Don t Assume That You Know What Got You the Job

Dont Assume That You Know What Got You the Job

One of my clients , a large apparel company, was looking for an experienced programmer who could support a very complex and critical warehousing and distribution function. As a programmer who had already worked on that hectic and business-critical function, which shipped millions of dollars of product every day, my perspective was that the company simply needed someone really good.

But one day, walking past the office of the IT manager, I heard her discussing the job with a staffer from the Human Resources department. Whats the key hiring requirement? the HR person asked. The answer stunned me: We want a programmer with an even disposition.

Obviously, the manager considered skill a given. She had gone to the next levelfinding a person whose behavior had shown that he or she could deal with the stress of the job, and do so without stirring up the environment.

If you were the person hired for the job, you might never know the final deciding factor that brought you through the front door. Dont act as if you do.