Don’t ask “Am I qualified for this role?” Instead, ask this.
The #1 question people tend to ask themselves when they’re looking for new roles is…
Am I qualified to do this role?
Would I do a good job at it?
Would I succeed?
Can I tell people in my network that I’m looking for this kind of role and not look totally ridiculous?
I actually think this is the wrong question to be asking.
And here are the 3 questions I think you should ask instead.
Q1: What high-priority problem is this company or team trying to solve?
Have they succeeded with one customer group, and now they’re trying to expand to new customer groups?
Are revenues looking great but costs are bloated, and they need to figure out how to deliver the same products and services more efficiently?
Are they still trying to figure out product-market fit?
Are they in the continual incremental improvements phase, and they’re just making everything 1% better and 1% cheaper every year?
Are they closing sales easily but churn is high, and they need to improve customer retention?
Do they just need to sell, sell, sell and grab market share before competitors get it?
What problem is this team trying to solve by potentially hiring you?
Q2: Put your advisor hat on.
If you were on their board, what “org chart box” would you tell them to add to their team in order to solve this problem?
Take yourself out of the equation altogether.
Just lean back and have a brainstorming conversation with the person you’re talking to (or theoretically, in your head).
If you guys where just shooting the breeze about how this team should solve their problem from Question #1…
What would you recommend they do?
What new box do they need on their org chart, in order to get solve this problem?
“You need to cut costs?”
You need someone who can come in, gather the key data in a chaotic environment, and quickly figure out where the bloat is.
And then, they’re going to have to build alliances and navigate tricky politics to actually get the costs down because no team is going to want to give up any of their budget.
“You’re still figuring out product-market fit?”
Sounds like you have tons of great ideas but you’re not testing them in a systematic way. You don’t need another creative future-thinker.
You need someone who can organize all these ideas and keep the team focused on prioritizing and testing them efficiently.
“You need to sell, sell, sell?”
You need a sales leader who can optimize what the sales team is already doing, hire more people, and put repeatable playbooks into place so the sales team can scale fast.
The person you’re talking to probably has a perspective on this question too.
They’ll probably say, with great authority, “We’re looking to hire a head of partnerships to lead our expansion into the healthcare sector,” or whatever.
But you don’t need to take their opinion as the word of god.
Take their opinion as a hypothesis.
And then ask yourself: What do *I* think? If I was advising them, what would I tell them to do?
Q3: Do you want your name to be in that “org chart box”?
This is the point where you let yourself enter the equation — not before.
Up until this point, it’s completely NOT personal.
It’s just a brainstorming discussion about problems and solutions.
Only at this stage do I want you to start thinking about yourself.
And don’t ask yourself, “Am I qualified to do this?”
Ask yourself, “Would I want to do this?”
If this is the problem they’re trying to solve…
And this is the “org chart box” solution that I would recommend to them…
Would I want my name to be in that “org chart box”?
When you ask, “Am I qualified to do this role?”…
You’re often inadvertently approaching the situation like a student trying to get an A on a test.
But you are not a student trying to get an A on a test.
You are a mf’ing professional.
You’re an A player who happens to be a free agent right now…
And is looking for the next place to land and shine — the next team to lead to the championships.
The more you can see your job search like that, the easier and more fun it’s going to feel…
And the more likely you are to land a next role that you love.
Hopefully this post gets you into that “I’m a mf’ing professional” headspace for a little while.
But if you want to stay in that headspace throughout the duration of your job search…
I recommend you come work with me.
Book a free consult at the link below, and let’s make the plan – mental and tactical – to get you to where you want to be.
What my clients have to say…
“I feel less helplessness.
There's so much more that's in my control, in terms of taking the next step or making a decision.
And that makes me feel more optimistic and confident in my decision making.
I just feel more at ease.”
—Client | VP - Global Product, Visa
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