Ethics of Jumping To Another Contract Job

[James Barrow]

>Mike Starr wrote:
> 
>I've been on a lot of contract assignments in the last 15 years and I can't
remember >ever starting an assignment and requiring more than the first
morning on the job to >get up to speed and begin being productive.

Hmmm...I think that "productive" and "up-to-speed" are mutually exclusive.
The writers that I hired have been productive from day one by editing
documents and translating meeting notes into requirements.  They may not
understand how those documents fit into the big picture, but they're still
productive.

>I'm not a manager and don't even play one on TV but I think if I hired a
writer and >they took two weeks to get up to speed, I'd seriously question
my interviewing skills.

Well, that depends.  When I'm hired I ask questions non-stop for the first
week, mostly those of a four-year old on a field trip:

"Jim, the as-is documentation will be used as reference material."

"Why?"

"So that the developers can see how our system works now."

"Why?"

So if you were to ask me on day six, I would still say that I'm 'getting up
to speed.'

>Of course, a lot depends on the "on-boarding" process... I've heard stories
of >contractors walking in to an office and not having a computer for two
weeks. Being >prepared for a new troop is essential. Not only does the
computer (with proper >toolset installed) and access have to be ready and
waiting but some documentation >of the resources (network shares, help desk,
etc.), style guidelines, org chart, list of >assigned deliverables and
expectations.

I thought that *not* having those things in place was standard operating
procedure ;^)

- Jim