The claim that almost all interviewers make – that experience outweighs talent – does not necessarily hold when hiring developers in Telecom and Multimedia. While we acknowledge the importance of experience during our recruitment process, our niche domain and exclusive clientele demand a unique skillset and specialization. In our experience to find someone who has experience in the Multimedia domain and knowledge about OOP concepts & Algorithms is highly improbable. Thus, we always ask our recruiters whether they should focus on talent or look for experience, keeping the best interest of Rebaca in mind.
Experience or Talent?
Struggling or looking for jobs with MBA degree? Here is what you are missing- Experience is knowledge gained by working at a task over a long period. Talent, on the other hand, is an inborn or acquired aptitude for a particular kind of work. An individual with a knack for C++ or Java will be able to pick up our work and focus more on training and development in the domain. On the other hand, an experienced person will understand the nuances of the job and foresee roadblocks, thus saving the organization time and money. Industry stalwarts are mixed in their opinion on the subject as well. While Laszlo Bock of Google Inc. upholds experience, Mark Roberge of Hub Spot believes that freshers are the better bet since they are malleable and trainable.
Ideally, an employee with the ability to learn and grow with the industry and substantial experience in a dynamic field would be the perfect fit. But here at Rebaca often times, we are at the crossroads.
Knowledge not Numbers
The technology turnover rate is shorter with every generation in the IT sector. The industry as a whole is changing at a rapid pace, as is the demand for newer technologies with intuitive features.
“The millennial consumers and their need for instant gratification, demand faster service rollouts which are dependent on an agile team of developers working on a deadline.”
To fulfill this need, hiring developers in Telecom and Multimedia who are talented produces better results over hiring for experience as far Telecom and Multimedia go.
Qualification
When it comes to hiring developers in Telecom and Multimedia, what we look for in software engineers apart from experience or talent is their qualification. The right education can foster talented individuals, developing expertise in specialized aspects of development – say Java – or a particular concept or culture – say DevOps. Practical applications and a logical bent of mind account for better performance on the job. While books impart knowledge of the subject matter, the practical application encourages an analytical mind. At Rebaca we are always looking for thought leaders, who like to challenge themselves and the organization. We are a mid-sized company working on a very niche domain. Our entire organization is encouraged to learn and grow at the job.
“As the industry evolves, our employees need to be adaptable enough to keep up with the changing customer requirements. An individual needs to have a passion to thrive to keep up with our driven work culture.”
Niche Requirement in Software Design
When hiring for software developers, our recruiters often lookout for specialized skill sets – say Telecom deployment with diameter and virtualization. Here, they are looking for a specific field of knowledge and specific talent. When providing IT solutions, businesses target certain specifications provided by the customers rather than a specific group or type of consumer. Companies that work on niche solutions require niche talent. In such situations, interviewers may be hard put to find both experience and knowledge in the same package as such, knowledge scores an easy victory over experience.
New Blood New Knowledge
As technology advances, old technology and applications become obsolete. While experienced people may be extremely knowledgeable and talented in their niche, newbies bring a better understanding about the new technology to the table which is far more valuable to a recruiter who is hiring for DevOps or Telecom, both of which require specific skill-sets. For example, robotics and IoT, which are recent developments, may sound like Greek and Latin to a developer who learned his lessons in the nineties or even in the early 21st century even though he may be skilled in other areas such as OOP and cloud computing. It is for this reason that recruiters often prefer to hire a talented but inexperienced youth rather than a seasoned and experienced developer.
Conclusion
When hiring developers in Telecom and Multimedia, recruiters look for specific skill sets depending on the need of the hour. Therefore, they hire based on a completely customized checklist irrespective of whether the candidate is experienced or talented.
