A friend perfectly summed up the job environment the other day: “Right now, everyone I know is in the hunt.”
You may not be on the open market, but are you eyeing a different kind of work? That’s shrewd middle ground because sometimes the perfect role isn’t across the country—it’s one floor down.
So, imagine this scenario: You fine-tuned your resume to match the job listing keywords. The screener conversation went fine. Now, the big moment has arrived. But are you nervous, wondering how you’ll impress others when you’re one name on a list of names or a face on a small screen?
Here’s the truth: Set “smart” and “talented” aside because it’s a given that the people you’re competing against already meet those bars.
What Recruiters, Hiring Managers, and potential colleagues are really interested in is your secret sauce for handling hard cases. That’s because every role has tough clients and fast-turn projects. So, in the May series, 4 Competencies to Ace Interviews, we’ll talk about how you can showcase your people skills in these critical conversations.
First, let’s talk pain points. Pain points are tricky—every team needs answers, but the problems are never a nice, clean list in a playbook. The unarticulated need is people who can make things work. Is that you, where you apply your “make it work” competency to everything from navigating that buggy internal tool to recurring customer complaints?
Author Bob Sutton detailed a simple example in his book, Become an Organizational Friction Fixer. Sutton arrived early at the Department of Motor Vehicles and was discouraged to find himself in a crowd of 60 people. Then, a side door opened. A guy stepped out and methodically quizzed each person.
He immediately eliminated people in the wrong place (like wanting a passport). Complex problems went to one side. And ordinary business went the other direction.
When the DMV opened at 8 AM, Bob was in and out in 20 minutes. That turnaround experience changed his perspective forever.
What the DMV guy did sounds obvious, but actually, it’s a sophisticated move. Do you also have X-ray vision, where you can see bottlenecks? Do you listen to your Spidey Sense when you get ideas about how to address that bottleneck? And do you back up inspired thinking with industry know-how and solid judgment? Troubleshooting issues and cutting away what doesn’t work isn’t second nature to everyone. That’s why candidates with the “make it work” gene are priceless.
The good news is that this competency isn’t limited to a single role. Situations like annoyed customers, long wait times, and people engaging with the wrong stakeholders happen in every industry.
Getting to the bottom of those pain points isn’t magic—it requires superior people skills like a creative approach and emotional intelligence. Bob Sutton even describes these people as elite employees who see themselves as “guardians of other people’s time,” and who wouldn’t want that person to join their team?
So, don’t be bashful about advertising this superpower. Remember: Anyone can pose big “what about” questions. But big questions don’t mean much if they’re not backed up by the ability to disrupt pain points in the moment with solid answers.
If you’re not sure how to put words around your “make it work” skills, here are five relatable ways to start:
You can improve your “make it work” competency at any career stage. So, start seeking opportunities to apply this skill (you’ll need examples to get selected for prestigious cross-group projects as well as new jobs). The next time a problem arises, don’t just sit there. You better work!