So You Want To Hire Me?
I was reading my friend, Walter’s blog recently (he is a relatively new blogger, and its fun to see him start to write more frequently), where he talked about an aspect of his job: interviewing.
Early in my career, I interviewed hundreds of people. I ran call centers and had large staffs. I enjoyed interviewing, and it became almost a set process for me. I had my favorite questions.
Of all questions, my favorite still is: “If I were to ask the person that knows you best, to describe you with one word, what would that word be, and why?”
The responses were always all over the map, from “christian” to “super helpful” (yes, I would mention that was two words, and they would rarely be hired, but it was a common answer.)
Back to Walter’s post. I was thinking about some of the points he laid out while buying groceries at King Soopers (a local non-Whole Foods supermarket). I was wearing one of my basketball jerseys (A Sixers Julius Erving if you must know), which allows for a full view of the tattoos on my arms.
Usually, I hate wearing clothes that show my tattoos in public, because I get a million comments. I think my next tattoo will say, “Thanks! I appreciate that you like my tattoos and taste. But really, I am walking because I am trying to get somewhere, which is not by your side to discuss my tattoos.” Of course, that might be a little lengthy.
As I walked out of King Soopers, one of the baggers said to me, “Nice tattoos. Are you an artist?”
“No,” I replied. “But I love the art form.”
“Me too. But, I cant show any of my tattoos while at work.”
As I walked to my car with my groceries, I thought to myself, what are my requirements for an employer? If as Walter outlines in his post, a company has requirements of potential employees, I should have requirements as well.
So here (yeah, I know, an amazing meandering narrative to get to this point) are my requirements.
Dress Code:
There can be none. I want to show up in shorts or a basketball jersey, or have my tattoos be visable, it shouldnt matter. After all, are you hiring me for my looks or for my production?
Smart People:
And not just intelligent people, but people that I can learn from. I want to go home every day thinking to myself, “wow, I wonder what I am going to learn tomorrow.” I want people that realize that I have something to offer, and leave every day thinking, “wow, I wonder what I am going to learn tomorrow.”
Real Challenge:
The company should be trying to solve a real problem. I should be an important part of solving that problem. I should leave on certain days concerned that the problem we have chosen is too big for the team we have; and on other days leave feeling that we have the problem licked.
Focus on Success; Expectation of Failure:
Success only occurs from the existence of continual measured failure. The more one is able to fail in an environment that accepts and welcomes failure as a process, the more often one is able to succeed.
Freedom to Expand:
Its important that I have the ability to be involved with more than the exact job description that I have been asked to do. I want to add value horizontally, not just vertically.
So, want to hire me?
Popularity: unranked [?]
I used to recruit, and my favorite question was: “What do you need–be it from a job or an employer?” It was always funny to gauge reactions because so few people actually think about it beyond the money stuff. A lot of people couldn't even answer. If you don't know and haven't thought about it, chances are you'll get dissatisfied with any new job eventually.
I'm lucky because my current job meets your requirements. I tend to dress up every day still…hard habit to break. I like the freedom to go beyond my written job description. What I think is key, though, is that my employers respect me…something that took me a long time to find.
…or me?
Interesting. I would answer either my dad, who has made Herculean
choices that I have never been able to do; orSuperman, given he has
ultimate power, but chooses to be good. He is also the only superhero
who's secret identity is not him. Everyone else is the opposite.
I've been a recruiter for most of my working life…sometimes for a company and twice for my own company(s).
My hands-down favorite question, one that I made up, is :
If you could be any superhero- either existing or made up- who would you be and why?
Once you tell me who that would be, I will tell you what your answer says about you. (If you are interested)
I would love to, but I think it would work better if you hired me and I could wear shorts, gnosh on ideas, decide on how twitter can save the world, stub my toes, and dabble in everything. I think your post describes my perfect job, so in a word people would describe me as, “driven”. Why – well you just described every single reason and the reason I really enjoy reading your blog.
Keep up the good work, Micah.
I would love to, but I think it would work better if you hired me and I could wear shorts, gnosh on ideas, decide on how twitter can save the world, stub my toes, and dabble in everything. I think your post describes my perfect job, so in a word people would describe me as, “driven”. Why – well you just described every single reason and the reason I really enjoy reading your blog.
Keep up the good work, Micah.