Hiring process reform Options

[radhikaeatsraman]

Many people have been complaining about the politics of the hiring process and how it needs to be changed. Mike (dispn0ygonekrazy) and I were talking in the cB chat about the state of this site and how it could change if applications were (almost) anonymous.

The process could work the same as CreateSecret, where a separate anonymous e-mail address receives the applications. Afterwards, a separate cB account starts a thread with all the applications. Only the administrators & mentors would have access to who the applicants are.

Applicants could state their usernames, but they would not be shown to the community. Rather, numbers would be given to each applicant. If applying for Design Staff, samples of work would be included in the application along with coding, if necessary.

People Staff candidates would also be judged based on their application, not post count or connections to current moderators. Again, only the administrators & mentors would have access to the applicant's identities, and numbers would be used in the POSTED applications. Administrators & mentors would have access to their usernames & post counts.

Interview questions/answers would be given in the application itself, along with the required paragraph.

This anonymous applicant process would be a much better alternative to our current one, which encourages dirty politics and petty fights between people. Applicants should be judged not by their username, but by their merit.

edit: Elimination of the "cB applications discussion thread" in The Lounge would also ensure a much less politically-charged process.

[Jeng]

Yea this sounds like a good idea, being it based on being anonymous. Having it based on just the applications itself which only the mods can see. YAHHH good idea raddy and mike


BUTBUT eidtedit///

[radhikaeatsraman]

^Well, admin/mentors would have access to their account profiles, and they could put their post count/status in the applications along with their number. Besides, even if they are new, if they show they have the skills, they should be hired.

[*digitalfragrance*]

I think it is very important to know who the person is that is applying. Imagine if someone that was bent on ruining cB but a goody-two shoes application up = CHAOS!

[radhikaeatsraman]

^Well, the admins/mentors would have access to the applications, so at least SOMEONE would know who was applying. They could weed out any bad applications (i.e. joke apps, people who didn't follow directions, etc) and then post the qualifying apps. PPD & post count should NOT be taken into account when reading through apps/posting them.

Here's an example of a posted application in my model:

Application #1
PPD- 5.2
Status - Official Designer
Position - Design Staff

<Their paragraph would go here>

then...

<Interview questions here>

then...

<Work samples here>

[freeflow]

I don't see anything wrong with it, but I don't really like the entire anonymous idea because I know the goal is to keep out the arguments and dirty events that occur but if it happens, it happens. Its not a great thing and people really shouldn't gang up on one person because of how they feel but its the community feedback on the process so to speak. If we went along and hired people with out at least some community feedback its not exactly fair. The community as a whole deserves some say . Hence why the cB application disc. thread should not be deleted. Whether or not your process is used it should still stay there. If the apps are going to posted with numbers or not the community should still be allowed to comment them. Plus if people go and post " My applications is ____ one and I don't care if you know or not" then either way they'll get comments or not.

Another thing, sometimes people like to tell others to apply because they think they should. I mean this is really not a concern but I'm saying keeping it anonymous has its points.. but its also seems like we're just trying to hide things from everyone else.

Admins would also not be the only ones with access to the names. The rest of the mods would need to have them too. So it wouldn't be so "secretive". It'd just be keeping the names from the community while the entire staff and mentors had them.

Interview questions via application? I say no to this. Whether or not your idea is used they should still be interviewed with a member of the staff team. The point of the interview , is to allow them to be interviewed with a moderator they do not know personally or not familiar with. It not only allows us to know them personally but it can be taken as a "bonding" experience for some. (FOR SOME!) Either way the mods are all going to end up having the names because all moderators have the opportunity to conduct the interviews so pretty much it'll seem like this whole process is to keep the names from the community.

Either way you do it the same aspects are going to occur. The only thing you might loose is a few arguments here and there. But just because we try to keep it anonymous it doesn't mean people will keep their application a secret which can end up causing the same things that happened this time around. Not saying I support was has taken place unfortunately but its feedback.

Members deserve to give their opinions on the applications with out them being anonymous. We shouldn't have to hide everything about the person to get them hired. The thing is if arguments occur and a bunch of crap goes on with that person... that does not mean they're not getting hired. (Unless they remove their application). Admins make the final decision and if people gang up on a certain person OH WELL , because that is not the only thing that comes into hiring someone. As I'm sure you already know.

Anyways, my point is. This has its highlights but we shouldn't have to be secretive about the hiring policy. Community = key. People chosen have to moderate the community we're not trying to cause more drama than we obviously DO NOT need by keeping it a secret. Sometimes the discussion thread works to an advantage. It allows for the admins and everyone else to see different sides of people. Some good and some are not as good. But still its best as it is now in my opinion. Hiding anymore doesn't seem like it will help this place one bit.

Thats just my opinion. Good idea but I'm more of a fan for the current system *shrugs*


Edit -
PPD & Post Count... Well you said it shouldn't matter but then you included it in your sample. Anyways not my point. Point is PPD isn't the MAIN factor that helps decide who gets hired or not. Obviously post count isn't the case. In the past many have been hired with out the set PPD and/or the set post count. Even if the person has a low PPD their posts are still looked at. The PPD number doesn't judge anything. It gives an idea but still no one is going to go... you have a 1.5 ppd you're not active enough. Thats crap because the person could of been gone for a while and so on. Posts would be looked at anyway to see if they've been around. So really PPD doesn't even count really in the first place. Even though it says it in the application thread , just because an applciant doesn't have the set PPD doesn't mean they are not qualified. So either way I don't see how that has much to do with the anonymous policy or how it helps differ from the current.



Oh and what Rachael said.

[Simba]

I think it is very important to know who the person is that is applying. Imagine if someone that was bent on ruining cB but a goody-two shoes application up = CHAOS!

Right.

There's much more to be taken into consideration than the applications. And it's not too hard to make a good, persuasive application; you don't even have to be telling the truth.

If you (general) can't even handle the "drama" or what not of applying for staff, maybe you should reconsider the pressure and stress of actually being on staff.

Post count/PPD should definitely be considered when choosing staff members. If you have only ten and a half posts here, you probably shouldn't be applying. PPD, or activity, rather, is also important. You probably shouldn't be applying if you just got back from a ten month hiatus. Other than that though, post count and PPD are very minute factors in the hiring process. Someone with 10,000 posts isn't going to have a better chance of getting hired than someone with only 1,000 posts (when only looking at post counts).


And I would have written more, but Toya just posted, so I'll just let you use your time reading that. =P

[brooklyneast05]

Plus if people go and post " My applications is ____ one and I don't care if you know or not" then either way they'll get comments or not.

agreed
while i think it has benefits, i find it really hard to believe that it would actually stay anonymous

[Simba]

while i think it has benefits, i find it really hard to believe that it would actually stay anonymous

And then there's that. It's especially hard to stay anonymous for Design Staff applicants, because some people have very recognizable styles of designing.

And then there's that chit-chat that goes around in the cB Chat.

[freeflow]

That and people put their names on their graphics.....or "examples". Whatever you want to call them.

Thats another thing I want to bring up. Design Staff shouldn't be required to post samples either. Unless it was optional. There is more to design staff than being able to design. Some people are more on the coding + helping side of the wheel rather than being an amazing designer. And vise versa of course. You said if necessary. So nevermind.

[*shotgunFUNERAL*]

If you (general) can't even handle the "drama" or what not of applying for staff, maybe you should reconsider the pressure and stress of actually being on staff.

if i remember correctly, they just asked you to be on staff. don't speak on things you haven't been through.

on topic, admins/mentors/whoever else have the final say of who's hired, so there's not point of doing it anonymously if they know who you are especially if they say who is in and who is out.

[*alovesopure*]

if i remember correctly, they just asked you to be on staff. don't speak on things you haven't been through.

That is correct, but at the same time, Archie is right.

on topic, admins/mentors/whoever else have the final say of who's hired, so there's not point of doing it anonymously if they know who you are especially if they say who is in and who is out.

But yeah, I'd have to agree with this. And like Toya said, it wouldn't stay completely anonymous.
Plus it seems pretty... complicated. haha