[takrupp]

Technical recruiting is hard, but I think good technical recruiters approach things differently than this. Its not as black and white, everything lives in the nuances:

We are looking for some sort of external validation: A really popular module on CPAN? Graduated with a 4.0? Graduated from Stanford? Hired full time by Google? That is all external validation, and it is something that shows me that other people / organizations think you are good. I really need just one piece of solid validation for me to speak with a candidate and this can take on a lot of forms. In lieu of this, we can administer a coding test if someone is on the cusp.

The second thing I look for is passion: Is this person a 9 to 5 code monkey in it for the solid and consistent paycheck? Or do they love the work they do and constantly push themselves to further their craft? You can almost always get to the bottom of this question on the phone. Journeymen programmers are fine for a lot of jobs, but not for the jobs we are talking about here.

If both of those line up then the candidate is good, and we will represent them. We can't promise a placement, but I would be surprised if someone with both of those boxes checked didn't get at least one offer. They are really hard to find.

[warrenm]

If you're recruiting by people who "love what they do" - that's awesome .. but don't forget they need to have a life and a family they're likely taking care of, too: if you're recruiting for the positions wherein 50 or 60 hours is "normal", then I hope you're only getting single folks who don't care if they have a life :)

The occasional long week is fine - but I'm going to be a lot more interested in someone who is good but expects a "normal" amount of work.