I’m surprised more developers don’t do this.
But before I get into that…
I thought she was going to jump out of her chair.
It was the first time I’d tried it and, to me, it felt kind of like awkward pandering. I knew my delivery was a bit off and it came out a bit funny… but apparently it didn’t matter.
Her eyes lit up.
She tried to hide it… but several years of sales had taught me how to read people… and she was excited.
I was at a first interview for a job I really wanted.
And, I’d been waiting for an opening. A question that was a natural fit for me to demonstrate I had researched the company. And, she’d finally asked one:
“What about you? What do you look for in a company?”
Bam!
I was in.
So I said…
“Well, I look for a company that has a clear idea of it’s culture and values… and really tries to live them every day. A company that values its employees and really embodies the ideas of teamwork and a people-focused culture.”
I went on for a few more minutes, but…
My entire spiel was straight from their website.
I was basically regurgitating their values statement back to them… just in my own words. I threw in a few examples from my experience that illustrated why those things were important to me…
And VOILA!
I had her eating out of my hand.
It was over at that point. I knew it. She knew it.
It was kind of silly.
I’ve done this so many times since… and honestly, I’m always surprised that it still works. It shouldn’t be that easy. But, what it tells you is people just don’t do it.
- Research the company
- Write out a spiel that shows you value what they do
- Regurgitate it back to them in an interview
Stupid easy.
And, I’m convinced… from having done it so much… doing this one single thing will increase your chance of getting hired… 5 or 10-fold. Because… companies that take the time to write out a vision, mission and values statement… really care about them. At least, they pretend to.
So, when you signal that you read it… and pretend with them…
It’s a weird kind of “hire me” virtue-signalling.
They’re almost forced to hire you… otherwise, they must not really value what they say they do. If qualifications outweigh culture in hiring… then they must not really care about their culture.
At least, that’s what they think…
And, it’s a tough cognitive dissonance for them… that works to your advantage.
But, this goes back to a larger point I always make about companies and their hiring processes. They really have no clue. Some think they do. Most don’t.
Did you know…
- 66% of companies say they’ve experienced negative effects from a bad hire? And 10% of those say that bad hire has lead directly to a loss of sales for their business.
- 80% of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions (According to Harvard Business Review).
- 36% of 1400 executives surveyed claimed the leading factor of a failed hire, outside of performance problems, is a poor skills match.
And, those numbers are roughly the same every year.
So, these companies know they’re hiring the wrong people for the wrong jobs. They know it’s ruining morale and client relationships. And, they know it’s costing them money.
Yet, they continue to do it year after year.
This is a big advantage for you, the hiree.
It’s the same advantage I’ve used to get hired for jobs I had no business getting hired for. Jobs I wasn’t qualified for or had demonstrated to that company I was unreliable.
(I’ve always readily admitted I’m not great at being an employee.)
And, you can leverage this advantage to land you a high-paying tech job… even when you don’t have all the skills required.
And, in Lesson 1 of my “Ace the Interview” series… which I just released on Patreon… I’ll show you. Plus, the secret big tech companies don’t want you to find out.
This is for you if you’re someone who’s not really into freelancing and would prefer a more normal 9 to 5… doing something you love.
All you gotta do is sign up at the “Exclusive Courses” support level right here: https://johnmorrisonline.com/patreon.
Lesson 1 will be right at the top of your Patreon feed.
P.S. If you liked the show, give it a like and share with the communities and people you think will benefit. And, you can always find all my tutorials, source code and exclusive courses on Patreon.
