Enterprise Architects with service-oriented (SOA) experience are difficult to find and even more challenging to interview. That is not to say that they are difficult people. There are just so many aspects that make up a qualified Enterprise Architect that it is hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
If you are looking to hire an Enterprise Architect and you are not dealing with an experienced search firm, then you have to make the effort to interview the recruiter that will be providing you the resumes of the people you are interviewing. The recruiter’s job is to make sure you are not wasting your time with unqualified individuals who are not a fit for the position in question.
No matter your allegiance to a particular person or firm, just because some recruiter you worked with in the past was able to find you an Oracle DBA or a PeopleSoft Consultant, does not mean that they will be able to effectively locate SOA and Enterprise Architect talent for you.
When I say you should ‘interview the recruiter’, I am suggesting that you take the time to explain the job description to the recruiter in detail. Make sure they understand all the skills you are looking for. If this is a true Enterprise Architect role, then you will be searching for someone with a strong business background, a solid understanding of technology and how to apply that technology toward organizational change.
Finding this Enterprise Superman (or Superwoman…keeping things PC) is a challenging task and the recruiter has to be positioned as your key enabler for providing you only the most qualified people for the role.
How much do you value your time? Do you want to spend part of your day reviewing resumes of people that are completely wrong for your open requirement? Or, even worse, how about an hour in a conference room with someone that is simply not a fit. Your day needs to be focused on driving customer value. That, of course, means that you should look to hire people that can help you drive that vision. But spending time with others that don’t meet your standards is just a waste of your time and degrades your company’s value.
