We were trying to help a young friend of the family with his job search (before and after insisting he meet with Matt Youngquist at Career Horizons). Whether it’s just him or because he’s a millennial but he was pretty full of himself. We think his attitude was (is), “I’m smart, I’m cool, and I’m in digital marketing so companies will be chasing me.” His effort reflected this.
I kept telling him it’s expensive for companies to make a hiring mistake. No matter how good someone is, they’re going to take their time, do multiple interviews, and thoroughly vet everybody. He never seemed to get this.
Which brings me to the topic of this memo. It’s hard to predict results. Sports are exciting because of upsets. The person with a chip on their shoulder often turns out to be the best employee.
- With all the pre-employment tests, interviews, background checks, and more, it’s still a crapshoot. I remember helping a client as he hired a supposed super-star salesperson in his industry. Everything, and I mean everything, aligned the way you’d want it to. And the guy was a bust.
- When I’m coaching or mentoring people new to the advisory world I hear all the right things when it comes to marketing. Then the real-world hits. I remember one of our Partner On-Call franchisees who said all the right things but couldn’t get over the barrier of, “I’m selling myself not a big company.” He couldn’t handle being the guy at the desk where the buck stops.
- In the buy-sell world it’s always tough. The seller must, absolutely must, feel the buyer can successfully run their baby, I mean business. The buyer must trust the seller to the extent they feel everything is on the up-and-up, so they’ll have every opportunity to take over and run with it.
The above is why when you find a good person, keep them. When you find a good business strategy, implement it. And when you find what works for you so you’re productive and happy, go for it.
“Never think you’ve seen the last of anything.” Eudora Welty
