--- 
canonical: 'https://mwop.net/blog/13-IT-hiring-principles.html'
title: 'IT hiring principles'
author: "[Matthew Weier O'Phinney](https://mwop.net)"
created: '2004-01-23T08:52:10-06:00'
updated: '2004-09-13T23:16:56-05:00'
tags:
  - linux
  - personal
  - php

---
I was just reading an [article about the Dean campaign's IT infrastructure](http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7372&mode=thread&order=0),
and there's an interesting quote from their IT manager, Harish Rao:

> "I believe in three principles", he said. "First I always make sure I hire
> people I can trust 100%. Second, I always try to hire people who are smarter
> than I am. Third, I give them the independence to do as they see fit as long
> as they communicate about it to their other team members. We've had a lot of
> growing pains, a lot of issues; but we've been able to deal with them because
> we have a high level of trust, skill and communication."

I know for myself that when I (1) don't feel trusted, and/or (2) am not given
independence to do what I see as necessary to do my job, I don't communicate
with my superiors about my actions, and I also get lazy about my job because I
don't feel my work is valued.

Fortunately, I feel that in my current work situation, my employers followed
the same principles as Rao, and I've felt more productive and appreciated than
I've felt in any previous job.