Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter
After a successful interview, the recent conversation with the consultant reminded me of a coaching meeting I had with a young business school graduate a few years ago who was in trouble He was hired as her first job.
The student graduated from an elite business school from her class and has been interviewed. I sat with her for about ten to fifteen minutes and taught her a simple technique to fight against what has plagued the consultant for years.
The consultant told me that for most of her early career, she was told she was so pretty that finding a job was easy for her. This angered her, so she set out to ensure her ability rather than her appearance was hired.
This leads to this lesson:
Stop professional!
As I have written many times, people are not hired purely because of their skills, but because someone likes them. You can trust their thoughts because they can solve their problems and are willing to choose you.
The concept of being “professional” (I hope you find ironic irony) is artificial and removes any human qualities from the interview, which will lead to someone like you and trust you. Given that skill ability is just a small part of why someone is hired, it’s hard to get hired by eliminating personal connections from your interview skills.
B-School students continue to gain ten jobs and successful careers. The consultant spoke to me three hours after an interview and met three people she really liked and was being accepted for a long-term task that could last for years. “I spent so much time hiring based on what I knew, not based on my appearance, that I went in, it was my own and was hired based on what I knew,” she said.
This is a lesson for all of us.
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