Jack’s Big Three
You’d like Jack. Everybody does.
Jack’s retired now, after a long, successful career at a Fortune 200 company. That’s where he developed a reputation for hiring great people.
I chased him for months to get him to sit down talk about what he looked for when he was hiring. Jack was reluctant. It seemed like bragging to him and that’s something Jack hates. Besides, there were rounds of golf to be played and new countries to be visited.
A couple of weeks ago, Jack slowed down long enough to talk with me. He said that he and other managers looked for “all the usual things.”
But he found three things that he thought were the identifying marks of someone who would do well at his company. I call them “Jack’s Big Three.”
Jack looked for people who had dealt with failure or disappointment. He believes that you can’t have a career without several setbacks. What matters is whether you figure out what went wrong and what to do differently in the future.
Think about times in your life when things haven’t turned out the way you wanted. How did you deal with it? What did you learn? Can you describe those lessons and how they made you a better person and candidate?
Jack looked for people who would enjoy the work of their first job with the company. He reasoned that if you didn’t enjoy the work, you probably wouldn’t be passionate about it and put in the effort to do it well.
Think about the jobs you’ve applied for. Do you know what you’ll be doing every day?
Jack looked for people shared the values of the people in his company. He said that when someone has different values than the organization, it’s like they’re playing the game using a different rulebook.
Think about the companies where you want to work. Do you know what their values are? How do they compare with your own?
What struck me about Jack’s Big Three is that they weren’t about basic qualifications, what he called “all the usual things.” They’re about fit and ethics and work ethic, the things that drive success in a particular job or company.