Hiring An All-Star Team Via the Steve Jobs Hiring Philosophy

To put it lightly, Steve Jobs was an unconventional leader. His management style wasn’t drawn from a university textbook: he was a ‘high-maintenance co-worker’ who demanded excellence from his staff. However difficult, Jobs knew how to build an extraordinary team and lead them to produce their best work, which changed the face of Apple as we know it today. It was his perspective on recruitment that made all the difference.

As you take a step back to consider your hiring philosophy and team-building goals, consider alternate perspectives. In this discussion, we’ll explore Jobs best hiring practices, offering valuable insights for CTOs on how to identify and attract top talent to drive success.

Steve Jobs philosophy on hiring an ‘A Grade’ team

Jobs was relentless in his search for talent. He never compromised on the talents and qualifications required of his employees. During his career, he personally interviewed millions of applicants and thought no application was beneath him – since he believed in a unified team.

“Make sure you’re hiring only A-players. I’ve learned over the years that when you have really good people, you don’t have to baby them. By expecting them to do great things, you can get them to do great things. The original Mac team taught me that A-plus players like to work together, and they don’t like it if you tolerate B-grade work, ”Jobs said.

According to Jobs, there’s a vast difference between qualified talent and exceptional talent. He focused on the best-of-the-best senior executives and engineers because they could accomplish more. In addition, he noted that A-players find it frustrating to work with people who churn out average or sub-standard work. They simply don’t have the chance to develop if they are surrounded by people who are not as accomplished.  So, if you recruit the best, you attract and retain more of the best.

Key traits for identifying top talent, Steve Jobs style

Every leader wants A+ players on their team, yet few know how to find them. When you thoroughly analyze Apple’s philosophy of hiring, there’s a streamlined and org-wide uncompromising attitude toward perfection. Across their hiring process, Apple is committed to finding those who have the following attributes:

Passion-minded

Jobs’ first principle was: “Do what you love. People with passion can change the world for the better.” Jobs has followed his heart his entire life and that passion has made all the difference. Hence, at Apple, people are hired because they have the passion to work for the company. Passionate employees are invested in their work, excited by new challenges, not afraid to take risks, and constantly looking to improve themselves and the company they work for. All of this helps businesses build resiliency in today’s constantly changing environment.

Vision-minded

As per Jobs, you need to hire people who are connected with the company’s vision. If the applicant is passionate about what the company does, and if the mutual goals align, they are more likely to stick around and grow with the company. On the other hand, when you hire people who don’t seem to agree with or care about your company vision, you are potentially employing future enemies.

Innovation-minded

Jobs always emphasized the vital importance of hiring people who are innovative and willing to create something from nothing. Creative employees do not believe in simply doing what they are asked to do, they show more commitment and proactivity in exploring other opportunities. With creative team members on board, leaders can see a paradigm shift in how the process works and how the roadmap leads to success.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs 

Excellence-minded

Jobs believed that we don’t get the chance to do that many things, so each thing we do, should truly be excellent—because it’s just one life. The same attitude is expected from every employee. Applicants who do not share that passion for excellence do not have a chance at Apple.

“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”—Steve Jobs.

Recruiting perfection wasn’t enough for Jobs

In Jobs’ world, creating an environment that makes people appreciate that they work with people as talented as they are and that their work is bigger than any single individual is equally important. Hence Jobs built a culture where employees understood that their work could influence the world, and he always communicated a strong, clear vision of how that would happen.

He believed that each employee, and not just the leadership, is the face of the organization. That’s the hallmark of a true leader because, at the end of the day, it’s about both business and people. 

To conclude, every CTO and business leader should appreciate these simple yet profound advice from the former head of Apple. Most managers think that hiring isn’t an important management skill. For most, it’s certainly not something that they need to do frequently, hence they don’t invest enough time refining a skill that’s seldom utilized. However, this wasn’t the case for Jobs.

“I disagree totally. I think it’s the most important job,” Jobs ntoed. According to him, people are an organization’s most valuable asset. And hiring the best is crucial for improving employee performance and productivity, engagement, and retention.

In brief

Steve Jobs is a legend for many reasons, but one of his talents that is not often discussed is his ability to be a world-class recruiter. He recognized that being smart was only half the recipe, and a team of great people was the other half.