What are hiring managers looking for?

as complex as the topic is comes down to one issue, money. If you have someone who is not performing to the expectations of the team then you loose effeciency, if you can hire someone who brings in a needed skill set and adds effeciency then they are the person to hire, they add the potential to add money to the firm (if tghe work is there), and the dead weight must be shed. I some less fortunate cases firms have let go talented middle management because they can employ two draftspersons for the same amount of money. The farther down the company ladder you are the less skills you are expected to have, a successfull business balances these people out and hires the people that can play many roles for the best price.

I would hope that in addition to whatever the position requires, that they’d be looking for skills that are currently lacking (or want improvement) in that office AND a person/personality that is someone who would bring a positive influence, good attitude, and the ability to get along with others! is there a credential for that? I can bring THAT. LOL.

I would like to also invite stories in the “employment storytelling” group.

I think there are probably as many answers to that question out there as there are firms. First and foremost is going to be a needed skillset – if you’re an expert at grading but can’t sketch, and they have an in-house civil but no graphic artist, odds aren’t in your favor. Second is probably personality and attitude – if you’re Picasso and their graphics production needs serious help but you come off as everyone being beneath you, odds are again not in your favor. And that is probably the toughest requirement to deal with, because personalities click or they don’t, it’s extremely subjective, and differences don’t have to be nearly as extreme or obvious as my example for it to be an issue. I think all of the alphabet soup is at best a potential indication of other intangible things about a person, such as drive or interest, and can at worst be very misleading. Sometimes they are a legitimate, needed requirement for a position.

I don’t think people other than CAD operators are ‘fat’. In fact, it takes an LA to generate CAD work in the first place. A CAD operator with no LA background can run the program and draft, sure, even pick up enough knowledge to move a little beyond that, but there’s still a lot to be said for an LA who can design/draft/critically review on the fly. In my experience, even before the downturn, the most highly desirable person is the one who can bring in work. Obviously that’s not overly expected of entry-level, but you do have to start looking at the spectrums of billing rates, tasks, and salaries.

As a side note, if that 14 hour sketch wins over the planning commission or pleases the client, then yes it makes sense. And I’m not sure the trimming will affect quality all that much in general – I’ve seen some plans of pretty atrocious technical quality in public records from any given time frame. 😉

I’ll add this.
All the billability, skill, design ability, and speed issues are certainly important.
I’ll add that I also look for someone who can work on a team, listens to those around him-her, is willing to respond (to a supervisor and the client), and most of all is someone who is compatable with the other office staff and me. When all is said and done, ya gotta work with that individual every day, and some nights, on something that is important to you. And you want to have something to talk about when the hours get long and the tensions get high.

can u provide me more about LEED certification