The Bald Truth About Hiring a Workday Technologist

I have lost a lot of hair in this industry. Most of it fell out while interviewing "Experts" who fit the culture but couldn't configure a Condition Rule.

Look at my head (ignore the stubby-legged dog and the horrible selfie, if that's even remotely possible).

If you scroll back to my LinkedIn profile picture from 2012, you will see a man with a reasonable amount of hair. Today? Not so much.

Some of that is genetics. But I am convinced that at least 40% of my hair loss is directly correlated to the stress of hiring for HR Tech roles.

There is no harder position to fill than a "Workday Analyst" or "Architect." The market is broken.

Resumes are stuffed with keywords to beat the ATS. Rates are astronomical. And if you make a bad hire, they don't just fail quietly; they leave a wake of bad configuration that you will be cleaning up for three years.

In the Department of First Things First, we need to stop hiring the way HR tells us to hire. We need to stop looking for "Unicorns" and start hiring "Mechanics."

Here is the honest truth on why your hiring process is failing, and how to fix it before you go bald too.

1. "Culture Fit" Can Be a Trap

HR recruiters love to talk about "Culture Fit."

"He’s a great guy, Mike. I think he’d really get along with the team. He’s a total culture fit."

Here is the problem: If someone is a perfect "Culture Fit" for a team that is currently drowning in technical debt, that might be a red flag. It means they fit right into our dysfunction. They might smile, attend the happy hour, and nod politely while the integrations burn down.

Hire for Engagement, Not Just Fit.

To be clear: I don't want a jerk. If you are a brilliant architect but you make the junior analysts cry, you don't belong here. Toxicity kills productivity faster than bad code.

But I do want someone who creates Good Friction.

I need someone who looks at a broken BIRT report and gets annoyed. I need someone who takes it personally when a business process fails three times for no reason.

I call this the "Benevolent Obsessive."

They care so much about the outcome that they are willing to ask: "Why do we do it this way? This doesn't make sense."

That person might not be the "funnest" person at the team lunch. They might be a smidge intense. But they are engaged. "Culture Fit" gives you harmony; "Engagement" gives you a solution. But remember, there is a balance. Don't hire assholes.

2. The "Expert" Can be a Liability

This is going to hurt some feelings, but it needs to be said: Stop hiring strictly for "Years of Experience."

Workday changes every six months. If you hired an "Expert" with 10 years of experience who stopped learning in 2021, you didn't hire an expert. You hired a historian.

I have interviewed "Senior Architects" who can recite the 2018 Workday Admin Guide by heart but panic when asked to use the latest APIs or Orchestrate, or WQL. They rely on their "Expert" status to avoid continuous learning.

Hire the MacGyver, not the Librarian.

I look for the Learner.

I don't ask: "How do you configure X?" (They can Google that).

I ask: "Tell me about a time you broke the tenant. How did you fix it? Who did you call? How much did you sweat?"

I want the person who says, "I didn't know how to do it, so I spent six hours on Community, called a friend, built a prototype in Sandbox, failed twice, and then figured it out."

That resilience—the ability to struggle through a problem without giving up—is worth $50k more than a certification badge.

The Kitchen Table Reality

I learned my best hiring lesson from my 11-year-old, Justin.

Last year, he got into 3D printing. If you’ve never used one, 3D printers are fickle beasts. They jam, the layers shift, and the nozzle clogs if you look at it wrong. Even the good ones.

Last Tuesday, Justin came into my office while I was on a call. He didn't ask how my day was. He was on a mission.

Justin: "Dad, the extruder is clicking and the first layer isn't sticking. I need you."

Me: "I'm working. Ask Mom to help."

Justin: "Mom is nicer than you, but she doesn't know how to level the Z-offset. You do. Come fix it."

It was direct. But it was correct.

In that moment, Justin wasn't hiring for "Friendliness." He bypassed his favorite person (Mom) and hired the person who could unclog a 0.4mm nozzle (Me).

He hired for Utility and Skill. He knew that "Nice" wouldn't fix his dragon print. He needed "Competent."

The Bald Truth

We are managing systems that run payroll. We are managing data that affects people's livelihoods. The stakes are too high to hire someone just because they are the easiest person to talk to.

You need a mix. You need kindness, yes. But you also need the person who knows how to unclog the nozzle when the heat is on.

Hire the person who cares enough to fix it.

— Mike

Director HR Tech | Chief Z-Offset Officer

P.S. If you know how to level a print bed perfectly on the first try AND you know XSLT, you are officially a Unicorn. Please forward your resume immediately. We offer competitive snacks and unlimited PLA filament.