What I’ve Learned from Recruiting

Since returning from my time with Bamba Water in Mombasa, Kenya I have had many people ask me how I was able to get such an interesting internship as just a sophomore in college. I figured I would write down some of the thoughts I’ve had when pondering this question. In this post I have used some of my experience as an internship coordinator for Bamba Water to explain how I believe I landed the internship. I would like to give a quick disclaimer that I do not in any way consider myself an expert, but do believe that I have learned some valuable lessons in my experiences and enjoy writing about them.

I have always sat on the side of the table where you pitch yourself to a potential employer and tell them why you are the absolute only person for the position they are looking to fill. The past few months I have had the opportunity of walking around to the other side of the table and putting my recruiter hat on. Throughout this process I have observed one recurring theme that appears to be more important than the rest.

Passion for the organization’s mission

You have probably heard over and over that you need to discover that one endeavor that you are truly passionate about to pursue in life in order to be happy and live up to your potential. Despite the cliché, this statement couldn’t be more imperative. When I look around at peers and fellow students at BYU I observe the vast majority of people being quickly lured and seduced by the paycheck each profession dangles in front of their faces. The problem here is not money but deciding which company to work for, and in which field, based solely on money. If you base your career decisions using this paradigm you will almost certainly end up doing something you hate and probably won’t land a position at the company you originally set out to work for because they are looking for someone with passion for what they do. Remember Clayton Christensen’s book, How Will You Measure Your Life. “Your salary is a hygiene factor, not a motivator.”

Passion should be the foundation for the structure of your pitch but there is one very important caveat. Your passion should come from and be backed by an understanding of what the organization is really trying to accomplish. I’ll illustrate this with an example. I recently interviewed a potential intern for our internship program in Mombasa, Kenya. My ears perked up when he mentioned that he applied for the internship because he was passionate about our company. Here is where the caveat comes in. In order for me to believe his passion I was expecting him to tell me what our mission was and demonstrate his passion by explaining in detail what he loves about the work we are doing. Unfortunately he failed at this and when I asked him to be more specific he wasn’t able to do so and had to ask me questions about what we were currently working on. Had he told me that he had researched us and had been following our work and told me specifically which aspect intrigued him most I would have given him the spot right in that moment, hands down.

Upon ending my first internship with Bamba Water, a start-up in Mombasa, Kenya

This idea is even more vital when you are pitching yourself to a start-up. Founders are extremely passionate people and always want to surround themselves with those that are equally passionate about something. Start-up founders only want to work with those that are at least as passionate as them about what they are trying to accomplish. After having many conversations with the founder of the first start-up I interned with I have come to understand that the only reason I landed an internship with him was because I was truly passionate about what he was doing, had read his books, watched all of his videos, and researched his company from top to bottom via Facebook, LinkedIn, and his company’s website. I knew his vision and mission as well as if I had been working for his company for a few years already. Those competing with you for your desired position may have nearly identical resumes to yours so pitch the one truly unique ingredient you bring to the table, your extreme passion backed by an understanding (from hours of research) of their mission and vision. Don’t underestimate how important this is. Here is my number one suggestion to take from this if you take nothing else:

Learn about the founder or CEO of the organization you want to work with. Read their publications online, look through their LinkedIn profile, read their books, connect with someone that has worked him or her and pick their brain over lunch. Figure out what makes them tick and why they think the way they do. Spend hours doing this and it will pay dividends when you land the position of your dreams and get to do the work that inspires and excites you.

How has your passion for what you do driven you to be successful? What have you found to be most important when trying to land your dream job/internship?