Some quick history you should be aware of: Linux/open source may be new to your company, but it's not a new technology. The Linux kernel has been around since 1991, and many individuals have dedicated their careers to its development. One of the first things to understand is that Linux is a community effort and the deep commitment of its developers is the reason behind its rapid adoption. Without the community, there would be no Linux. Since the average turnover costs 1.5 times the annual salary in lost productivity, recruiting costs, and general turmoil, you need to do everything you can to optimize your chances of picking the best player.
Assuming your company is implementing Linux/open source technologies, your job is to find experienced candidates. Reviewing Linux/open source résumés for quality is no different than reviewing résumés for other IT positions. We are all looking for candidates who can do the job. We want to know that they are qualified and can immediately be productive members of the company. With reduced company resources, making the correct hire is now more important than ever.
With Linux/open source technologies, you have the advantage of being able to look at candidates' résumés and get an insight into their experience, even before you pick up the phone and interview them. No, we have not developed a crystal ball that can see into a candidate's background and ascertain his or her skills. But with some research on your part, you can quickly identify experienced candidates.
Experience with open source projects and participation in LUGs or Linux User Groups are two key items to look for. These are not the only things to look for on a Linux/open source résumé, but they are items you can use if you understand their meaning.
Open source projects are usually community-based initiatives. Individuals contribute their time and energy to further Linux adoption. Candidates usually work on the projects for no compensation, just a desire to learn and contribute. That sounds noble, but one of the biggest reasons for this was that the developer wanted Linux to work on a particular product, and at the time there was no formal Linux support provided. So enterprising developers just did it on their own, which I think is amazing and one benefit of the open source development platform.
For a candidate to have demonstrated skills that can be verified is a huge asset when reviewing résumés. Hiring managers want to see an individual with experience programming in C and a storage-related skill set; managers can go to the Web site of a relevant open source project and review the work of that candidate to determine if he or she has the desired skill set.
Since open source projects for the most part are community based, the development work has been reviewed by many different individuals. The code is widely scrutinized before it's included in the project. The quality of experience that developers gain from this exposure is hard to quantify. For someone working on a driver, it takes quite a bit of work to get that driver included in the official kernel tree. You can be sure, as the hiring manager, that when candidates have had their work accepted into the official tree, they have experience that is documented and measurable.
Keep in mind that it's not only developers who participate in open source projects. Many projects have large teams. So a candidate could gain skills with project management, QA/testing, as well as end-user support and documentation. Wouldn't it be great to be looking for a Linux system administrator who has been testing the very technology that you are implementing at your organization. Talk about on-the-job training! You can feel comfortable that the candidate has the technology skill set, as well as hands-on experience with technology used in many different environments.
Recently, more corporations have been sponsoring projects. Many of the larger technology companies that we are all familiar with (IBM, HP, and Intel, just to name a few) have numerous employees within their organizations who are actively involved with open source projects. The companies understand the return that working on open source projects can bring. Their employees have an invaluable insight into developing technologies, as well as the experience from working on the projects.
The following scenario demonstrates the important potential of one's involvement in open source projects. An electronics company located in San Jose was looking for a software engineer who had experience with certain graphics and video drivers. As we began our search, we were flooded with résumés from individuals interested in this job. While sorting through them, we came across a candidate who could have easily been overlooked. Here was an applicant in his senior year of college with minimal work experience. Fortunately for us, however, a section of his résumé was dedicated to the open source projects he had engaged in. To our surprise, he was the maintainer for one of the specific drivers we were looking for. For those who are not aware of what a "maintainer" is in the open source world, it's the person who oversees that particular project.
This experience solidified his qualifications for the job. We knew that by having his code scrutinized by other open source developers and accepted, he had the necessary skill set we were looking for. As a result, he is presently a member of that company's engineering team.
Another area for hiring managers to look for on a candidate's résumé is participation in a Linux User Group or LUG. LUGs are usually named for a city or region. There are user groups for other IT disciplines, but it seems that LUGs offer and provide quite a bit of experience to potential candidates.
LUGs provide great support and resources for problems or questions with Linux/open source technologies. The questions on LUG mailing lists range from the simple to the extremely complicated involving multiple e-mails and opinions. You can see if a candidate is very active and if he or she is answering all types of support questions. This is another way a community resource can be used to judge a candidate's experience level.
The benefit a corporation may gain from hiring someone who is heavily involved with his or her local LUG can be expressed through the following example. A manufacturer in the midwest was looking for a Linux system administrator to take care of its growing network. As a result of its search, the company decided to hire an individual who happened to be the president of his local LUG. With this great support network at his fingertips, he was able to solve some pressing issues with the organization's network through the support of his fellow open source comrades.
Essentially, this company gained more than it could ever have imagined. Not only did they hire a very competent system administrator, but also one with a support network that could not be matched. The end result is a company that is experiencing an unprecedented decrease in downtime.
Open source projects and LUGs are two Linux community entities that give you, the hiring manager, additional tools for evaluating a candidate's skills. While a candidate who has not been involved in either open source projects or a LUG may still be qualified, these types of experiences can make for a more rounded candidate with better access to solutions for your firm.
Conclusion
The world of open source has changed the landscape of recruiting technology professionals. The ability of individuals to engage in open source projects, or the realization of the benefits gained by being a member of a local LUG, are key items that cannot be overlooked by corporations when reviewing applicants' backgrounds. Companies are always looking for ways to determine the competence of new employees, whether through skills tests or obtaining a sample of code they have written. Rest assured, there is not a tougher test that can be administered to an individual than the process of becoming an accepted member of the open source developer community. This will go a long way in determining the caliber of the person you are looking to hire.
Disclaimer
There are plenty of qualified individuals who don't engage in open source projects and/or are not members of their local LUG. The purpose of this column is to identify additional resources that are available to corporations based upon the open source development model.