Do you have what it takes to land a job at one of the best companies to work for? Sure, you can perfect your resume, dress to impress, and nail the trickiest interview questions. But odds are, you’re probably forgetting one rather unusual quality—and for Steve Jobs, it matters much, much more than a polished CV.
Back in the day, Jobs hired a few professional managers for his growing company. But he quickly learned that “most of them were bozos,” he said in a video. “They knew how to manage, but they didn’t know how to do anything.”
So, from there on out, Jobs began to value a different trait in job candidates. “We wanted people that were insanely great at what they did, but were not necessarily those seasoned professionals,” he said. “But who had at the tips of their fingers and in their passion the latest understanding of where technology was and what they could do with that technology.”
In other words, forget job experience; Jobs wanted passionate people on his team, instead. Why, you ask? Not only can enthusiastic employees manage themselves, but they also understand the company’s mission—and strive for that common goal with earnest.
To find employees with this type of passion, the Apple team interviewed each job candidate by presenting a Macintosh prototype and noting his or her reaction. “We wanted their eyes to light up and to get really excited,” Andy Hertzfeld, one of Apple’s first software engineers, said. “Then we knew they were one of us.”
Having this skill can help you succeed in any type of workplace—whether your dream job is at Apple or not. Making the right impression doesn’t stop when you land the job, though.
