Looking for a job? Highlight your ability, not your experience | Jason Shen

Summary

This inspiring talk addresses the shortcomings of traditional hiring practices and advocates for a more innovative approach to talent acquisition. The speaker, drawing from personal experience and extensive research, challenges the audience to look beyond conventional metrics like degrees and pedigrees. They propose three strategies: expanding the search for talent beyond traditional hubs, hiring for performance by assessing candidates through practical demonstrations of skills, and obtaining a holistic view of candidates to avoid biased judgments. The talk concludes with a call to action for employers to adopt these new hiring practices and for candidates to effectively communicate their unique abilities.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Only a quarter of college graduates work in a field related to their degree, indicating a disconnect between education and employment.
• 🔄 Many successful people, like the speaker, transition into fields unrelated to their studies, showing adaptability and self-education are key.
• 🚀 The speaker's success at Etsy came from going beyond the standard job application, demonstrating creativity and initiative.
• 💡 Hiring systems from the 20th century are outdated and miss out on potential talent, highlighting the need for innovation in recruitment.
• 🤖 Advances in technology like robotics and machine learning are changing the nature of work, suggesting future jobs will be unlike any we've seen before.
• 🌟 To find talent, look beyond traditional sources like Ivy League schools and prestigious organizations.
• 🏞 The Oakland Athletics' strategy of looking beyond traditional metrics for talent can be applied outside of sports.
• 💼 Hire for performance by asking candidates to demonstrate their skills, as work samples are strong predictors of job success.
• 👀 Don't judge candidates quickly based on superficial factors; get a holistic view to avoid flawed assessments.
• 🌈 Employers should embrace new hiring practices, and candidates should learn to tell their stories compellingly.

Q & A

What is the speaker envious of?

The speaker is envious of people who work in jobs that are directly related to their college major.

What did a 2010 study find about college graduates and their fields of work?

The study found that only a quarter of college graduates work in a field that relates to their degree.

What did the speaker study in college, and what career path did they not pursue?

The speaker studied biology, but did not become a doctor or a scientist.

What did the speaker have to teach themselves to prepare for a career in technology?

The speaker had to teach themselves sales, marketing, strategy, and even a little programming.

How did the speaker get a job at Etsy?

The speaker got the job by reading Etsy's IPO filings, building a website with an analysis of the business and four new feature ideas, two of which the team was already working on.

Who is Brian Acton and what is his story?

Brian Acton is an engineering manager who was rejected by Twitter and Facebook before co-founding WhatsApp, which was sold for 19 billion dollars.

What is the speaker's main concern about the current hiring systems?

The speaker is concerned that the current hiring systems are failing us by causing us to miss out on people with incredible potential.

What is the speaker's first idea for identifying tomorrow's high performers?

The first idea is to expand the search for talent beyond traditional places like gifted child programs, Ivy League schools, and prestigious organizations.

What is the hiring platform the speaker co-founded called?

The hiring platform the speaker co-founded is called Headlight.

What does the speaker suggest as a way to showcase unique skills and abilities?

The speaker suggests seeking out ways to showcase unique skills and abilities outside of just the standard resume and cover letter.

What does the speaker mean by 'get the bigger picture'?

The speaker means that we should have a holistic view of a candidate's background and not judge them based on a single aspect or short stint on their resume.

What is the speaker's vision for the future of employment?

The speaker envisions a world where people are seen for their true capabilities and have the opportunity to realize their full potential, with employers embracing new ways of identifying and cultivating talent.