搜索
Unit1TraitsoftheKeyPlayer1.Whatexactlyisakeyplayer?AKeyPlayerisaphrasethatI'veheardaboutfromemployersduringjustabouteverysearchI'veconducted.Iaskedaclient-ahiringmanagerinvolvedinarecentsearch-todefineitforme.Everycompanyhasahandfulofstaffinagivenareaofexpertisethatyoucancountontogetthejobdone.Onmyteamofsevenprocessengineerandbiologists,I'vegottwoorthreewhomIjustcouldn'tlivewithout,hesaid.Keyplayersareessentialtomyorganization.Andwhenwehireyourcompanytorecruitforus,weexpectthatyou'llbegoingintoothercompaniesandfindingjustthat:thestaffthatanothermanagerwillnotwanttoseeleave.Werecruitonlykeyplayers.2.Thisispartofapeptalkintendedtosendheadhuntersintocompetitor'scompaniestotalktothemostexperiencedstaffaboutmakingachange.Theywanttohireakeyplayerfromanothercompany.Everycompanyalsohiresfromtheranksofnewbies,andwhatthey'relookingforisexactlythesame.Weholdthemuptothestandardsweseeinourtoppeople.Ifitlooksliketheyhavethesesametraits,we'llplaceabetonthem.It'sjustabitriskier.3.It'saneducatedguess,saysmyhiringmanagerclient.Yourjobasafutureemployeeistohelpthehiringmanagermitigatethatrisk.Youneedtohelpthemidentifyyouasaprospectivekeyplayer.4.Trait1:TheselflesscollaboratorJohnFetzer,careerconsultantandchemist,firstsuggestedthistrait,whichhasalreadybeenwrittenaboutagreatdeal.Itdeservesrepeatingbecauseitisthesinglemostpublicdifferencebetweenacademiaandindustry.It'steamwork,saysFetzerThebusinessenvironmentislesslone-wolfandcompetitive,sosignsofbeingcollaborativeandselflessstandout.Youjustcan'tsucceedinanindustryenvironmentwithoutthismindset5.Manypeptidesandgradstudentshaveatoughtimeshowingthattheycanmakethistransitionbecausesomuchoftheirlifehasinvolvedplayingtheindependent-researcherroleandoutshiningotheryoungstars.Youcanmakeyourselfmoreattractivetocompaniesbyworkingtogetherwithscientistsfromotherlaboratoriesanddisciplinesinpursuitofacommongoal—anddocumentingtheresultsonyourresume.Thisapproach,combinedwithaliberaluseofthepronounweandnotjustIwhendescribingyouraccomplishments,canchangethecompany'sperceptionofyoufromalonewolftoaselflesscollaborator.Betterstill,developareputationinsideyourlabandwithpeopleyourlabcollaborateswithasapersonwhofostersandinitiatescollaborations—andmakesurethisqualitygetsmentionedbythosewhowilltakethosereferencephonecalls.6.Trait2:AsenseofurgencyDonHautisafrequentcontributortotheaas.sciencecareers.orgdiscussionforum.Heisaformerscientistwhotransitionedtoindustrymanyyearsagoandthenontoaseniormanagementposition.Hautheadsstrategyandbusinessdevelopmentforadivisionof3Mwithmorethan$2.4billioninannualrevenues.Heisamongthosewhovalueasenseofurgency.7.Businesshappens24/7/365whichmeansthatcompetitionhappens24/7/365,aswell,saysHaut.Onewaythatcompanieswinisbygetting'there'faster,whichmeansthatyounotonlyhavetomobilizeallofthefunctionsthatsupportabusinesstomovequickly,butyouhavetoknowhowtodecidewhere'there'is!Thiscreatesarequirementnotonlyforpeoplewhocanactquickly,butforthosewhocanthinkfastandhavethecouragetoactontheirconvictions.Thisrequirementneedstorunthroughoutanorganizationandisnotexclusivetomanagement.8.Trait3:RisktoleranceBeingOKwithriskissomethingthatindustrydemands.Acandidateneedstohavedemonstratedtheabilitytomakedecisionswithimperfectorincompleteinformation.Heorshemustbeabletoembraceambiguityandstickhisorherneckouttodrivetoaconclusion,wroteoneofmyclientsinajobdescription.9.Hautagrees.Businesssuccessisoftendefinedbycomfortwithambiguityandrisk-personal,organizational,andfinancial.Thiscreatesadisconnectformanyscientistsbecausesuccessinacademiaisreallymoreaboutcareful,studiedresearch.Further,greatscienceisoftendefinedbyhowonegetstotheanswerasmuchasbytheansweritself,soscientistsoftenfallinlovewiththeprocess.Inabusiness,youneedtounderstandtheprocess,butyouendupfallinginlovewiththeanswerandthentakeariskbasedonwhatyouthinkthatanswermeanstoyourbusiness.Puttingyourneckonthelinelikethisisaskillsetthatallemployerslookforintheirbestpeople.10.Anotherimportantpieceofrisktoleranceisacandidate'sdegreeofcomfortwithfailure.Failureisimportantbecauseitshowsthatyouwerenotafraidtotakechances.Socompaniesconsistentlylookforcandidateswhocanbewrongandadmitit.Everyoneknowshowtotalkaboutsuccesses—ortheyshouldifthey'reinajobsearch—butfarfewerpeoplearecomfortabletalkingaboutfailures,andfewerstillknowhowtobringlessonsandadvantagesbackfromthebrink.Formyorganization,acandidateneedstohavecomfortdiscussinghisorherfailures,andheorsheneedstohaverealfailures,notsomethingmadeupforinterviewday.Ifnot,thatpersonhasnottakenenoughrisk.saysHaut.11.Trait4:StrengthininterpersonalrelationshipsRickLeachisinbusinessdevelopmentfordecodeGenetics.Leachmadethetransitiontoindustryrecently,onthebusinesssideofthings'.Iaskedhimaboutthiskeytraitbecauseinhisnewbusinessrole,interpersonalabilitiesmakethedifferencebetweensuccessandfailure.Scientistsspendtheirlivesaccumulatingknowledgeanddevelopingtechnicalacumen,hesays,butworkingforabusinessrequiressomethingelseentirely—peopleskills.Thescientistwhoistransitioningintothebusinessworldmustprioritizehisorherrelationshipassetsa