In March of 2015, Mark Zuckerberg (founder and CEO of Facebook), rolled out a golden rule of hiring. “I will only hire someone to work directly under me” he said “if I would work for that person.” What this means is that the qualities he looks in in prospective employees are the same qualities he would look for in a boss or manager. While this is not a quote that is attributed to every hiring manger in the world, it has gotten a fair bit of press, and is beginning to trend as a new way to screen applicants.
So how do you make this work for you? You begin to act like a dynamite manager.
Think back to every job you’ve had, every manager that you’ve had. Which ones worked well? What did they do well? Make a list of these people and their qualities that you respect. This will give you a very in depth sense of how you should present yourself to potential employers.
If you don’t have time to do this, I have included a little list of qualities here as well.
Communication- A great manager communicates well. When there is a problem, they tell the person responsible to fix it in a way that makes that employee happy to do it. This ability to explain any situation clearly and effectively is what separates a good manager from a bad one, and is also the skill you most want to hone as you make the interview circuit.
Integrity- You always want to work for someone who you trust, and you always want to trust people who work for you. When interviewing, or choosing skills to highlight on your resume, do what you can to highlight your integrity. In interviews tell stories that highlight your trustworthiness. On your resume make sure to put down jobs you held for long periods of time, and get references from previous employees. Proving yourself to be trustworthy can move you to the top of the list of hires, even if you are not as qualified as other applicants.
Problem Solving- If you are in charge of an entire department you are constantly putting out fires and figuring out solutions. Problem solving is an integral skill for any effective manager, and an invaluable skill for any employee. Again, in an interview, you want to use stories to show how good you are at problem solving. Describe issues that you had to deal with, and how you navigated those difficulties. If you can think of stories that also involve working with others to solve problems, focus on those. A good problem solver is a useful employee to have, no matter where they are on the ladder.
Remember that this golden rule of hiring goes both ways. If you wouldn’t want to manage someone, chances are you aren’t going to like being managed by them either. But for those hiring managers who seem reasonable, keep these skills in your back pocket. The skills that make a good manager make a good employee (and even a good interviewer), so if you highlight them you will do swimmingly!