Looking for a job? Highlight your ability, not your experience | Jason Shen

709,118 views ・ 2018-03-13

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:12
You know who I'm envious of?
0
12760
1520
00:15
People who work in a job that has to do with their college major.
1
15120
3336
00:18
(Laughter)
2
18480
1896
00:20
Journalists who studied journalism,
3
20400
2576
00:23
engineers who studied engineering.
4
23000
1960
00:26
The truth is, these folks are no longer the rule,
5
26000
2335
00:28
but the exception.
6
28360
1256
00:29
A 2010 study found that only a quarter of college graduates
7
29640
3176
00:32
work in a field that relates to their degree.
8
32840
2240
00:36
I graduated with not one but two degrees in biology.
9
36080
3840
00:40
To my parents' dismay, I am neither a doctor nor a scientist.
10
40760
3776
00:44
(Laughter)
11
44560
2016
00:46
Years of studying DNA replication and photosynthesis
12
46600
3096
00:49
did little to prepare me for a career in technology.
13
49720
2640
00:53
I had to teach myself everything from sales, marketing, strategy,
14
53120
4336
00:57
even a little programming, on my own.
15
57480
2400
01:01
I had never held the title of Product Manager
16
61120
2416
01:03
before I sent my resume in to Etsy.
17
63560
1920
01:06
I had already been turned down by Google and several other firms
18
66880
3096
01:10
and was getting frustrated.
19
70000
1400
01:11
The company had recently gone public,
20
71760
2296
01:14
so as part of my job application,
21
74080
1776
01:15
I read the IPO filings from cover to cover
22
75880
3576
01:19
and built a website from scratch which included my analysis of the business
23
79480
3696
01:23
and four ideas for new features.
24
83200
1920
01:26
It turned out the team was actively working on two of those ideas
25
86240
3536
01:29
and had seriously considered a third.
26
89800
2040
01:33
I got the job.
27
93120
1240
01:36
We all know people who were ignored or overlooked at first
28
96560
3336
01:39
but went on to prove their critics wrong.
29
99920
2000
01:42
My favorite story?
30
102760
1240
01:45
Brian Acton, an engineering manager
31
105080
2896
01:48
who was rejected by both Twitter and Facebook
32
108000
2856
01:50
before cofounding WhatsApp,
33
110880
1616
01:52
the mobile messaging platform that would sell for 19 billion dollars.
34
112520
3640
01:57
The hiring systems we built in the 20th century are failing us
35
117800
2936
02:00
and causing us to miss out on people with incredible potential.
36
120760
3280
02:05
The advances in robotics and machine learning
37
125320
2136
02:07
and transforming the way we work,
38
127480
1976
02:09
automating routine tasks in many occupations
39
129480
3016
02:12
while augmenting and amplifying human labor in others.
40
132520
4080
02:17
At this rate, we should all be expecting to do jobs we've never done before
41
137440
4056
02:21
for the rest of our careers.
42
141520
1519
02:24
So what are the tools and strategies we need
43
144480
2376
02:26
to identify tomorrow's high performers?
44
146880
1960
02:29
In search for answers, I've consulted with leaders across many sectors,
45
149800
4096
02:33
read dozens of reports and research papers
46
153920
2616
02:36
and conducted some of my own talent experiments.
47
156560
2720
02:40
My quest is far from over,
48
160000
1896
02:41
but here are three ideas to take forward.
49
161920
2640
02:45
One: expand your search.
50
165280
2560
02:48
If we only look for talent in the same places we always do --
51
168278
2858
02:51
gifted child programs, Ivy League schools,
52
171160
2256
02:53
prestigious organizations --
53
173440
1896
02:55
we're going to get the same results we always have.
54
175360
2616
02:58
Baseball was transformed when the cash-strapped Oakland Athletics
55
178000
3696
03:01
started recruiting players who didn't score highly
56
181720
2376
03:04
on traditionally valued metrics, like runs batted in,
57
184120
2576
03:06
but who had the ability to help the team score points
58
186720
3056
03:09
and win games.
59
189800
1200
03:11
This idea is taking hold outside of sports.
60
191520
2120
03:14
The Head of Design and Research at Pinterest
61
194480
2296
03:16
told me that they've built one of the most diverse
62
196800
2376
03:19
and high-performing teams in Silicon Valley
63
199200
2096
03:21
because they believe that no one type of person
64
201320
2376
03:23
holds a monopoly on talent.
65
203720
1840
03:26
They've worked hard to look beyond major tech hubs
66
206440
2696
03:29
and focus on designers' portfolios,
67
209160
2256
03:31
not their pedigrees.
68
211440
1320
03:34
Two: hire for performance.
69
214120
2360
03:37
Inspired by my own job experience,
70
217080
2256
03:39
I cofounded a hiring platform called Headlight,
71
219360
2696
03:42
which gives candidates an opportunity to shine.
72
222080
2640
03:45
Just as teams have tryouts and plays have auditions,
73
225360
2856
03:48
candidates should be asked to demonstrate their skills
74
228240
2576
03:50
before they're hired.
75
230840
1416
03:52
Our clients are benefiting from 85 years of employment research,
76
232280
3376
03:55
which shows that work samples
77
235680
1576
03:57
are one of the best predictors of success on the job.
78
237280
2560
04:00
If you're hiring a data analyst,
79
240800
1576
04:02
give them a spreadsheet of historical data and ask them for their key insights.
80
242400
3736
04:06
If you're hiring a marketing manager,
81
246160
1816
04:08
have them plan a launch campaign for a new product.
82
248000
2416
04:10
And if you're a candidate, don't wait for an employer to ask.
83
250440
3176
04:13
Seek out ways to showcase your unique skills and abilities
84
253640
4256
04:17
outside of just the standard resume and cover letter.
85
257920
2480
04:21
Three: get the bigger picture.
86
261040
3040
04:24
I've heard about recruiters who are quick to label a candidate a job-hopper
87
264640
3536
04:28
based on a single short stint on their resume;
88
268200
2696
04:30
read about professors who are more likely to ignore identical messages from students
89
270920
4240
04:36
because their name was black or Asian instead of white.
90
276320
3720
04:40
I was almost put on a special needs track as a child.
91
280840
2480
04:44
A month into kindergarten,
92
284120
1616
04:45
my teacher wrote a page-long memo
93
285760
1616
04:47
noting that I was impulsive,
94
287400
1896
04:49
had a short attention span,
95
289320
1736
04:51
and despite my wonderful curiosity,
96
291080
2096
04:53
I was exhausting to work with.
97
293200
2016
04:55
(Laughter)
98
295240
1600
04:58
The principal asked my parents into a meeting,
99
298000
2856
05:00
asked my mother if there had been complications at birth
100
300880
2856
05:03
and suggested I meet with a school psychologist.
101
303760
2976
05:06
My father saw what was happening
102
306760
1576
05:08
and quickly explained our family situation.
103
308360
2080
05:11
As recent immigrants, we lived in the attic
104
311320
2456
05:13
of a home that cared for adults with mental disabilities.
105
313800
3000
05:17
My parents worked nights to make ends meet,
106
317320
2296
05:19
and I had little opportunity to spend time with kids my own age.
107
319640
3040
05:23
Is it really a surprise that an understimulated five-year-old boy
108
323880
3656
05:27
might be a little excited in a kindergarten classroom
109
327560
2536
05:30
after an entire summer by himself?
110
330120
1760
05:33
Until we get a holistic view of someone,
111
333160
3256
05:36
our judgment of them will always be flawed.
112
336440
3280
05:40
Let's stop equating experience with ability,
113
340920
4136
05:45
credentials with competence.
114
345080
1800
05:47
Let's stop settling for the safe, familiar choice
115
347720
3376
05:51
and leave the door open for someone who could be amazing.
116
351120
2960
05:55
We need employers to let go of outdated hiring practices
117
355520
3256
05:58
and embrace new ways of identifying and cultivating talent,
118
358800
3560
06:03
and candidates can help by learning to tell their story
119
363080
3096
06:06
in powerful and compelling ways.
120
366200
1560
06:08
We could live in a world where people are seen for what they're truly capable of
121
368920
3800
06:13
and have the opportunity to realize their full potential.
122
373640
3440
06:18
So let's go out and build it.
123
378320
1960
06:21
Thank you.
124
381040
1416
06:22
(Applause)
125
382480
6760
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7