What Every Interviewer NEEDS To Know

Hey, I'm JP, Corporate Cowboy. I do these videos for the love of it. I'm growing a company called Empire Blueprint. We started off in Australia. We're now going global. Thank God. Didn't expect that to happen so soon. Corporate Cowboy because I live on this awesome farm with this awesome dog who's just made a mess on my white top, but that's okay. We're doing this with no stop, no takes. Keep watching this video if you want to learn how to hire based on gut and mind and not just ticking boxes. I've got a lot for you. We just had 2 hires this week. I was able to do them faster than ever, and they look super promising. And I'm going to make sure I double down on this video so you know exactly how they go. Let's go. Whether it's a dog or a person, people want to be seen. Whether you're a HR manager, somebody getting into the HR space, a manager of any sort, or somebody looking to have a leadership position, there's a few things that you need to know. When somebody comes into an interview, if they're smart or if they really want the job, They're going to get a haircut, put on their best suit. If it's a girl, she's going to jazz herself up and they're going to attempt to impress you. I ask you, why is it that we as humans do that? What is it that we are trying to achieve that in our whole life we may go through it wearing jeans and trackies, tracksuit pants for anybody watching who's not familiar with that term. When we get to an interview, all of a sudden we pull out the best of the best things that have just been hidden away in the closet. The suit's wearing us, like we can't even wear the suit, the suit's wearing us. People want to be seen. When we put on our game face, we get that haircut, we get that shave, girls do their makeup, they put on their heels, and they say, "I'm gonna go for that job and I'm gonna look the part." What they're saying is, "I'm gonna project my best image. I want to show that person on the other end of this what I can do, what I look like." When you are the interviewer, the person on the other end who sees this, do not be taken, do not be fooled by what you see. Understand that what they are trying to show you is what every human wants. At their core, everybody is showing you what they think they want you to see or what they want you to see. They're their two options. What you must do first is address that. What I've done is the following: when somebody's come in, typically for me it's young men in the tech space looking to get into manufacturing, they want to work with Empire Blueprint, they've got an interest in AI, and I'm like, great, if you can— if you think you've got what it takes and you've got the balls and the gumption and the ability to work hard, do the hours, not complain and get through it no matter what, you've got a job on the team. So I look at how they dress and then I see right through it. And what I talk to them when they want to be seen is I talk to the inside of them, the person inside of them that says, "See me for who I am, not for how I look." So I look past the facade, although it matters. It's nice to know that somebody paid attention. So the last hire that we had, I'm going to give you a few lessons on this. What does it mean to see someone And if you're on the other end of this watching this, how do you be seen? When this young man came to me, he was new here, new from another country. He's come to Australia for a better life. And everything he was saying, he was just trying to show me that he was sincere. He was trying to show me in all his ways, stories of how he is a man that could be relied on. That in his life back home, his parents would count on him, and so he would do certain jobs to make sure they could pay the bills. He wanted to be seen as somebody who I could depend on. I looked past the clothes, I looked past the words. I said to him, I understand. Tell me what it is that I should see in you that I cannot. I leaned into what he was saying. I said, why did you do that? Why did you do that job? Why did you do the milk runs? Why did you do the newspapers? Those crappy jobs that were beneath you. And he says to me, JP, all I wanted to do was my parents to know that no matter what the situation was, that they could account of me that I could help. He wanted to be seen as somebody that could be relied on. When I heard this, I was pleasantly surprised. I kept my game face on. At least I think I tried. My smile was shining. I said, tell me more. I hear you. I see you. Keep going. He said, well, when I was at school, I wanted to be captain. I said, great, why? And he said, I was captain. Why? I wanted people to know that I was capable of doing more. I wanted a chance to show myself that I could do bigger things in life. And so when somebody wants to be seen, they will give you clues in the interview. It is your job as the interviewer to ask, give me examples of things you've done. We don't need to always give— ask them for stories of what does 5 years look like, what does 10 years look like. Any sane person, hot opinion, maybe uncommon, but it's mine and I'm going to stick with it forever. In what universe do you think you know what the fuck's going to happen in 5 years? I've never understood this. We ask people questions that we want to see if they're forward-thinking. My best candidates who have responded said, to be honest, I don't know how I ended up here. I'm so blessed and proud for the opportunity. I've been working at this for my whole life. Here's my track record. That's where I aim to be. But if you ask me where I'm gonna be in 5 years, like I know, I don't know. Yesterday I wasn't here. I applied for the job last week. Today I'm with you. I hoped it would stay together and continue. Now that's an answer that I can take and understand. Isn't that right, Missy? In what universe do we think we ask people, "What's your goal for 10 years?" My friends watching this, people watching this, I had goals for life. This is why I'm so convicted about this. We don't need people who have plans for forever and they figured out everything to a T. That doesn't exist. We need people who want to be seen. We need people who have done things that deserve seeing, and people with a vision that we can see. And when they get to the end and they can look at the end and say, I don't know how I'm going to get there, but I've done everything in my power so far, and I'm going to keep on doing that so I can get the end goal. And I would love to do it with you, and I'd love you to do it with me. That is an answer for when you're in an interview that says, what's your goal? Is this is what I'm aiming to achieve. How I get there, I don't know. But what I do know is I'm not going to stop till I get there. People Listen, you need to give an interviewer, you need to give yourself undeniable proof of the thing that you've done time and again. I found myself at many times at a low point saying, "I'm not good enough. I suck. I failed." And it was true. I had no solid evidence that I could turn to. I was overwhelmed with self-doubt thinking I sucked. Imposter syndrome. I suffered it all. What I needed to do was reflect on what have I done, and I kept doing it, and I kept doing the thing. And every time I just stacking it again and again and again, and I'd do it for somebody else and I'd film that response and I'd do it for somebody else. I'd take the learnings and the failures and then I'd get the feedback, I'd get the testimonials. And until I had undeniable proof that I was more than capable of doing the thing. Once I kept on that path, it became so clear that now even on those days where I feel like I suck or I'm still learning, because I, because I tell you, there's so much that I don't know. Like it's still so new in the journey for me. I can look back at that record. I can look back at the documentary. I can look back through the files and say, I've done the thing so many times. That's the proof that I needed. When I want to be seen by the team, I say, hey, don't listen to what I say. Look at what we've done. Look at what we're doing. Look at where we're going. That's the proof that I talk about when we want to show people what we can do. And when we want to be seen, we should bank on our track record and all of our efforts should go to fixing what we can today. Leave tomorrow where it's gonna be. Set a vision, not a goal. Set a vision. I am going to be this person in my life. And adjust everything in your life, align everything in your life to follow that. You don't have to change it, but once you've found it, make it a magnificent obsession. Fixate on it. They'll call you crazy, they'll call you weird, they'll call you insane, you've lost your mind. They'll call you everything under the sun. But it won't matter because you say, I know where I'm going in my life. For me, I like to think of the cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back. This is a song that is very true and very important. Once you can see the path, even no matter you don't know exactly the way, you can see the end, the path reveals itself along the way. You do not need to worry, you do not need to live in fear thinking what will happen. One day at a time. Rumi said it, along the way, the way appears. And the journey of a thousand miles begins with the single step. So to be seen is also to have a vision. To have a vision understands that you don't know everything. You're okay with that. Along the way, you will get better. Along the way, you will meet people. You will watch videos like this. I can't tell you how my team came to be. I can't tell you the formula of that. All I can say is when I made the choice to commit to what I was doing, And I was brave enough, and I use the word brave intentionally, to say it to the world and not shy or living in fear or hiding from a camera. Because I'm, for the most part, I still find this difficult at times. But once I was able to speak the truth and say, that's where I'm going and I'd love you to be there with me, troops rallied and everyone said, you know what, we want to get there too. How about we get there together? Thanks so much for watching. I hope you found it useful. As always, JP, think your hardest, work your best, God will take care of the rest.