Trusting Your Intuition While Hiring and Getting Hired

Show perspective, not pedigree.

Recently, our CEO Karen Kaplan wrote a great piece that was featured in The Huffington Post titled: "How to Get Hired: Show Perspective, Not Pedigree." In this article, she covers various aspects in hiring the right person. Aspects like diversity, character, openness, collaborative, someone who is comfortable with the uncomfortable, confident yet humble and most importantly willing to work hard.

Kaplan writes, "One of the founding fathers of the advertising industry, Bill Bernbach, once said, "Throw out the resume. Hire on character." He believed -- and I do, too -- that you can hire smart people, or you can hire nice people, but the way to win is to find ambitious, curious people who are both smart AND nice."

This is not new thinking by any means, but we are in the age of highly qualified, skilled, over educated people entering our lives constantly. You are probably one of them. So what will help you get the job vs. that next person. You, as a person. The smile you may have, the warmth you bring to a room, the calmness that you may present while explaining a complicated process.  I guess it's just called being human.  These are the people who will succeed and move through the ranks.

"Priya has a tough time with numbers and grasping concepts, it's best not to expect too much from her." 

I'm one of those folks that did well in life not due to my stellar academic background, in fact I still have a report card somewhere from middle school where my math teacher stated "Priya has a tough time with numbers and grasping concepts, it's best not to expect too much from her." Yah, awesome freakin teacher - isn't that against the law to say that? HA! I'd love to show him where I am today as a Senior Vice President at one of the largest advertising firms in Boston.

Strive for a higher EQ vs. IQ.

My point here is at some point it became clear to me that common sense and striving for a higher EQ (emotional quotient) vs. IQ (intelligence quotient) is what will define success for me.  So I focussed on that strength of mine.  Now this isn't to say that I'm not smart, or don't know anything. I won't sell myself short either… you don't get to go to Boston College without a little knowledge and know how!

Hire based on intuition.

My first manager at a firm called Clarke & Company hired me back in 1994 based not on my transcript but on character, charisma, willingness to learn and do hard work. They hired me based on their INTUITION that I would do well and I did. I remember that all the time when I meet people and yes you will see me psychoanalyzing you with a smile on my face when I first meet you to figure out who you really are.  But I will say my intuition and gut feelings have yet to fail me.

Personal Case Study.

Here's another first hand of experience that highlights all the aspects of this post.

As a working mom, one of your hardest decisions that you are sometimes forced to make as early as your baby hardly turns 10 weeks old is to bring a complete stranger into your house to take care of your newborn. There are so many different feelings that take place as a new mom and you tend to question everything about yourself and every decision you make as you place your most precious love in this persons hands.

This person after all will now be spending potentially more time with your child than you…. and that's hard to stomach. Four years ago, Suhani came into our lives and the time came to find someone to take care of her so that we could continue working. We interviewed many people, very qualified people. But I chose to go with my gut and I just wasn't getting a good feeling from anyone.
 
Then Fanny was recommended to me. On paper, she didn't seem like a great fit, she hardly spoke english though she had taken care of children for over 20 years. Then we met her. Her warmth and love immediately came across when she saw Suhani and picked her up and knew exactly what to do with her. Suddenly the fact that she only spoke spanish seemed like a ridiculous reason not to hire her. 


She was a good person and I'm so glad I trusted my gut.


We were blessed to find her - an incredibly loving, caring nanny. She and her husband have now cared for Suhani and Arjun for the last four years and they've taken care of us as well. 


Today is actually their last day with us as they make their journey back to their motherland Columbia to be with their family. Thank you Fanny and Jairo for loving our children as much as we do and for showering them with love and making them feel safe and secure when we weren't' there to do so. Thanks to you we all learned spanish and we consider you family and will be eternally grateful to you both. You will be missed dearly!!!!

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Having A Personal Board Directors

Does it make sense?


Yes, especially if you are one of the many trying to have a healthy balance between a career and family. While in this post I am focusing on career and family, this relates to everyone that is mastering the juggling act in your own life!

Harvard Business Review had put out an tip last year stating just as corporations have a board of directors, it's equally important to have a personal board of directors.

Of course this makes sense. We all have them, you just didn't realize they had a title!

These folks are your "go to" people when you are making decisions through out your life. They represent various areas of your life: family, financial, professional etc. They may change overtime as you go through different phases of your life and you may even have some special guest advisors that make appearances time to time. But once you hit your late 20s, your board starts to take shape.

I'm not going to cover all my areas and board members but I wanted to share some thoughts around one area of life that I'm currently experiencing as a parent and while working full-time.

This post is for both men and women. We are no longer in a society of where women just need to figure this out (though I do find us struggling more than men). I would argue that men too are struggling with the balancing act. Family, relationship commitments, work, extracurricular activities, health the list goes on.

So read on men :)
We can all learn from each other - that's why you are reading this right?

So even though I'm probably not on your board of directors, I wanted to share with you some great insights I have received from my board of directors along the way and some great mentors that have shown me that being able to do it all is all possible, by not just talking about it, but actually doing it and doing it damn well!

So being a new mom of two under two while being an SVP at a top advertising agency hasn't exactly been smooth sailing. It's a juggling act to say the least! I'm fortunate though to have fantastic role models in my industry that have knowingly or unknowingly shown me the way and served as my inspiration recently. Two in particular in the last three years.

Pam Hamlin, President, Arnold Worldwide, mother of two
What I learned from Pam:
Sh*t happens - deal with it and kick a**.
Pam heads up one of the largest ad firms in Boston. She worked her way up the corporate ladder and through the ranks. She had children along the way, raised them well and then a few years ago Pam learned she had breast cancer. 
Crap. 
One of those life changing events that makes you question everything and all that you are currently doing. So what did Pam do? Throw the towel in? Hell no.
She did what she has been doing all these years. 
She kept being a mom, she still came into work and led the company as a President, she went through chemotherapy, rocked a wig with pride, beat the cancer and life went on. Lesson learned.

Karen Kaplan, President, Hill Holliday, mother of two
Like Pam, Karen too has worked her way through the ranks and now heads up one of the largest ad firms in Boston as well. Karen actually started as a secretary at Hill Holliday. She worked hard to get to where she is today and in the short time that I have gotten to know her, she has inspired and enchanted me with her confidence, charm and sense of humor.  
She is a mother of two and speaks often in forums on the balancing act as how to be an involved parent while climbing the corporate ladder and maintaining a leadership role. 
She has helped me navigate the questionable waters of "am I doing the right thing staying in my job or should I be at home with my children?"

She recently gave a talk and shared the content with me and I wanted to pass it on to you:

First of all, no one expects you to be perfect.

Second, don’t try to figure anything out for the long term. Just put one foot in front of the other and take it one day at a time.

Third, it gets a little easier every single day. I promise.

Fourth, you learn to live without sleep. When I had kids I discovered that I actually need very little of it, and that it’s difficult to get anything meaningful done while you are asleep anyway :)

Fifth, when you question if you are doing right by your kids, take a step back and look at them as objectively as you can. How do they behave? How do they make decisions? What’s in their hearts? How kind are their souls? I’ve done this just about every day for 21 years, and I can honestly say that I have raised two very impressive human beings that anyone would be proud of.

Thanks Karen and Pam. Simple words but this is what we all need to hear from time to time to get us to that next moment.


We have become so good at questioning everything and hearing words like these do help us or at least me get through on the days when I might feel doubtful.

Of course a lot is easier said than done and ultimately you need to do what feels right to you but it helps to have mentors and that personal board directors to help you along the way. 


I have many advisors that I lean on and many mentors and I want to thank you all! 
So who is on your board?

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