Third Degree Learn

 

It's funny to me that for someone who has had a grand total of two jobs in his life, I get asked for career advice all the time. But, hiring is one of my most important tasks as head of a consulting firm, so it's something I think about a lot and spend meaningful time on. So along the way I hope I would've accumulated some wisdom on the subject.

Thus, when asked, I'm happy to help. And I usually offer some form of the adage that networking trumps credentials, which is to say that employers are more likely to hire you if they know you, know of you, or know someone they trust who knows you. In professional services, reputation is everything, and reputation can only be partly gleaned through resumes but can be more assuredly verified through direct experience or trading on the opinion of someone you respect.

All well and good, and completely orthodox in these spaces. But now let me offer a completely opposite and contrarian opinion, which is that some hiring should utterly break out of this mindset and take some chances with what are called "third-degree LinkedIn connections."

If you're not familiar with LinkedIn, it's a professional networking site where you can curate your resume, post information, and connect with others. Anyone you are directly connected with is referred to as a "first-degree LinkedIn connection." Which means that "second-degree LinkedIn connection" means you and I are not directly connected, but we have one or more shared connections. As of this writing, I have over 3,000 first-degree connections and over 900,000 second-degree connections, which is nowhere near the whole universe of people out there but is a pretty hefty reach.

"Third-degree LinkedIn connection" means that not only are you and I not directly connected, but we have no direct connections in common. Which means that for me, as an employer, there is no one in my network who I can reach out to who knows you and who can vouch for you. Red flag, no? Pass and move on, right? To do otherwise would seem to violate the prevailing advice that you hire who you know or at least who you have some tie to.

And yet I offer that it is important for any firm of any size to have its share of third-degree connections. The power of diversity lies in having disparate perspectives to draw in and learn from when shaping a company culture. If, even if we are diverse in every other conceivable way, we are limiting ourselves only to people in our current circles, we are by definition missing out on all the other circles out there that we are not currently part of. And, no matter how well-connected you are, that's missing out on a lot, I daresay the vast majority, of human talent out there.

I would consider myself pretty well-connected. But I am self-aware enough to know that who I am one or two degrees of separation from still falls well short of the entire pool of people who can contribute to our company. 

I'm happy to report that we are seeing more and more third-degree LinkedIn connections, perhaps impelled by a pandemic that is causing people to broaden their willingness to try new industries and new geographies. Every single one who we have hired has done amazing here. And, as hoped for, their new perspectives enhance us immensely. It encourages me to continue to seek out ways we can identify and engage with people outside our current circles. I hope you are similarly encouraged to do the same.