Martin Herrington: I'm Down With H1B... Yea, You Know Me!

Going old school with the title, don't judge! 

STEM  (science, technology, engineering & mathematics) hiring today is brutal as there are just not enough people to support the demand. Without bringing policy into the conversation we are going to tackle the challenge of how to hire around the limitations.

Today’s Quote:

"To maintain their own competitiveness, workers need to attain and stay current on the qualifications needed to advance in a constantly evolving economy."  - Elaine Chao - Secretary of Transportation

Guest Bio:

An avid entrepreneur from University onward, Martin Herrington established a service industry business before graduation, partnered a real estate development company, and co-founded The Herrington Teddy Bear Company to move to the United States, creating a multinational sensation. As Chief Financial Officer and Managing General Partner, Martin was responsible for all aspects of the business including Sales, Production, HR, IT, and operations of the corporation before seeking additional challenges.  Mr. Herrington holds a very distinguished record of service in non-profit organizations in Canada and the U.S. with his most recent focus growing the Youth Motivation Task Force of Orange County. An entrepreneurial graduate of the prestigious Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce, Martin also advanced his education credentials into the Series 7 and Series 66 US Securities Licenses and held the Wealth Advisory Associate role with Morgan Stanley before becoming a Financial Advisor as part of his creation strategies. 

Martin is currently a founding partner and Vice-President with TEKCORUS Consulting, a Recruiting & RPO Agency based in Orange County, California specializing in recruiting high tech talent Recruitment Process Outsourcing Services. Martin has been a Toastmasters International member for many years, and speaks regularly at community events, business meetings, and consistently competes in Toastmasters International speaking contests. 

Show Highlights:

• What an H1 is
• The benefits & challenges to hiring 
• How to effectively hire someone under H1 status

Problem:

What is an H1? 

• Long Term but not permanent work authorization / visa that is sponsored by employer. 

Benefits of Hiring an H1

• Already has an h1b- 
• wider pool of talent
• 3rd party intervention
• Better technical skills/expertise
• Better rate 

Things to be Aware?

• Beware of agents
• Lying
• Different people showing up for different parts of the interview
• H1B is looking for a path to Green Card only 

Quirks of Engineers - Knowing the individual to prepare for the interview 

• Biggest challenge
  • -Technically sound
  • -asking basic questions
  • -build a database of technical questions

How to sniff out the quirks, personality & culture fit

• Problem lies where 
• Creating the right environment for an interview
• Knowing enough about your clients to be able to properly prepare candidates for interviews

Rick’s Input:

• Hire people who are already holding an H1b- Transfer
• Timing is S L O W  - elimination of premium processing

Steps to Hire H1’s

First step - Go over resumes

• Watch for duplication - some resumes look too “familiar” or even identical!
• Look for excessively long resumes - ie. filled with same info. at each job experience

Second Step - initial phone call - screening for good communication skills - can be a challenge and if you cannot understand them, then your client or the team will likely not be able to either 

• Go over each job experience by asking what they did and what technologies were used - making sure that it matches the resume, dates, etc.
• Listen for delays or background talking;  candidate should know all details her/himself
• Confirm relocation details - do they have friends/family in New City; what is the likelihood that they will actually show up in New City? (ie. verify “Relocation Anywhere” and vet out tire kickers. 

Third step - in-person or Skype interview

• Making sure the same person from phone call shows up for the in-person/Skype
• If by Skype - Watch for lip syncing, other people in the room speaking or signalling; 
• Screening for communication, 

Fourth step - get commitment for duration of contract; 

•  If necessary, contact Agency holding Visa to confirm  

Rick’s two cents

• Communicate! 
• No assumptions

Key Takeaways:

• Be diligent in your communications
• Find out Visa details; request copies of Visa/paperwork; allow extra time!
• Coach candidates through interview process