Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Some people seem to have it naturally, so perhaps it's a form of applied empathy.
You can certainly improve it by studying a blend of disciplines, particularly the
social sciences, and by working on lots of different real-world problems.
Gutierrez:
How do you hire for creativity?
Tunkelang:
As far as creativity, we evaluate it by asking candidates about
open-ended problems that we've worked on. Good candidates figure out
some of the paths we discovered. The best ones surprise us with ideas we
haven't thought of. And sometimes they join us and work on these problems
and ideas.
Gutierrez:
Does being at LinkedIn make it easy to do hiring?
Tunkelang:
It's incredibly difficult to find people with the right combinations
of skills and attitude. We've done our best to optimize the hiring process to
identify them. However, finding them isn't enough, as these rock stars typi-
cally have offers from all of the big-name Silicon Valley companies. So when I
speak with them, I do my best to figure out their professional aspirations and
whether we're in a position to fulfill those aspirations through opportunities
at LinkedIn. Hiring is an intensively competitive process, especially here in
Silicon Valley, but it's a very exciting one.
Gutierrez:
What attitude do you look for in candidates?
Tunkelang:
A passion for problem solving, of course, but also a humility that
places the value of the work above their personal ego. The best people I've
work with take extraordinary pride in their work, but leave their egos at the
door, which is especially important when we work together as a team or with
other teams.
Gutierrez:
How do you figure out a potential employee's professional
aspirations?
Tunkelang:
I ask them, of course. But most people have a hard time figuring
out what they want for dinner, let alone where they see their careers taking
them in five years. So I try to paint different pictures of career trajectories and
see what resonates with them.
Gutierrez:
When looking to hire, how do you evaluate someone's technology
experience?
Tunkelang:
I ask them about projects they've worked on and what tools
they used for those projects. I don't care so much about which technolo-
gies they've used, as about whether they made informed choices. I look for
people who adapt to new technologies when they need to, whether that
means learning a new programming language or building on top of a new
computing framework.
