Latest news with #MostInnovativeCompaniesGalaandSummit
CNBC
20-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Here's the No. 1 resume green flag, says CEO: It shows you're ‘really driven and really curious'
Priyanka Jain, co-founder and CEO of vaginal microbiome test and care company Evvy, is very involved in her company's hiring process. "Nothing is more important than who we hire," she told CNBC Make It at Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Gala and Summit. "I interview every single person before we hire them." Evvy currently has 25 employees. Jain also looks at candidate resumes, and there's one section in particular that she believes can indicate some level of success at a startup like hers: the Interests section. An Interests section could give a sense of your passion and motivation. Listing outside of work activities like nonprofit volunteering shows that you are a person "who goes above and beyond just what your job title tells you to do," said Jain. And that's critical for a nascent company. Working at a startup "very much requires you to be feet on the ground, rolling up your sleeves, getting things done," she said. A person who's hungry to learn and do more fits right in. Career experts agree with this approach, even if you're not looking to work at a startup. "I love former athletes. I love people that do triathlons. I love parents," ex-Google recruiter and current podcaster and advisor Nolan Church previously told Make It. The Interests section helps show off "passion or creativity that makes you unique, that makes you who you are." If you feel like you don't have enough outside of work accomplishments or activities to include an Interests section, don't despair. Jain can pick up on passion for what you do in other ways, too. "I think people who are really driven and really curious tend to have some way that that is coming through" in their resume, she said, even if it's just through "a theme in the types of jobs" they do that proves they want to improve in that field. Make sure to include your accomplishments on the job and when you've had successes in the workplace. For Jain, the point is "people who are generally interested in their lives and interested in the world around them points to a curiosity that I think is really important to succeed at a startup," she said.
CNBC
18-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Don't apply to a role just 'because the title sounds cool,' C-suite exec warns young job-seekers
Chidi Achara has worked at some enterprising companies, including investment app Stash and Nike. He's currently the global chief product officer at design and tech company Huge. In his years working in leadership, Achara interviewed many job candidates. Among his green flags is potential chemistry with his team. "Do they have a sense of humor?" he told CNBC Make It at Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Gala and Summit. "Do they have storytelling ability" so they can communicate clearly? When it comes to red flags, he's noticed one pattern some young jobseekers fall into: applying when they have "no experience that matches the job," he said. Here's why and how they can troubleshoot. Young people are eager to get hired — especially in this tough job market. But a lot of young people new to the job market "take a scattergun approach to job application," he said, "and they're just applying for a bunch of stuff because the title sounds cool, or they like the comp, or they like the location." That is ultimately not a winning approach. Hiring managers can very quickly see those people are not qualified. And if Achara sees a candidate simply doesn't have the experience he needs to move forward with the interview, "I'm probably going to move on to the next," he said. Achara does not want to rule out suitable candidates who have not worked in the exact position he's hiring for but who still have some relevant experience. Recent grads might not have full-time experience but still have internships, clubs and side hustles under their belt. Say you're applying for a web developer or an engineering job and you've never worked full-time in either but on the side, you've built an app, he said. "[You] published it in the app store and [you] got 5,000 people using it." Include that in your resume. Tailor your material so it shows you have the results needed to succeed in the job. "Immediately, you'll take that person more seriously," Achara says of the hiring team. But, if you see a job you're interested in and you simply don't have the background — whether that be on-the-job experience or outside of it, think twice about sending in your material. Young jobseekers in particular "should be more discerning about what they apply for," he said. If "they're just applying because they think it sounds like a cool job, then it's probably not going to work."
CNBC
08-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Pixar exec who worked for Steve Jobs: Apple co-founder had one skill that made him great—and one habit to avoid
Steve Jobs knew he wasn't an expert in filmmaking — even after funding a spinout of animation studio Pixar, which was originally division of production company Lucasfilm, in 1986. Jobs was "pretty amazing at saying, 'this is not my business,'" chief creative officer at Pixar, Pete Docter, said at Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Gala and Summit on Thursday. Jobs' attitude was "I'm not going to come in here and direct this movie or tell you what to do," Docter said. As a 35-year employee of the company, Docter got to witness the Apple co-founder operate up close. Here's one leadership strength Docter noticed in Jobs — and one habit he hopes never to adopt himself. One skill Jobs had was being able to distill a conversation down to its essence and deliver the core idea succinctly. "He could walk into rooms where he knew nothing about what was going on," Docter said, "sit for about five minutes and analyze what the conversation was really about." And that made it easier for Jobs to help employees solve problems. "I think that came from years of practicing," said Docter. "That it's not something anyone's really born with." It's a skill he's tried to improve himself. One thing Jobs wasn't great at, said Docter, was respecting people's personal time. "He would call — especially the producers — at any time, day or night, 3 in the morning, you're on vacation, doesn't matter," Docter said. "He wants to talk to you about it, you're on." Docter assumes this habit came from Jobs' passion for what he was doing. Still, it's not a practice he wants to employ. In his capacity as a leader at Pixar, he's trying not to call people at all hours of the night but "I still email people" outside of business hours, he said. "I guess that's what my wife's trying to get me to stop doing," he said.
