Read This If You Want To Hire Someone Or Get Hired
Photo by
on
I've been asked a few times more than usual, lately, about what employers are looking for in a candidate.
I've had some friends reach out about specific jobs for which they were interviewing, but I was also just on a panel with Denver Public Schools talking to some of their awesome teachers.
They wanted to talk about what their graduates should know before they hit the workforce.
I definitely was the youngest panelist there.
I definitely didn't agree with everyone.
I definitely didn't want to talk about MS Office Suite the whole time.
So, I told them my own rules for hiring.
Hiring Characteristics I've Hired For:
Aptitude
Aptitude asks: can you do the work?
This isn't about skill set, this is about the capacity you have to learn and run with the skill set.
Attitude
Attitude asks, when faced with a challenge, does this candidate complain, sink into a hole, and do their job reluctantly? Or does this candidate see the challenge as an opportunity to grow, develop a new skill, or survive a new experience? In it's most basic sense, attitude asks "does this person add or subtract energy from the team?"
Cultural Fit
This is a hard one. For some reason, people think that culture is the ping-pong table, the Keurig, the snacks in the office kitchen, the 401(k) with employer match, or the nerf guns. These are perks, not culture.
Culture asks "how will you treat each other when the work gets hard?"
Culture is about treating others with respect, treating your office environment with respect, and thinking about the greater good of the company.
Skillset
This is different from aptitude. This is literally "does this candidate know what to do when we hire them?" For many jobs, this might not be relevant. For some, it might be absolutely critical.
If you're hiring a neurosurgeon, you're going to hire someone who knows what the hell they're doing--not someone who can learn on the job. If you're hiring a construction worker, they just need to be trainable.
My final rule on hiring . . .
Trial Run
It's really, really hard to accurately gauge someone's candidacy in an interview.
Some people interview really well and then don't deliver.
Some people interview really poorly but that skill might not be relevant for the position you're hiring.
So, if someone has what I think I need, on the surface, it's time to set up a small project.
"You can't work for me until you've worked for me."
- Seth Godin
I find a small, low-risk, low-budget project that will test the skills/attitude/aptitude/cultural fit or whatever I'm looking for.
I might also just pick a short time period, like 30 - 90 days, where we have a "trial run."
Either of these options gives me a real-world project that will help me see the candidate's actual work.
Consider this:
Employers are taking a risk when they hire someone. If they bring you on immediately as a W2 employee, they are accepting liabilities like unemployment and onboarding costs. Employers are incentivized to choose wisely.
It's better for you and for them if you both take your time and find the right fit.
It's not a formula, it's some combination of these things.
Most companies/agencies/etc. are hiring for some combination of the 4 characteristics I listed above; aptitude, attitude, cultural fit, skillset.
It's up to the company and industry to communicate what ratio these fall in. This should be evident by auditing your values and mapping them to the company's values.
A scrappy startup is not going to have the same values and needs as a children's hospital.
If all of these things are at least directionally aligned, and you're able to, toss a trial run on top for best results.
Cheat Code:
There's also a way around this process.
It's a lot less work and most of the time it even works better.
It's called a referral.
If someone did a great job for me, it's really likely that they have friends who would do a great job, too.
2 Minute Action:
Even if you're not hiring or looking to be hired, take 2 minutes to outline your values.
Here's a quick and easy exercise:
Let's make up a point system.
You have 10 points.
You now have to allocate them in the 4 categories mentioned above (aptitude, attitude, cultural fit, skillset).
How would you assign them?
That will tell you what you value which might help you in hiring or aligning with another organization's values.
Read This If You Think Corona Virus Will Impact Your Work
So, I'm going to share something you already know but might not always apply.
There are things that are in your control and things that aren't.
Getting really clear on what's what can help you focus your energy on the things that will improve your position.
This might be in your daily life, it might be at work, or it might be in something specific that's going on right now.
The context doesn't matter in this case.
Specifically, let's talk about the Corona Virus.
Yep. Went there.
Things you can't control about it:
- What the CDC says/does.
- What President Trump says/does.
- What the WHO says/does.
- What other people do/don't do.
Things you can control about it:
- Wash your damn hands.
- Assess how it will likely impact your career/job.
- Adjust what you're doing to accommodate this reality.
2 Minute Action:
What's the number 1 thing you're stressed about, right now?
It might not be the Corona Virus, but we can take this important lesson away from this insane situation we're in.
What can you not control about the situation?
What can you control about it?
What steps will you take to adjust to reality?
Read This If You Think You Should Follow Your Heart
At some point, you were probably told "follow your heart and the money will follow."
Please take a second to file this under "well-intentioned, bad advice."
Just because you love making scrabble jewelry doesn't mean it's something that can earn you a living making.
It's not your fault. It's not the scrabble jewelry's fault.
What we're talking about is a Venn Diagram (yes, another one).
You're looking for the overlap in "stuff that makes money" with "stuff that makes an impact in the world" with "stuff I enjoy."
You might not get all of them right away, and that's okay.
You just have to get them in the right order.
Here are some definitions of different overlapping zones of this imaginary Venn Diagram that may help you in your exploration of this:
A Hobby.
A hobby is something that costs money. It's generally something you love to do and something you want to get better at. It may not have any market value, but it probably has some intrinsic value to you because it feels good when you do it. This is something that might only be in the "stuff that you enjoy" category.
A Job.
A job is something you do to make money. It could be something you know, something you do, or some combination of those two. Either way, the idea is that by trading your time doing a job, you get a predictable income, which is generally regarded as a pretty sweet gig. This might only be in the "stuff that makes money" category. If you look hard, you might find one that overlaps in all 3 categories.
An Enterprise.
An enterprise is a totally separate entity. It's bigger than a person or a job. It contributes profit in excess of the work/job transaction. It's one of those "more than just the sum of the parts" kind of things. It's usually a bunch of relationships and work all pooled together for a common vision. By doing this, the enterprise creates more profit than any individual or job could have on its own. This is really hard and you need a lot of things to go right for this to spin up and become sustainable. Some of those things are in your control and some of them aren't. Either way, this might not be in any category, and it might be in all 3.
So, what did we learn today?
There's a chronological order to this:
- Start with something that makes money.
- Then find something that makes money and also makes an impact.
- Then find something that makes money, makes an impact, and is something you enjoy.
We also learned that these things don't even align neatly with hobbies, jobs, or enterprises!
The point I'm making here is that while "follow your heart" is a strategy for gaining fulfillment, it might not be an adequate strategy for creating a life.
So, perhaps, better advice might be:
Follow your heart, but follow your brain, too.
2 Minute Action:
Do you have a hobby, job, or enterprise?
Then realize that no job, hobby, or enterprise in the world is going to make you happy.
That's on you.
So, now what does "follow your heart" mean to you?
Let that sink in for 2 minutes and let me know what you come up with.
Taking 2 minutes to define this is going to increase your chance of making it happen.