Saturday, April 17, 2010

Hiring(Objective)Hiring

Why Hiring is Like Picking Stocks


Far too many people believe that employment and good wages are a right rather than a benefit in a logical society.

I am sorry if your fax repair business has hit the skids, but really, don’t stay open on my account.

[See the best careers for 2010.]

Notwithstanding all the doom-and-gloomers out there, let me go out on a limb for most American businesses and say the following: “We have jobs available but we do not advertise them.”


There is not a company I know of which, if you could prove to them that you would make them better and more profitable, wouldn’t hire you.

The proving part is the trick. Companies are begging for people to prove their worth.

[See how to turn a job application into an interview.]

Granted, you may not see that when you randomly send off your resume to the HR Black Hole. So, if that process is not working for you, try something different. As my grandfather used to tell me, “There’s always another way around the barn.”

For you near-graduates, think of your career as if you were a stock. People buy stocks all day long based on their view of the market and whether the prospects for that particular company will be better in the future. In other words, Apple shares are trading higher this year because investors are betting that the future for Apple is brighter even than the present day.

[See how job seekers spend their time.]

If you were a stock, would your future be brighter? Examining what you have done in your past--performance-wise, experience-wise, achievement-wise--would it appear to me that you are a good buy, a sell, or a hold?

If you can prove to me that you are a great buy, I will buy you. If you can’t, I won’t.

G. L. Hoffman is a serial entrepreneur and venture investor/operator/incubator/mentor. Two of his companies have traveled the entire success path from the garage to IPO. Currently, he is chairman of JobDig, which operates LinkUp, one of the fastest-growing job search engines. His blog can be found at WhatWouldDadSay.com.

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