Internal postings Pt. II

Subject: Internal postings Pt. II
From: Patti Waterbury <waterbp -dot- csc -at- MHS -dot- ELAN -dot- AF -dot- MIL>
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 1994 16:15:00 PST

Form: Memo
Text: (40 lines follow)
Kelly K. Hoffman writes:

>Or is it simply that your experience has been that internal candidates
aren't as >qualified as externals? If so, it strikes me that this is a
symptom of a *much* >larger problem.

My problem with internal postings is that, at least at my company, they
often overlook weaknesses that the internal person may have. It is easier
for Human Resources to transfer somebody in than go through all the
paperwork of bringing someone in from the outside. My story of the job
where only one person was interviewed and my outside friend was overlooked
is a prime example. The one person who was interviewed and hired for this
writing position had been the project manager's secretary. While she may
be a whiz in the software, that doesn't make you a writer (I do know her
personally.). My friend who applied for the position was probably
overqualified, if anything.

We have this problem in my department (Technical Literature Production).
When we put out a requisition for a new editor or writer, management
usually ends up selecting somebody's secretary or administrative assistant
(who *deserves* a promotion) rather than someone from the outside who may
actually know something about editing and writing. Part of this is that
our managers don't really know what we do and just concentrate on software
skills, but a lot of it is political pressure.

I don't have a problem with internal posting and hiring if the candidates
are reviewed like any other candidates would be reviewed. In fact, very
soon I will be moving to a different department because I applied for a
transfer to another position.

Does anyone else have this problem??

Patti Waterbury

waterbp -dot- csc -at- mhs -dot- elan -dot- af -dot- mil or PattiW47 -at- aol -dot- com


Disclaimer: These scribblings are my personal opinions and don't
represent my company's opinions.

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