see, when an employer starts talking about how they want an employee with "passion" I assume they want a gullible employee who is willing to work more for less pay.
Granted, I want employees who will work more for less pay, too; I mean, who doesn't? but the problem, I think, with asking for and selecting for "passion" is that most employers talk about dedication to the company which, I think, usually leads to getting employees who are willing to fake it. I mean, we all know what the score is. The company is going to get rid of you as soon as you are no longer useful (just like you are going to leave if you feel you can get better working conditions elsewhere.)
I think that the sort of employee who tells you what you want to hear instead of what they actually think is incredibly destructive, and I think quite often that is what you get when you select for "passion" as in company loyalty.
I think you can even turn an honest employee into a yes man and vis-a-vis by responding positively or negatively to criticism. (the hard part is when the guy has a point, but it's not really a priority. yes you say "Good point and I agree, but we don't have time to fix that right now" but you can only say that so many times before it starts sounding like "shut up and get back to work, kid.")
I think selecting for people who are passionate about the technology they work with or about their skill with that technology is a fine thing; but I think it's a very dangerous thing to tell business people to select for because they will select for (apparent) loyalty/passion for the company, which I think is usually a net negative.
Granted, I want employees who will work more for less pay, too; I mean, who doesn't? but the problem, I think, with asking for and selecting for "passion" is that most employers talk about dedication to the company which, I think, usually leads to getting employees who are willing to fake it. I mean, we all know what the score is. The company is going to get rid of you as soon as you are no longer useful (just like you are going to leave if you feel you can get better working conditions elsewhere.)
I think that the sort of employee who tells you what you want to hear instead of what they actually think is incredibly destructive, and I think quite often that is what you get when you select for "passion" as in company loyalty.
I think you can even turn an honest employee into a yes man and vis-a-vis by responding positively or negatively to criticism. (the hard part is when the guy has a point, but it's not really a priority. yes you say "Good point and I agree, but we don't have time to fix that right now" but you can only say that so many times before it starts sounding like "shut up and get back to work, kid.")
I think selecting for people who are passionate about the technology they work with or about their skill with that technology is a fine thing; but I think it's a very dangerous thing to tell business people to select for because they will select for (apparent) loyalty/passion for the company, which I think is usually a net negative.