You're finally hiring again. You survived the dotcom crash
and the economic slowdown, and now you're flipping through
resumes that highlight amazing accomplishments at once-high-flying,
cutting-edge companies. But how do you evaluate the resume of a
26-year-old who held management positions at two or three failed
start-ups?
It's a growing issue for entrepreneurs who want to hire
innovative and ambitious managers but question whether dotcom
refugees have enough experience. There's concern these
employees "came too quick and haven't seen enough,"
says John Challenger, CEO of Chicago outplacement and research firm
Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Then there are those dotcom job titles, where every other
employee was a vice president or a director. "Titles are
cheap," says Scott Testa, 37, founder and COO of Mindbridge
Software, a fast-growing 5-year-old technology company in
Worcester, Pennsylvania, with 45 employees and annual sales topping
$1 million. "They may have had a title, but they may not have
had the responsibility or the competence."
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Former dotcommers like Carol Klimas of Phoenix have felt the
heat. Klimas, 29, went from being a marketing coordinator to the
director of public relations at a dotcom that folded in late 2000.
She found herself defending her background during job
interviews.
"People were like, 'You've got to be kidding. How
did you go from marketing coordinator to director?' " she
says. "I really had to back up my skill set with proven
results." She's since found a job as a director of public
relations.
Drilling Down
If a former dotcommer knocks on your door, what should you do?
Start with first impressions. Is this person savvy enough to
realize we can't party like it's 1999? If the applicant
hasn't adjusted his or her expectations, it's a bad
sign.
During the interview, your challenge will be getting to the
bottom of what these former dotcommers did every day. How did they
use their time? What did their jobs involve, and does it jibe with
their titles? Testa always asks how many people they managed and
how they kept people and projects on track.
At the same time, you'll be checking references. But how do
you investigate someone who worked for companies that no longer
exist? To make matters worse, the applicant may have been
unemployed for a while. It's the applicant's job to give
you up-to-date contacts. If you're interviewing the founder of
a defunct dotcom, ask to speak with venture capitalists, board
members and anyone else who held sway over him or her.
Consistency is key, says Carla DeLuca, a former dotcommer and
now principal of Luca LLC, a marketing consulting firm in San
Francisco. "An applicant whose employers have similar, glowing
remarks is usually a good indication."
Learn applicants' views on procedures and hierarchy, and
where they see themselves fitting into your company. Also, ask why
they think the dotcoms they worked for failed. "If a former
dotcommer says the only reason the company no longer exists is it
couldn't secure funding, you have to wonder how much they were
clued into the decisions being made," says DeLuca.
Testa isn't bothered if dotcommers have worked for a failed
company or two as long as they can articulate what they learned.
He's hired four of them. And many former dotcommers have
stellar educational backgrounds. Dotcoms hired the best and
brightest because they could-many of those coming out of top
business schools in the late 1990s shunned the stodgy IBMs and GEs
to join innovative dotcoms.
One Bad Apple
Some bad apples continue to give all dotcommers a bum rap as
arrogant and money-grubbing, and it's hard for "old
economy" employers not to feel vindicated now that the dotcom
bubble has burst. "It's such an easy group to parody and
stereotype," says John Doffing, CEO of StartUpAgent Inc., a
technology recruiting firm in San Francisco. "But at the same
time, they're entrepreneurial and well-educated." Not to
mention creative, flexible and comfortable with risk.
They're also realizing that the onus is on them to show you
their accomplishments. "A lot of people are rearranging their
resumes to show skills and not job titles," Klimas says.
"It's an employer's job market."
Chris Penttila is a freelance journalist in the Chapel Hill,
North Carolina, area. Contact her at chris@sitting-duck.com.
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