Thread by @rebootdude

In recruiting the person sitting on the other side can tell when you don't want the job.

I have only interviewed a few time for roles as a prospective employee. In tech, banking and consulting.

I have interviewed many times more as an employer in tech, sales and consulting.

Here is a stroll down memory lane for those who are still looking for roles in a really hard year.

Interviewed with 2 leading consulting firms. One in Boston, one in New York.

Loved the one in NYC. Got the offer.

Didn't care about the one in Boston. Didn't get the offer.

A year earlier had interviewed with @GoldmanSachs in London for a pre-MBA internship. They picked four of us across Europe and Asia for London.

I had fallen in love with modeling by then. Yet tripped on a basic question. How would you explain 3rd moment to your grandmother?🤦

I had flunked @SOActuaries course 110 statistics exam 3 times with a 5.

I was the king of moments by the time I passed it. One with moments and distributions. I knew how to calculate them in my sleep.

Once.

But that afternoon in London, blank slate. I thought I had lost it.

And yet @GoldmanSachs came back with an offer and I spent memorable 4 months with Prime Brokerage in London in 1998.

Just after the implosion of LTCM that year. They wanted an outsider to poke holes in their margin calculator.

They saw something in me that I couldn't see.

3 years later in midst of another melt down I was in the market again. Flew to Leesburg Virginia for a 2nd round interview with an insure-tech firm run by Shane Chalke.

Shane had written Macro Pricing note for course 220. Had sold Chalke consulting to SSNC and taken both public.

Every member of his team asked me.

Why in the world would you give up California to come live in northern Virginia.

I said, tech is dead. I can't act to save my life so entertainment is out. I am too young to run money. And I am not qualified to work in agriculture.

But what killed it was this line from the wear sun screen song from 1999.

Live in New York city once but leave before it makes you hard. Live in California once but leave before it makes you soft.

Shane. Instant get because he had escaped from California. Just like I was trying to do.

Will (don't be good, be better, Will) was head of Ops and thought I was just too slick to be true.

Among everything else, that line was the final signal Shane needed and I got the offer.

Goldman, Viant and Shane all had one thing in common. I really wanted to work with them.

I prepared for days for the interview. Dug out whatever I could about the business. Asked myself questions that I thought they would ask. Focused on what I would bring to the table.

For others, I prepared just as hard but my heart wasn't in it. They could tell.

And that became rule number one for us. Hire people who care about working with us.

When we interviewed talent we didn't care if they had flunked the test. If they passed fit and if they cared...

Despite Will's initial reservation we became good friends. Because we cared about work we did and we cared about working with each other.

Goldman didn't care about the 3rd moment. Something in me passed the fit test. I was honest with my mistakes. I knew what I didn't know.

Look inside and figure out what you want and what you care about. Be honest with yourself.

Then find firms and people who care about the same things. Prepare for your interviews with heart. Learn about teams you are interviewing with. Answer questions you think they will ask.

Everyone has filters. The filters leak signals.

For the right candidates, everyone makes exceptions. We did all the time once we knew you were the right candidate.

Prove you are what they are looking for and you are good. You will get the offer.

Start with caring.

On failure.

I passed 24 exams to become a Fellow Society of Actuaries.

Other than 9-10 that I passed on first attempt, it took an average of 3 attempt to pass the other 14 exams.

Stupidity? Persistency? Consistent? That trait sure came in handy later on as a founder.