Nowadays, more and more employers use the behavioral interview to evaluate a candidate’s experiences and behaviors.  It is a great tool to determine the applicant’s potential for success. In my previous post on how to recruit a perfect software developer I described this interview method already. The question remains: how a candidate should prepare  for such experience? We will give you 12 valuable tips!

Have you ever wondered how much time you waste using social networking sites during your work day? According to surveys carried out in the UK, an average Joe spends around 40 minutes a week which leads to around €1.56bn annual income decrease. Over half of the 1460 office workers surveyed claimed that they use social networking sites for their personal use during office hours.

In my previous post I started discussing the interview techniques which definitely help stimulate an open dialogue with the candidates. I described the STAR methodology which is based on behavioral questions that involve describing real situations from the past. Secondly, I put high emphasis on forming the right open-ended questions that are not suggestive and don’t trigger purely yes or no answers.  Below I’m presenting the remaining 6 techniques that ensure hiring success and help recruiters find the right person for the job.

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the IT outsourcing industry is slowly expanding despite the downturn. Outsourcers continuously seem to be aware of the advantages of outsourcing. But what location do you choose once you have decided to move your IT development to a service provider? And how important is the location, or should you focus more on the service provider?

In my previous post I presented the qualities of a perfect software developer that both fellow developers and managers would like to see in the team members. My survey revealed that being a good developer is more than delivering a perfect and well structured code. So while recruiting a developer we should focus not only on the past experiences and technical competencies. To make sure we choose the right person for the job we need to verify if the candidate has sufficient social and emotional intelligence and the attitude we value. This post describes two techniques to achieve this.

You need to provide a new managed-services model if you want to satisfy your customers. IT offshoring companies require innovative actions if they strive for maintaining the competitive edge. The long term price focused outsourcing contracts are definitely over.

Yes, it is true. Microsoft announced a contest to promote their new idea – Microsoft Marketplace (SkyMarket). Till the end of December you can submit even 5 applications to the Microsoft Marketplace for free. Of course these apps have to be built for Windows Mobile devices. This way Microsoft wants to compete with Apple Store. Are they able to beat it?

It was already in the late 50s when psychologists discovered that IQ was not enough to guarantee a glittering career in life. The research involved children whose intelligence was first measured and then after 20 years the top performers were found to take a closer look at their lives, both professional and private. To researchers’ astonishment, there was no rule that those who scored highest in their intelligence tests succeeded in their lives as well. The question emerged: what does it take to achieve success in all aspects of life? After some years they came up with an answer: Emotional Intelligence.

Recently, I attended a workshops for Managers.  I learned what qualities are required to be a successful manager. Of course, each industry needs its own domain knowledge but on top of this specific knowledge, the qualities that make someone a good manager are more or less similar. What do you think are the most important skills? What does it take to manage people efficiently and effectively and get the best out of them?