Career Warrior Podcast #309) The Best Person Doesn’t Always Get the Job | Maya Grossman

Episode Transcript

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Chris Villanueva 0:08
Welcome to the Let’s Eat, Grandma Career Warrior Podcast.

And welcome to the Let’s Eat, Grandma Career Warrior Podcast. My name is Chris Villanueva and I am your host. Today’s episode is titled, “The best person doesn’t always get the job” and we have some completely unreleased content revolving around the hiring process. So what we wanted to do is dig a little bit deeper into these uncomfortable truths that I discussed with Maya Grossman. And you know, I’ll be honest, this was probably the most uncomfortable truth for me, the best person doesn’t always get the job. And my gosh, this one was, I think, really impactful for me to reflect upon just because oftentimes, we work so hard, and we have a lot of talent that we’re developing and honing over the years. But sometimes our resume or just how we come across in the actual hiring process makes it frustrating, because like, we were just not getting noticed and picked up by the right people.

And so again, this is unreleased content, we wanted to expand upon that with just a quick story and some more details on this. But I’ll tell you, the person delivering this key message is awesome. Maya Grossman is a marketing executive with a wealth of experience having successfully launched products and driven growth for Fortune 500.companies like Microsoft and Google. Her name, again, is Maya Grossman, and she’s the author of the groundbreaking book, “Invaluable: Master the Skills You Need to Skyrocket Your Career.” She has over 15 years of industry experience and expertise to add to our discussion. This past conversation is going to enlighten you and give you more details about how to get picked up and how to get noticed. So without further ado, here’s that conversation with Maya Grossman completely unreleased and hidden content. Here is why the best person doesn’t always get the job.

I want to follow up on a question that I looked at before and it’s have you ever witnessed a situation where someone, let’s say that they were less qualified or that they were less experienced, got that job over a more “deserving” candidate? And like what, you know, I know, it’s like being able to showcase what you can do, but like, would influence a decision like that?

Maya Grossman 2:29
Yes, I actually have a story from my career as a manager where I had to hire someone to do social media. And I had two final candidates, one of them had five years of experience been there done that literally checked all the boxes on the resume. And the other was actually very early in her career but she was passionate about social media, she opened up different profiles for herself. She learned she was just so excited to get in, and she was willing to do whatever it takes. Technically, I should have gone for the more experienced candidate, but this person was just so like, laid back. He wasn’t like into it and it’s like, “I will take any job.” And it’s just the energy wasn’t there. So on paper, he had everything. But I didn’t think that he was going to go the extra mile. And the other candidate was like she was going above and beyond, she had plans and ideas. And you know what it was one of the best hiring decisions I’ve ever made. She got in she did fantastically and she was one of the first to become a supervisor because she was that good.

Chris Villanueva 3:34
I love that. Attitude is one thing. I mean, we always hear it’s like you can’t really train for attitude or having to like go that extra mile. And so like that’s a really good example there. I’d say like in my own life, there have been many situations in which I have chosen the person who may not have like the best resume, but I knew that at least there we were able to build a good relationship over time and those ended up being the ones that move things forward. So I’m glad you brought that one up. I think that’s one that a lot of people need to hear and people who might get frustrated because, like, okay, I have way more skills in this other person. But are you really showing it to end up moving your career forward, like we said?

Maya Grossman 4:11
Yeah, and I can testify from my own career very often, if you look at my journey as a marketer, I probably tried everything you can try in the world of marketing and moving from one role to another when technically I’ve never done that role and leveling up was definitely not easy. I had to prove to people and to show them that I can do it. And in every step of the way, that is what I was able to do. Even though on paper, I probably wasn’t the best candidate, but I was able to tell a very compelling story. When necessary, I created evidence. I literally showed them what I can do and I built a great relationship with those people so that they really wanted to work with me.

Chris Villanueva 4:50
All right, Career Warriors. That wraps it up for today. This is why the best person doesn’t always get the job. I really enjoyed this conversation with Mike Grossman. And I have a little bit of outro commentary that I would like to leave you with on one end, this is really empowering us for folks who may not have the experience for folks who say they think that they’re getting passed up on because they have not entered a field yet and they don’t have that five years of experience or folks who might be changing careers this time.

I love the opening story in which Maya talked about the person who came with the grit and determination and perseverance and just that really solid attitude and mindset that got them hired over somebody with five years of experience. So that was enlightening for me that the “best person does not always get the job.” And on another end, I can also hear the perhaps concern and frustration from some job seekers who may actually feel like they have the experience over other people, and they feel like they’re checking up in all the boxes. And for some reason, they’re just not getting the job. I hope that the second camp still feels some encouragement from this message today. Because yes, you have the experience, which actually is awesome, and that’s good thing to highlight in a resume in your job search and in the interview. But it’s also good to know that you can start to think about your career a little bit more holistically and still, always make sure to shine through with your positive attitude.

Okay, don’t roll your eyes in that one account for something but your your grit, and the things that have made your career awesome over time. And don’t forget to show that you’re still constantly evolving and picking up new skills. And yeah, I can, like I said, you’re just constantly evolving yourself. I hope that this message, perhaps hard for some people to hear, resonated as a truth and perhaps just unlocked something new in their job search. I really enjoyed this conversation, so I had to make a whole ordeal or whole new episode out of it. Alright, so that wraps up today’s episode, I cannot wait for you to see what’s in store for next week. Take care and have an awesome rest of your week.

Before you go, remember, if you’re not seeing the results you want in your job search, our highly trained team of professional resume writers here at Let’s Eat, Grandma can help head on over to letseatgrandma.com/podcast to get a free resume critique and $70 off any one of our resume writing packages. We talk all the time on the show about the importance of being targeted in your job search and with our unique writing process and focus on individual attention. You’ll get a resume cover letter and LinkedIn profile that are highly customized and tailored to your goals to help you get hired faster. Again, head on over to letseatgrandma.com/podcast. Thanks, and I’ll see you next time.