10 Questions
What percentage of college graduates work in a field that relates to their degree?
A quarter
What skills did the speaker have to teach themselves to transition to a career in technology?
Sales, marketing, and programming
What did the speaker build to demonstrate their skills to Etsy?
A website from scratch analyzing the company's IPO filings and suggesting new features
Which companies rejected Brian Acton before he co-founded WhatsApp?
Twitter and Facebook
What is the estimated value of WhatsApp, which was co-founded by Brian Acton?
$19 billion
What three strategies are suggested to identify tomorrow's high performers?
Expanding the search, hiring for performance, and getting a holistic view of someone
What is involved in expanding the search for talent?
Looking beyond traditional talent pools, such as gifted child programs, Ivy League schools, and prestigious organizations
What does the Head of Design and Research at Pinterest focus on when hiring designers?
Portfolios rather than pedigrees
What is driving the need for new hiring strategies and approaches?
Advances in robotics, machine learning, and automation transforming the way we work
What will people be doing for the rest of their careers due to these technological changes?
Jobs they've never done before
Study Notes
- A 2010 study found that only a quarter of college graduates work in a field that relates to their degree.
- The speaker, who graduated with two degrees in biology, is neither a doctor nor a scientist, and had to teach themselves skills like sales, marketing, and programming to switch to a career in technology.
- The speaker got a job at Etsy as a Product Manager after being rejected by Google and other firms, by building a website from scratch analyzing the company's IPO filings and suggesting new features.
- Brian Acton, an engineering manager, was rejected by Twitter and Facebook before co-founding WhatsApp, which sold for $19 billion.
- The hiring systems built in the 20th century are failing to identify people with incredible potential.
- Advances in robotics, machine learning, and automation are transforming the way we work, and people will be doing jobs they've never done before for the rest of their careers.
- To identify tomorrow's high performers, three strategies are suggested: expanding the search, hiring for performance, and getting a holistic view of someone.
- Expanding the search involves looking beyond traditional talent pools, such as gifted child programs, Ivy League schools, and prestigious organizations.
- The Head of Design and Research at Pinterest has built a diverse and high-performing team by focusing on designers' portfolios rather than their pedigrees.
- Hiring for performance involves giving candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, such as through work samples or auditions.
- The speaker's hiring platform, Headlight, uses work samples to predict success on the job, and has shown an 85% success rate.
- Candidates should seek ways to showcase their unique skills and abilities outside of the standard resume and cover letter.
- Getting a holistic view of someone involves considering their entire background and experiences, rather than making judgments based on limited information.
- The speaker's own experience as a child, where they were almost misdiagnosed with special needs due to their circumstances, illustrates the importance of considering the whole picture.
Discover how traditional hiring systems are failing to identify people with incredible potential. Learn about three strategies to identify high performers: expanding the search, hiring for performance, and getting a holistic view of someone. This quiz will challenge your understanding of the modern job market and the future of work.
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