Throw your hat in the ring
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We’ve interviewed a lot of people who reached senior responsibilities at an early age. How do they do it?
I remember one person who had reached Regional Operations Manager at the age of 31, who is an interesting case study. He was being interviewed by graduates at a career conference, and was asked how he’d persuaded the organisation to give him the job much earlier than others. He gave a lot of the usual answers, including hard work, measuring added value, building reputation, and being ‘in the right place at the right time’. Then as an after-thought, he said something that I thought was very interesting.
“Of course when I got the role – that wasn’t the first time I’d applied. I’d been turned down twice in the previous 3 years. I first applied for the role when I was 28. I didn’t think I had a hope in hell of getting the job then – but that wasn’t why I applied. I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and establish my ambition to do the job. It got me noticed, and I had the chance to be interviewed by senior managers. I asked for feedback about what I needed to put in place to be a better candidate, and that was useful too. With each application I got closer to the spec, and I guess by the third time they felt they had to give me the job!”
Have you thought about applying for a role early – just to throw your hat in the ring? How could this help you to signal your ambition and interest for a few years down the track?
The Takeaway
You don’t always have to have all the required experience to apply for a position that would interest you. You need to write a great cover letter that shows your enthusiasm for the job, and your focus on what you would want to contribute.
You needn’t fear rejection – you can even tell people that you want the experience of applying, and the feedback that will help your development. And you’ll appear on senior management radar, so that they will pay attention to your achievements and capabilities in future.
I remember one person who had reached Regional Operations Manager at the age of 31, who is an interesting case study. He was being interviewed by graduates at a career conference, and was asked how he’d persuaded the organisation to give him the job much earlier than others. He gave a lot of the usual answers, including hard work, measuring added value, building reputation, and being ‘in the right place at the right time’. Then as an after-thought, he said something that I thought was very interesting.
“Of course when I got the role – that wasn’t the first time I’d applied. I’d been turned down twice in the previous 3 years. I first applied for the role when I was 28. I didn’t think I had a hope in hell of getting the job then – but that wasn’t why I applied. I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and establish my ambition to do the job. It got me noticed, and I had the chance to be interviewed by senior managers. I asked for feedback about what I needed to put in place to be a better candidate, and that was useful too. With each application I got closer to the spec, and I guess by the third time they felt they had to give me the job!”
Have you thought about applying for a role early – just to throw your hat in the ring? How could this help you to signal your ambition and interest for a few years down the track?
The Takeaway
You don’t always have to have all the required experience to apply for a position that would interest you. You need to write a great cover letter that shows your enthusiasm for the job, and your focus on what you would want to contribute.
You needn’t fear rejection – you can even tell people that you want the experience of applying, and the feedback that will help your development. And you’ll appear on senior management radar, so that they will pay attention to your achievements and capabilities in future.