Awhile back, Run Hundred nearly went out business.
I found myself out on the job market–hoping that I could find a side gig that would keep me afloat while I turned the site around but accepting that I may also need to start a new career if I couldn’t.
As I type this, I realize it’s a bit like watching the movie Titanic–insofar as you probably already know the ending before you even get started because the site is obviously still here. But, I hope you’ll stick with me all the same–as the ending is not the interesting part.
My job hunting got off to rocky start–as I probably overestimated my skills, my ability to put those skills in a meaningful context, or both. And, by that measure, the lion’s share of the frustrations that came my way were things I brought upon myself.
Having said that, I had several encounters with companies that wanted me to do–what felt like–and unreasonable amount of work at an unreasonably early stage in the hiring process. As a job applicant, it’s maddening. But, it’s not much less maddening on the other side of the equation.
Before Run Hundred originally took off, I spent years hiring seasonal staff for a travel company. So, I know why companies would be inclined to ask applicants to do a frightful amount of work early in the hiring process–as it quickly weeds out folks with only a casual interest in a position.
That said, it’s still a lousy practice. Obviously, as an applicant, it’s frustrating to feel as though your time isn’t being valued. But, even for the company, it’s problematic because the best applicants will often have multiple options. And, if your hiring process is cumbersome, they are more likely to move on with companies that have devised more elegant approaches to solving the supply/demand issues that come up when filling roles.
In short, flooding applicants with work is a tactic that seems like it would eliminate the worst ones–when it actually lops applicants off the bottom and top alike–leaving companies with just the middle-of-the-road prospects to consider at the interview phase.
Anyway, the point is that I wanted to either go through a great hiring process or go through a lousy hiring process with folks who were open to improving it. But, the companies I found with great hiring processes weren’t interested in me and the companies with lousy hiring processes weren’t interested in unsolicited advice from a stranger.
All of that is fair–as the former groups don’t owe me a job and the latter don’t owe me a dialogue.
So, I just kept applying for different roles until I found people who seemed to value both me and my time. And, when that eventually happened, I was glad that I’d held my ground when it seemed folks were asking too much. (And, it may worth noting, I’m also glad I was in a position to hold my ground–as this isn’t always an option.)
There’s more to this, but I want to mention the obvious lesson already at work here–which feels like a variation on Maya Angelou’s enduring suggestion, “When they show you who they are, believe them the first time.”
If folks ask you to go through a lousy hiring process, they may not be telling you exactly who they are. But, they are giving you a few ideas:
*They might not know any better
*They might know better but have prioritized other improvements
*They might know better and want to improve the process–but can’t get the resources or approval they need from above to make a change
And, of those three categories, I was only interested in working with companies in the first. So, I could have hastened my job hunt along by simply bearing Angelou’s advice in mind and moving on the moment it became clear I was in a conversation with someone in the second two categories.
Before moving on to the larger realization that followed, I want to offer a small suggestion for anyone in the job market presently:
Go directly to companies you respect and tell them specifically how you can help them.
While mulling job openings, I read hundreds of listings and followed up on scores of opportunities. This process took months and led to three interviews and one job offer.
During that same span, I emailed a half dozen companies–of whom I was already a customer or considering being a customer–because they had design or engagement issues that seemed glaring to me.
My experience emailing folks specific ideas was the exact opposite of what I experienced while applying for jobs in two ways:
*Three of the six companies I contacted put me on a phone call with someone who could make a hiring decision within days of my email
*Of the three folks with whom I talked, two offered–not just to hire me–but to create a position where I could solve problems like the one about which I’d contacted them
In hindsight this makes perfect sense. In the traditional job hunt, I didn’t know much about the companies. They didn’t know much about me. And, I was competing with heaps of other people to explain how my general background fit their general opening.
So, it’s only natural that I fared better when going to companies with whom I was already familiar, with a clear example of how I could help them, and no competition. And, if I had to start the process again, that’s where I’d start now, and what I’d recommend to anyone who is looking for a job and unhappy with their options.
Fortunately, the slow pace of this realization ended up working in my favor. By the time anyone actually offered me a job, the new features on which I’d been laboring at Run Hundred finally caught on and I no longer needed a second job.
That said, I’m grateful for the experience because it prompted an epiphany that extends beyond the job front:
My big opportunity–and perhaps yours–is not so much to find partners like this (in work, in romance, and most everywhere else) as to be partners like this.
I know that I’ve already written a lot here, so it may be unwise to change directions so far into a post. But, I’m going to try because I don’t know how to make the next point without the prelude above.
Like many revelations, the issues I’ve described here are ones I first noticed in the world and only later noticed about myself.
When folks were putting me through lousy hiring processes like the ones described above, I found myself pushing back. And, what I wanted to hear–put plainly–is, “You’re right. We’ll change.”
Most people can’t or won’t provide that response–sometimes for reasons beyond their control.
So, most of what I’ve described here are the ways I’ve tried to find people who can and will make improvements along these lines.
But, when the commotion of getting my needs met passed, there was a little more room to explore my own opportunities for improvement. And, that’s when I realized that finding folks who can accept feedback graciously and make changes quickly is probably not as important as being one of those folks.
This is not to say I’m going be blown around by everyone’s whims. But, when people present me with clear and reasonable demands, I try harder now to provide the response I value myself:
You’re right. I’ll change.
If you’ve been wondering why any of this appears on a site about workout music, it’s because the experience prompted a new workout mix that uses this phrase as a title. I would love to carry on about the music at length, but I’m going to keep it short because there’s an epilogue to all of this that ties everything together. And, I don’t want to lose anyone with a prolonged detour into a new subject.
So, briefly, the album title You’re Right. I’ll Change. serves two purposes:
#1. Musically, it’s an uptempo mix where the music moves evolves in a linear way. So, there are no repeating verses, no repeating choruses, no musical themes to which it returns over time. It just starts and then evolves and evolves and evolves–without every circling back.
I think this sort of dynamic suits a workout because it pushes forward sonically in the same way you are pushing forward through physical space. But, for this particular title, the constant change in the music also matches the constant change to which you have to remain open–if you want to push forward as a person. So, the message and the medium feel like they’re working in harmony.
#2. Practically, I need reminders to help keep me on track. So, I like the idea of the title You’re Right. I’ll Change. turning up on screen–whether randomly on shuffle or cued up on demand–as it provides a visual reminder to both acknowledge oversights and take action when opportunities present themselves.
So, that’s the album. And, here’s the epilogue that tied this all up better than I could have planned:
I’ve been working on a host of projects to raise funds for charitable organizations. And, there’s a group called Givewell that helps analyze charities in terms of their effectiveness–so you can try to channel your funds into efforts that will produce the most impact.
I was on their site recently while considering organizations for a new project, and I noticed they had a section on their site called “Our Mistakes.” And, it contains a lengthy chronical of both mistakes they have made in their work and the changes they have made to avoid similar ones in the future.
I love this because it speaks to the exact points I’ve made above. But, easily my favorite passage in this section–because it bring me right back to the beginning of this journey–is where they note that there was an eight month period in 2012 where they had asked applicants to do too much work too early in the hiring process.
It didn’t matter that I was no longer in the job market, and I didn’t matter that I wasn’t one of the applicants to whom they were referring. Just to have someone somewhere repeat this idea–that I’d struggled for months to convey in my own search for work–was incredibly gratifying.
Because Givewell does such a great job of embodying the principles I’ve tried to describe here, I’m going to donate all of the profit from the You’re Right. I’ll Change. mix to their Maximum Impact Fund–which is distributed to aid groups in a ratio designed to generate (as the name implies) the maximum impact.
Put simply, I’ve always been impressed by Givewell’s efforts to hold charities accountable. But, it’s made more meaningful because they are equally willing to be held accountable.
And, that combination of good intentions and candid reflections moves me in a way that feels almost elemental.
So, if you feel anything like that yourself (and are ready to move around after all this reading), you can support their efforts by picking up a workout mix devoted to the same themes here.
Thanks again!