Why Your Next ‘Yes’ Hire Might Come From Someone Who Just Said ‘No’ To Your Job Offer
The Art of Asking “If Not You, Who Should I Talk To?”
I failed. You see, there was a really talented Consumer Product Manager at Google that I was trying to get over to YouTube. He’d decided to leave Mountain View and work on a new startup, but I thought there was an opening. Maybe he was running away from the increasingly process-driven and bureaucratic nature of the PM role? Maybe if I could convince him that here, in San Bruno, the speed was different and the team more nimble, he’d stay? Give me a good year or two before taking on the challenges of entrepreneurship….
He turned me down. For the right reasons at least. In a moment of proverbial desperation I blocked the door as he exited the office we’d grabbed. “Give me a name,” I said. “If not you, who should I hire for this role?” He thought for a second and answered. That person joined our product team just a few weeks later.
Sometimes the best candidate referrals can come from the people who just turned down your job offer. Why?
- They know your company and the role SUPER-WELL
- They know you’re serious about filling the role and have a good sense of what compensation could look like
