Interviewing and talking

No, things are not so bad at work that I am leaving. I have interviewed a couple of people this past week for my job opening.

I determined that both guys could do the job just from reading their resumes. Sure, people sometimes lie in their resume, so it's up to me to make a decision through talking to them.

I don't really like interviewing people. It's part of my social anxiety. I tend to talk to much because I am nervous. Mike, one of my guys that does interviews with me, said he is going to kick me the next time I start providing way too much detail. It was good to hear that. It keeps me aware of my rambling on.

The first interview was last Friday. The guy had been awake for over 24 hours due to a major software release from his current job. He seemed a bit wired. I wasn't going to hold it against him. He knows what he is doing, but he doesn't know the main tool that we use. There would be a substancial learning curve, but as he stated, he has always wanted to learn this tool. His expertice in other areas kept him in the running.

The next guy I was a bit skeptical about. I feel bad about this, but I am a bit apprehensive about hiring someone from India. I have met some great engineers from india, but I have also known a lot of mediocre and bad engineers. Some of the problems stem from the communication gap. Some people from india speak so fast that it is hard to understand them through their heavy accent. Other parts of my feelings come from the fact that a lot of people from India are very meek. I can't afford to have someone that doesn't step up and question why we do things a certain way.

This guy came in, dressed in a very nice suit. I was in my jeans and a Polo shirt. We're casual in the office. I had forgotten about the interview. Usually I'll wear a pair of Dockers. He was very articulate and extremely well versed in the tools. He had to do some extreme customization to integrate a couple tools together. He apparently did this all on his own. He was not afraid to speak up, and even interrupted me when he knew that I was going to ask a particular question.

Mike was with me for both interviews. Both of us had some hesitation about hiring the first guy. We both agreed he could do the job, but we thought his focus in a particular area caused him not to fit as well as we'd like. After we finished with the second guy I went over to Mike's desk to get a quick first impression from him. His exact words were, "HIRE HIM!!". I felt the same way. We made him an offer today. The recruiter and I are 99% sure he'll accept.

I had originally put in a bunch of stuff here about the discussion that MS and I had for the last few days. Suffice it to say that she needs to get her son back on ADD meds, and probably a sleeping pill (I guess he only gets a couple hours of sleep per night). There was also a lot of concern over our relationship. She is being VERY needy,a nd it concerns her that I am not.

Lots to think about.