{"id":5411,"date":"2026-05-03T13:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=5411"},"modified":"2026-05-03T13:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:50:16","slug":"diary-of-a-ceo-founder-hired-someone-with-zero-work-experience-because-she-did-this-one-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=5411","title":{"rendered":"Diary of a CEO founder hired someone with ‘zero’ work experience because she did this one thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Job-seekers may believe that an Ivy League degree or Fortune 500 work experience will land them a gig\u2014but who they thank while walking into an interview could be more important than their professional pedigree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Steven Bartlett, the founder and host of The Diary of a CEO podcast, took a chance on an applicant with a virtually blank CV for that very reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hired someone who\u2019s CV was two lines. Their experience was zero,\u201d Bartlett explained in a LinkedIn post earlier this year. \u201cMuch of the reason why I gave her the job was because: She thanked the security guard by name on the way into the building.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She continued to prove herself during the hiring process in seemingly small ways too\u2014and those acts of humility got her the job, not her credentials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she didn\u2019t know something, in the interview she said \u2018I don\u2019t know that yet, but here\u2019s how I\u2019d figure it out,\u2019\u201d Bartlett explained. \u201cAfter the interview she went and self-taught herself the answer she didn\u2019t know, and emailed it to me within hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The founder took a chance on the experience-less candidate, and it didn\u2019t take long to pay off; Bartlett said that six months later, she has proved herself as one of the best hires he\u2019s ever made. \u201cFifteen years of hiring has taught me that culture fit and character is MUCH harder to hire than experience, skills or education.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bartlett\u2019s hiring philosophy is music to the ears of entry-level Gen Zers kickstarting their careers without full-time work on their resumes.<\/p>\n

What other CEOs have their own unique hiring philosophies?<\/p>\n

It has long been the rule of thumb that the candidate with the best degree, most work experience, and impressive credentials will come out of job interview rounds victorious. But with years of successful and failed hires under their belt, bosses are bucking the status quo and chasing talent with human skills, work ethic, and integrity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, isn\u2019t drawn to candidates with the highest IQ. Instead, he said he\u2019s in the \u201ccamp of smart enough\u201d when hiring talent at the $267 billion bank; in lieu of focusing on educational pedigree, he gravitates towards applicants who are in touch with \u201chuman elements\u201d including the ability to connect, be resilient, and determined. Experience is also \u201chugely underrated\u201d and a \u201cbig differentiator for the firm,\u201d Solomon noted. Attending Harvard University or being the brightest in the room may be impressive, but it won\u2019t get job candidates far at the banking titan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be smart enough, but the smartest person in the world without a whole package of other things [is] not going to navigate Goldman Sachs well, not going to be successful in Goldman Sachs over the long run,\u201d Solomon revealed on Sequoia Capital\u2019s Long Strange Trip podcast last year. \u201cYou can\u2019t teach experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Danny Meyer, the founder of global fast-casual chain Shake Shack, couldn\u2019t agree more. To run the company\u2019s 510 restaurant locations like a well-oiled machine, he needs talent to have a high \u201chospitality quotient\u201d (HQ) over IQ. And he\u2019s searching for six green flags in Shake Shack talent: integrity, optimism, intellectual curiosity, work ethic, empathy, and self-awareness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t give a damn what your IQ is,\u201d Meyer told Fortune\u2019s Jason Del Rey at the Qualtrics X4 Summit last year. \u201cWhat an IQ basically says is one\u2019s aptitude for learning. What HQ is, is the degree to which someone is happier themselves when they provide happiness for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the Oracle of Omaha and former Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has fine-tuned his own hiring philosophy. After more than five decades helming the $1 trillion holding company, Buffett has witnessed professionals without glitzy Ivy League degrees succeed. And in planning his CEO succession last year, the investing mogul made one point clear: he wasn\u2019t going to check the education section on candidates\u2019 resumes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI never look at where a candidate has gone to school. Never!\u201d Buffett wrote in his 2025 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. \u201cOf course, there are great managers who attended the most famous schools. But there are plenty such as Pete who may have benefited by attending a less prestigious institution or even not bothering to finish school.\u201d<\/p>\n

A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on January 8, 2026.<\/p>\n

#Diary #CEO #founder #hired #work #experience<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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