few articles, here’s something a little more mundane. To lighten things up, so to speak :-). Anyone who works in the digital sector and does reasonably well will occasionally receive more or less concrete job offers. The huge shortage of skilled workers also brings a whole horde of recruiters onto the scene, who try to sell anyone who can spell the terms big data, digital transformation and eCommerce correctly. This can sometimes lead to some pretty “strange” blossoms. <\/p>\n
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Digital rock star vs. digital pop singer<\/strong><\/p>\n The rock star analogy is very popular. Two weeks ago, I received another email from a recruiter with the subject line “Digital rock star wanted”, explaining at length how urgently company XY is looking for someone to drive projects forward in the digital sector. The whole email alludes to this analogy. It may seem funny at first glance, but it’s actually not at all. It’s totally counterproductive. Here are a few points why: <\/p>\n Are you serious? <\/em><\/p>\n Seriously now, dear recruiters… Do you really want a rock star? For example, someone like Curt Cobain, who I think is 100% qualified for the role of rock star. A man who had no education, was impossible at press events, missed dates, often gave very poor performances, was in poor health, was heavily addicted to drugs and got rid of them in the prime of life. Whose only merit was to have created ONE really good album (and by no means alone). Or a rock star like Amy Winhouse, who could sing great, but only that and only at the beginning of her career. Or, or, or… <\/p>\n The list of rock stars who don’t actually get anything right is long. So honestly, dear recruiters: What a load of garbage!<\/em> And I’ll write it again right away so that it’s definitely understood: So. a. Garbage!<\/em> <\/p>\n You don’t want people like that. As a rule, they don’t even make it through the probationary period and that reflects on you, which is bad. And much worse: it reflects on the entire digital economy and that’s something that concerns us all! <\/p>\n What you are looking for are rather pop singers: people like Udo J\u00fcrgens<\/a>, who celebrated a lifetime of success and consistently delivered. Luminaries and institutions. Glamorous and not completely free of scandal, but rock-solid creators and performers. <\/p>\n Signal effect <\/strong><\/p>\n Of course I understand that the rock star thing is meant with a wink. I’m not completely humorless. But don’t underestimate the signal effect. I’ve met enough people who think what I know of themselves because they quickly got a position and salary in the general upstream of the industry. These people do think they are modern rock stars and to some extent act like them. But they are not good. On the contrary. They are real bozos. And since most people who hire digital staff don’t really know what’s important either, their recruiters deliver these rather bad people to the companies virtually unfiltered. <\/p>\n However, as “digital” becomes more and more business-critical, it is precisely the most important gaps that are being filled by the weakest people. And yes, of course there are laudable exceptions among recruiters who do a really good job. Take Cribb<\/a>, for example. But the black sheep bring the whole industry into disrepute. <\/p>\n Headhunter emails are a running joke at almost every conference. You almost only get really good people by recommendation. <\/p>\n Agile Code-Ninja for Big Data Multi-Channel Touchpoints for Internet of Things<\/strong><\/p>\n The many recruiters who are looking for development people but have zero knowledge of development are also very bad. And then mix technologies, products and programming languages wildly and put them into the wrong context. Here too, the principle of false selection plays a nasty role. <\/p>\n The really good people just laugh at such job postings. The result of this effect is that only people who are mediocre come forward. I have the privilege of working with the most talented and best people at AOE <\/a>and no one, absolutely no one would respond to such a posting. Reasons why people switch in general are: Private reasons (have a girlfriend in city XY), exciting and challenging projects and clients, a better team, more free time. “Beeing THE code ninja” is not on any list. <\/p>\n It would actually be quite simple <\/strong><\/p>\n As with many things, it would actually be quite simple here too: you don’t need more than an afternoon to get an overview of programming languages, platforms and methods. Then you can already tell the difference between C++ and CSS. And if you can’t do it on your own using the Internet, you can simply book someone who will be happy to explain it to you. It might cost \u20ac500, but compared to the effect of this banal background knowledge, it’s a tip. And to be honest: compared to the agency fees that you recruiters take. <\/p>\n Artikel auf Social Media teilen:<\/p>\n<\/div>