A YouTube monologue advising job seekers how to stand out when contacting hiring managers, how to tell their professional story with useful context (quota comparisons and references), and how to interpret common interview questions so answers demonstrate fit and self-awareness. The speaker also promotes a follow-up video about becoming irreplaceable and links to hitmyquota.com and their LinkedIn/YouTube channels.
I get several messages a day from sellers that want my help to land a job at MongoDB or at another tech company. Let's talk about how to stand out when reaching out, how to tell your story, and what common interview questions are really asking. First, how to stand out when reaching out to hiring managers. You have to remove the burden. Make it as easy as possible for me to help you. Not just hey, here's my resume. Let me know if there's a good fit. This puts the full burden on me. I then have to go read your resume, think through openings at Mongo and at companies I know are hiring and then match those skills to those openings and then come back to you with a recommendation for how to best pursue that role. Instead, remove the burden by putting more of the effort on yourself. Reach out with a hey, based on my success in this area, I thought I might be a good fit for this role. Looks like you know Sarah, who may be the hiring manager. Would I be able to get an introduction? By doing your homework and being prepared, it makes it so much easier for me to help. And the easier you are to help, the more help you're going to receive. Second, tell your story effectively. Don't just throw out quota attainment because without context, it's not that helpful. In some orgs, hitting 80% of quota is a miracle. For others, 200% is the norm. So data that I love in your story is comparative. Providing your quota attainment relative to your peers in a similar situation gives me the context I need to know your abilities. Second, references what do other high performers say about you? Bringing these together helps you tell your story effectively. Most hiring managers try our best to reduce bias, but all humans have bias despite best efforts. Good storytelling will tilt that bias in your favor. Finally, let's talk about common interview questions you might be asked and what the interviewer is actually asking. Disclaimer I actually don't really love these questions, so I don't ask them, but they will frequently come up so you might as well be prepared. The first one is the tell me about yourself. What they are really asking is are you interesting and enjoyable to be around and so share parts of who you are that would indicate that you would be enjoyable to work with. The second most common question I've heard people mention is what's your biggest weakness? What we're actually wanting to hear here is are you self aware enough to recognize your gaps and are you actively trying to improve? My next video is going to cover how to become more irreplaceable when you are in a role you want to succeed in. Make sure to follow me here on LinkedIn or subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to see it. In the meantime, check out hitmyquota.com for my best frameworks.
