Most CEOs don't have the time to personally interview every person who joins their company. But they absolutely set the priorities and culture that factor into every single hiring decision, and are intensely involved with top level hires.
Those are some of the most important decisions they can make, so company leaders tend to have strong opinions about the kind of people they want at their company.
So whether you're eyeing the C-suite or trying to figure out what gets you in the door at some of America's biggest companies, we've compiled some of the best tips executives have shared over the years on what impresses them, including top tech CEOs like Steve Ballmer, entrepreneurial icons like Elon Musk, and empire builders like Richard Branson.
Richard Branson, founder and chairman, The Virgin Group
"The number one thing that matters, especially if you're going to be manager at Virgin, is how good you are with people. If you're good with people and you really, genuinely care about people then I'm sure we could find a job for you at Virgin. I think that the companies that look after their people are the companies that do really well. I'm sure we'd like a few other attributes, but that would be the most important one."
From a 2005 American Express event, via Business Pundit
Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla Motors and SpaceX
"I actually interview everyone at SpaceX personally. And we're a 500-person company, so that's a lot of interviews.
"What do I look for? It depends on the task. You know, it's different, and I'm not necessarily looking for someone who has brilliant analytical ability if their job is going to be assembling hardware. But I think, generally, I look for a positive attitude and are they easy to work with, are people gonna like working with them? It's very important to like the people you work with, otherwise life [and] your job is gonna be quite miserable.
"And, in fact, we have a a strict 'no-assholes policy' at SpaceX. And we fire people if they are. I mean, we give them a little bit of warning. But if they continue to be an asshole, then they're fired."
From a 2008 interview with On Innovation.
Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
"When I was first at Facebook, a woman named Lori Goler, a 1997 graduate of HBS, was working in marketing at eBay and I kind of knew of her socially. And she called me and said, 'I want to talk with you about coming to work with you at Facebook. So I thought about calling you,' she said, 'and telling you all the things I’m good at and all the things I like to do. But I figured that everyone is doing that. So instead, I want to know, what’s your biggest problem and how can I solve it?'
"My jaw hit the floor. I’d hired thousands of people up to that point in my career, but no one had ever said anything like that. I had never said anything like that. Job searches are always about the job searcher, but not in Laurie’s case. I said, 'you’re hired.'"
From a 2012 speech to the graduating class at Harvard Business School, via Business Insider
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