“I hear you finally extended an offer today for a Project Manager,” I said.
“Yes,” Colleen replied. “This has been one of the toughest searches ever. It was difficult to find anyone who wanted to apply. And, their first question was about working from home.”
“How did you make the decision, that this was the candidate to pick?”
“First, he actually agreed that he would work in the office. And, he seemed really enthusiastic. Said his last job was a dead end, that he was looking for more challenge. I liked his attitude.”
“And, his experience,” I pressed.
Colleen hesitated. “Well, he said he had been a project manager before, so we will see.”
“And, the length of projects he has under his belt?”
“Most of his projects were about three weeks in length. I know it’s not the same as our projects, which last nine or ten months, but he knows how to use Excel, so he should pick up our project management software pretty easily. I mean, project management is project management.”
“You didn’t see a mis-match on the length of projects?” I asked.
“Well, yes, I knew that might be a problem, but he was still the best candidate, and he didn’t ask to work from home.”
“So, tell me, Colleen, what could go wrong on a three week project, and what could go wrong on a ten month project?”