Well one of the biggest things is education and research, many employers are looking for well educated person and knowing a second language is highly helpful. Researching the company and their clients as well as their services, standing in the field, and they way of business is very helpful when you walk in to the interview. Another helpful thing to do is to find out a little about the person you have an interview with, find their professional achievements and high points they have done for the company and try to have a way to show a coloration between you and them.

finding out about a persons interests when they are off the clock, you will pry be more willing to hire someone who reads wall street journal then the sunday comics if you are in the finance world. Also look at their education and training if they have alot of training in the field beyond the min. then they pry have an interest in. also ask them what they like about the job and watch their body language, words, and energy. if that are buzzing with happiness then they pry are someone that will focus on the job. However, find a balance someone that is too much into their work might get burn out quick and then turn into the clock puncher, see how they balance work and life or is it just work?

in the area of layoffs there has not been many that i have seen other then in the higher education setting, many work programs have ended or limited their number of persons. People with medical backgrounds are getting hired alot, but more in the RN and Medical Assistant areas, also being bilingual esp. with Spanish are becoming strong fields to get jobs. currently 70% of the jobs listed as open are hiring nurses.

~Joey V.~
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Recruiters are actually starting to ramp up in the entertainment business. I think the recent success of Monsters vs. Aliens (and the huge box office uptick from last year) has made the studios realize they need to ramp up now in order to have product in the pipeline in the next couple years. I've seen mail from a number of studio recruiters in the last week. The site StudioDaily also has a number of job openings, which surprised me.

I think the entertainment business is coming out of the downturn as we speak.
Source(s):
http://www.studiodaily.com/main/jobs/

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I would concentrate on existing skills and the candidate's ability to acquire new skills. In the current market conditions, roles are often consolidated due to layoffs or due to a decision not to replace those who have left the company. A consolidated role will require the employee to perform tasks outside their own expertise or simply adapt to the increased workload.

In my own "backyard", people are encouraged to help the business in ways that are outside the norm. Those who are members of social networking groups are encouraged to seek business opportunities and new contacts through social media. People who are versed in forms of computer mediated communication, are consulted in an effort to cut costs through the use of technology. Traditional business is recognizing the cost saving opportunities provided by IT and are increasingly more likely to seek a candidate with a high degree of IT literacy, in addition to the role's specific skillset.
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a) What's your best technique for getting hired in a down market?

I never really had to look for a job in a down market yet, but I'm a firm believer of networking and proper preparation when seeking a job, in any market. Basically, if I had to get a job in this market I would research the hell out of the company that I was interviewing with and the main problems the company is facing. This would include talking to whoever I could about the company (employees, clients, competitors, partners), etc. Then I would focus on one key metric of the company (revenue, page views, profitability, whatever was important to my prospective boss) and I would create a presentation showing how I can yield a positive ROI. If my position had a learning curve, I would offer to work for the first month for free to cover that period. Basically, if you can show that the equation minus is a positive number from day 1, it would make sense for any firm to hire that employee. In short, I believe that you should use networking to uncover job opportunities (not necessarily job listings) and then spend an incredible amount of time preparing for the interview. If you can do more than 2 interviews in a week, then, IMHO, you haven't properly prepared for them. I don't believe getting a job in this market is a number's game (meaning, let's try to line up as many interviews as possible to increase chances of getting hired).

b) What are your favorite interview questions for figuring out if you're hiring a winner or a clock puncher?

The problem, particularly in a down market, is that many clock punchers can "fake it" and pretend they are winners, as long as they are a bit smart. So asking questions doesn't always work. Instead, I like to give candidates a question representing a true challenge for the company as an assignment. This question could would of course vary, based on the position. Here is an example: We are considering marketing our services to the following verticals: government, Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, but only have resources to pursue one of these at this point. Please do your research and come back with a recommendation on which of the three we should pursue and why. If you convince us, you're hired. This assignment would test three things:

1) Raw skills - does the candidate have the skills that will be required to perform the tasks needed.

2) Work ethic - is this person a workaholic that will put in the long hours necessary to accomplish what's needed (note: the deadline that I would give would requires this).

3) Commitment - is this person really interested in the company/job, or is this one of the random interviews that landed on his/her lap.

To accomplish the above, I try to propose an assignment that will take between 7-10 hours to complete and usually give the candidate 1-2 days to do so (depending on if they are employed at the time or not).

I wish someone would ask this of me next time I have an interview!!!

c) What's going on in your backyard? What are you seeing in terms of hiring and laying people off? Who's getting let go and who's getting hired?

What I've seen is that employees associated with either (a) a core product or service that is currently making money, i.e. a cash cow, or (b) a product or service that has experienced tremendous growth, even if it is not yet at the point of being a cash cow, are usually safe. On the other hand, "experimental" products or new business units that are unproven are getting cut. Also, in the small startup world, employees that are capable of wearing multiple hats and performing a variety of rolls better have better chances of keeping their job than specialists who are not very flexible taking on new assignments.

That's my two cents.
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Isn't this really three questions? Anyway, here's my view on the embedded software development career field:

a) Be prepared, know the nature of the employer's business, any relevant technical jargon, and how you best can add value. Know your stuff, be competent, confident (but not arrogant/flippant), and use any interview questions to elucidate similar work experience or problem solving exercises in your past. Ask good questions - don't be overly presumptuous about knowing your employer's exact technical/business situation, but do ask incisive questions about areas that interest you. Lastly, don't dwell on salary/benefits/material details - if you're worth your salt, and the employer understands your value, these will come naturally.

b) I interview on the order of 100 people per year for all levels of embedded software positions, and find people fall into 3 basic categories. First and foremost, there are the incompetents - people who can't code themselves out of a paper bag or count their balls and get the same number twice. These people will have gorgeous resumes, and often very good people skills, but when the rubber meets the road, they simply can't do the work. Second are the interviewees who can solve the problems and write the code, but either have no charisma whatsoever or telegraph that the interview experience is below them or wasting their precious time. Lastly, there are the interviewees who not only can solve the problems and write the code, but can actively talk about alternate solutions, ask questions about how frequently this or that sort of problem comes up in the job they're interviewing for, or any other form of geeking-out. In the latter group, be careful to keep the pace of the interview up and not let the candidate derail your evaluation.
As for the interview process, a little smalltalk about the resume and experience is ok to make the person feel more at ease or break through any initial jitters. After that, though, I prefer 50 to 90 minutes of solid whiteboard time, writing code and solving problems. The best problems tend to be ones that are not terribly difficult, but have subtleties that help me spot attention to detail. If they have past work or school experience that is relevant to something you want to ask, see how deep they can go - you might actually learn something yourself about some esoteric subject that you never get time to work on yourself. Broad questions and some ambiguity are also good, some of which should make the interviewee ask the interviewer questions or make up-front design decisions. Overall, at the end of the interview, I like to have a good feel for the candidate's depth of knowledge, attention to detail, and overall attitude and ability to think on his/her feet.
Take all of the above, and repeat it across 4 or 5 other good people in your organization and discuss the results afterward. Either meet beforehand, or keep a tracking sheet of the type of questions being asked, so as to prevent duplication and get a broader read on the candidate. It need not be a unanimous consensus to hire the person, but do allow everyone a hiring veto, just in case some sociopath has the right skills and also manages to fool most of you :)

c) We're almost always hiring (and no, we're not associated with the government.) It's normally a slow process due to the difficulty in finding people that meet our criteria. The process is even slower now, with staffing expansion only allowed for a few (new) projects. Our hiring is probably split fairly evenly between CS and EE/ECE people, with probably a 70/30 split between Masters and Bachelors degrees.
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Hi Jason. Just saw the mesh conference in Toronto is sold out. Too bad, I would have really liked to see/meet you.

My favorite interviewing technique is to ask who they reported to during the interview and then ask for that person's contact information at the end of the interview, so I know that this reference is legit.

Cheers,

Mark McSporran
Vineland, Ontario Canada
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This isn't a direct answer to the above because now that I'm unemployed I'm starting to wonder if I am as direct in my approach as I had previously thought. (And yes, I tend to start interviews how you mentioned in your email with "May I tell you how I've been able to make an impact at the companies I've worked before?") Maybe I'm interviewing well and just not having luck because all of my professional experience falls into positions that you listed as "most dispensable."

Maybe I'm skirting the question but something I kept thinking about in relation to finding good employees was something I've thought about when I've been doing the hiring:

(1) It's fairly easy to spot the clock-watchers. I don't hire those unless I'm desperate to fill the need, I'd rather find ways of compensating--even if temporarily--employees that can fill the need and help facilitate a better hire in the future.

(2) Key to a GREAT employee is not only someone who is able to describe the impact they have had with past employers, but someone who can demonstrate that they can (A) generate progressive ideas. Even if they don't necessarily have the technical skill to make it, at least have the ability to come up with it and team up with someone who can build it; (B) someone who is able to share their successes and knowledge with others--and this is difficult to come by for obvious reasons. However, knowledge transfer within companies seems to be very low on a lot of radars and I think that if there was more focus on it we'd have some a lot more amazing products and technologies out there.

So I guess a response to the above might be, asking questions that make the candidate demonstrate their possibility and not just their accomplishments is important here. (After all, I can think of a very specific person who accomplished something pretty outstanding and then failed to deliver when he had to. Yes, I'm looking at you W.) Questions to think about might be:

- Tell me a time when you absolutely required help but had little time to show that person what they needed to do. What was your approach in that situation?

- Do you consider your skills and abilities valuable? Which skill would you choose to share or transfer to someone already employed by us? How would you share it?

- If I was to offer you a position, what goal(s) would you set for yourself in your first 2 weeks of employment? first month?
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Hi Jason,

As concise and as to the point as possible.

a) What's your best technique for getting hired in a down market?

I just started a new job since March 1, 2009. There is no fixed technique. It all depends on the industry/company I apply for.

First step to have a good chance to be hired is to be prepared, i.e. to know in advance about company: its history, current state and possible future plans. Second step is to know trends and verticals in the industry the company operates in. Third step is to project yourself (as if you were already hired) into the position and present a possible scenario of furthering towards the goals of the company from your (position's) perspective.

These three steps apply equally for cover letter as interview. During interview, showing charisma, resolution and self-confidence in addition to expertise required for the position will further the chance of being hired.

What is new for crisis is perhaps to show, in addition to those above, ability to work under stress and dynamism/faculty to quickly adopt as a necessary asset for crisis times.

b) What are your favorite interview questions for figuring out if you're hiring a winner or a clock puncher?

Once done with template questions of "where do you see yourself in next 5 years" and all that HR trivia, I like to pose questions which reveal mentality patterns and attitudes of the candidate. I asked a question about Iranian nuclear program to a candidate applying for media/PR position knowing well that she had a political science degree. I gave a Faber-Castell pencil to a lady who was applying for a brand management position. I asked her to market it for me and then to brand it.

Idea behind such questions is not as much to see the depth and breadth of knowledge but to glimpse the mentality and attitude of the candidate.

c) What's going on in your backyard? What are you seeing in terms of hiring and laying people off? Who's getting let go and who's getting hired?

Our company (www.netsignature.net) grew by 30% (in terms of personnel) since January 2009. We offer internet marketing solutions and this, as many an article claims, is exactly what many companies embrak during the crisis times!

Cheers,
Hayk
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I've been self-employed 20+ years, so my experience is atypical. Like, one of your earlier questions was, do you clock out at 5 pm and leave work there? I've always had a home office so work and play and life always blend continually. Thus, my answer to the question is, well of course not.

a) What's your best technique for getting hired?

Finding out what the client wants then giving it to them.

b) What are your favorite interview questions for figuring out if you're hiring a winner or a clock puncher?

Don't hire much, so the question isn't relevant.

c) What's going on in your backyard? What are you seeing in terms of
hiring and laying people off? Who's getting let go and who's getting
hired?

You have to not care what the economy is doing. Most if us just need a few good clients / customers and we'll do fine.

Esp. now, you need to be flexible and to be able to reinvent yourself quickly. That's who will survive and get hired. The nimble. And those who can see opportunity in the middle of chaos.

Which is what my wife and I are about to do. We're starting a business with others that will deal with the accounting and legal end of bankruptcies and bank failures. Hate the game not the player, indeed.
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