The Surprising Barrier Lou Adler Says Is Keeping Top Talent Out of Your Company
Schawbel: What are your top three pieces of career advice?
Adler:
- Don’t apply to job postings. Instead you must find someone using LinkedIn who will refer you to the hiring manager. Use the job posting as a lead only. Unless you’re a perfect fit for the job, the chances of getting an interview are 50:1 against you and 4:1 that you’ll get an offer since at least four other people will be interviewed. That’s 200:1 odds for getting a job via the job posting route. It’s better to spend your time more effectively getting referrals especially when your career depends on getting the right job.
- Use forced-choice questions during the interview. The likelihood a job candidate will be asked the right questions is rare. So it’s up to the candidate to proactively ensure he/she is being assessed properly. The best forced-choice question goes something like, “Would you mind telling me about some of the big challenges in the job? Based on these I’d like to give you some examples of comparable challenges I’ve handled in the past.”
- Once on the job, never make excuses. Do whatever is necessary to achieve the results expected of you. Even if the deliverables are not perfect, make sure you get everything done on time. You’ll know you’re successful when you’re invited back on the team for a similar project or assigned stretch jobs.
