The Best People
It happened to me more often than I liked.
When I was an Executive Editor, it was another Executive Editor.
When I was a Director, it was another Director.
When I was a Vice President, it was another Vice President.
Not that I think there was a pattern. Here’s the scenario.
I’m in my office, finishing up a meeting. One of the people described above calls and asks whether I have time to talk about something.
I say, “Sure, come on down (or up or over wherever my office happened to be.)”
The person arrives; sits across from me; and explains why he or she wants to hire one of the people on my team.
We discuss the opportunity that is on offer. It’s always a great one for the employee. I support it.
At the end of the discussion, I hear some version of this sentence, “You hire the best people.”
As the person leaves, I think, Yeah, I know. Boy, do I know. I get out the most current job listing for the soon-to-be-vacated position and start editing.
I would hire and train.
They would wait and hire from me.
It happened with freelance and vendor help too.
5 Reasons People Don’t Get Hired
An interview or a client presentation is a test. It’s like an oral exam in which the subject is you. When I put it that way, it seems like folks should do better than some folks seem to do, doesn’t it? What it that gets in the way?
Here are 5 Reasons People Don’t Get Hired for that Job or that Contract
- Candidates feel self-conscious about putting forward their skills and talents.
- Candidates don’t take the job acquisition process seriously.
- Candidates miscalculate their value. This could be monetary, ability to fill the skills required, or how common or rare their skill set might be.
- Candidates don’t show knowledge or interest in the specifics of the business hiring.
- Candidates are arrogant, rude to the receptionist, have no energy, or are just not likeable.
You might know even more than these.
The Only 3 Questions that Count
In any meeting in which a person is deciding whether to offer work to another, only three questions matter. Though the questions never get stated aloud, all conversation really is about the three quesions. It’s best if both parties know what those three questions are.
The Only Three Questions
- Can this person do the job? This question is about the job or project description — expertise, skill set, and industry experience — salary is included here.
- Will this person do the job? This question is about motivation, energy, and work ethic.
- How will this person fit with the team? This question is about interpersonal skills, stress management, and communication.
Prove you are the correct answer to all three and the offer is yours. It’s great branding. It’s great business practice. It’s a service to yourself and your employer/client to know what you’re really talking about when you’re talking.
It stops being a test when you have the answers.
Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
