In the wake of responses I have read so far, I thought some clarification to my original response is warranted. So, here it goes.
The only true measure of a person's ability is her/his performance on the Job. The job performance, to the most part, depends on application of the knowledge than the presence of the knowledge itself.
Just the educational background (regardless of the level - entry or experienced) is not a true measure. Educational background only proves that the individual has (or had at the time of the examination) the ability to study the prescribed material, retain the content (remember what was studied), write the correct answers in the exam, and pass the test with flying colors.
Just the number of years of experience projected in a resume is not a true measure of one's ability either. I graduated out of college (bachelors) in 1993, started working a year before that (1992). Based on that, my total experience is over 16 years. Am I qualified to be a VP of a small company or senior manager of a large company?
There are three (and only 3) ways to actually assess that. They are, in order of incremental assessment,
1. My resume – read my resume and find out what I am publicly willing to admit I have done in past 16 to 17 years. If you see my resume suitable for the position you are looking to fill, then call me for an interview
2. The Interview – talk to me, ask me questions on what I am stating in my resume to verify whether I cooked up my resume or actually did what I have claimed on my resume, and if we are a mutual fit. If you like my responses and believe I am talking out of my experience and not out of my hat, then make me a job offer
3. Job performance – Once you make a viable offer and I accept it, we are in an employee/employer relationship. Now I am on the job, dealing with real life situations to deliver on the promise as outlined in my resume and in the interview.
Every employee (regardless of the level) is (and must be) constantly on the performance appraisal path (on daily basis). If I am not fulfilling my job description and role, as my manager, you are entitled to give me fair warnings (three at most) and fire (terminate) me if I still do not deliver. This can occur within first 3 months of my joining or 3 years or 13 years.
The above three are the only incremental measures of my true abilities. My graduation from a top school with honors could be an indication of what I “could” deliver. But it cannot be a measure of what I “will” deliver. This is even truer when I have over 16 years of experience and success to speak for my ability.
Assessing a fresh college grad is a little different. (S)He does not have any such experience to show. In this case, while the school/college (s)he attended could be one of the measures as to what they are capable of, there is no substitute for a thorough interview process. Focus the interview on verifying two things – (1) her/his theoretical knowledge base, (2) her/his ability to apply that knowledge in a hypothetical situation. I strongly believe that these two measures must be applied to any candidate, regardless of the school/college (s)he attended. Once you like the levels on these two measures, make a job offer (with either internship, or probation or such), tag him/her with a more experienced person in the same job domain (junior PM with mid- or senior PM, junior analyst with mid- or senior analyst) and help them learn the “practical” and “experience” aspects of the job. See how they perform in the smaller independent tasks (typically for about 6 months to a year). During the next performance appraisal, bring them out of mentee/mentor situation and make them independent in their role (or fire/terminate them if they become a severe burden/drag on the company despite the mentors they are working with).
This, I believe, is a good way of hiring talent. I have seen many companies in the US apply these tactics and attract/retain excellent talent. Yes, today with the highly expensive war that has been dragging and draining the economy for over 8 years, US economy/job market is not very good. But remember, that US economy has been world’s strongest economy generating millions of jobs and attracting talent from across the world for over 5 decades (since the close of WWII). I don’t see why the management in India cannot adopt similar techniques that served well for the world’s last surviving super power. (Don’t worry… I also believe that by the end of Obama’s first term, US economy will be back on trackJ. Less than a year later, it has already started turning around, although slowly. Come’on, it’s a HUGE ship – the turning around of the direction is always going to be slowJ).
Regards,
-Som G