Just “Stuck” Enough?

This will apply to far more than the #DevOps world but let’s focus on our field for a bit here. Have you ever heard someone say: “I need this job?” Need is a strong word, and it usually means something a bit different for everyone. It could be that their new car payment “needs” this job. It could mean their mortgage, kids’ college choices, or just their hobbies “need” this job. Have you ever interviewed someone that said that to you? Please hire me because I “need” this job. Gigantic ug! Could you imagine choosing a spouse this way? “I need you to pay my rent… so marry me… umm… please?”

Some hiring managers may well be looking for a bit of this. It does produce a degree of stability doesn’t it? At least so long as the “need” lasts… The bigger the mortgage the more “committed” the employee. Is that how it should be though? Notice the one thing that hasn’t even been mentioned yet? Capability. Skill. Aptitude. A good match?

Should “need” be the basis for a hiring decision? It sounds heartless to say: “of course not” but of course not! How many others might be harmed for such a decision? Especially the one being hired. It’s very rare that we’re doing anyone any favors by hiring them into a spot they cannot succeed in. In fact we may well cause them to miss a better match.

That all being said however, there is a slippery slope here. I’ve often heard different variations of the line: “If you hire a financial adviser, ask yourself, why aren’t they financially independent, why do they need to work for you?” The same is true in #DevOps, and marriage. The “good ones” are often taken or… they’re saving themselves for the best possible match. Face it, if someone doesn’t “need” the work to some degree, then they’re not likely to do the work. We prefer to look at it more as “want” the work, but whatever you call it you’re not going to have much of a team if they’re only there because they “need” the job & once there, they’re “stuck.”

In this time of technology demand it’s important to align our needs with the wants of our teams. Not just pay scales, but work-life-balance, and even the colleagues we subject them to. The truly best talent are “saving themselves” for the best match. If someone is going to be “stuck” with you, then hope that they’re “stuck” because there is no better match. In fact, maybe, just maybe, you’ll even discover that they don’t “need” you at all… but they “want” the work, the team, the tech because it’s cool, fulfilling, maybe even a bit fun!

Does it still seem so “heartless” to pass over the needy and desperate for their own sake and for the sake of your team? For their own sake because there are better matches out there, a role that they’ll want instead of need. For your team, for obvious reasons.