MM: Are You Looking to Add Value? 04/18/16 | A couple of weeks ago, I got asked by the graduate department at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business to be on a panel of alumni talking about career development. The panel fielded questions from current students from a wide range of issues, but the questions I remember best is this one: “What does your firm look for in a candidate?” A fairly innocuous question on the surface. The alumni on the panel gave a wide variety of different answers: “We’re looking for someone who is a fit for our company’s culture.” “We’re looking for someone with the right skills that seems like a good fit.” “We just know it when we see it.” “We want to know how your experience will benefit our company.” All fine answers. All important answers. But it really all drills down to one thing: “We want someone who can prove they’re going to add value.” So you probably came here looking for motivation. Here it is: No matter what job you have - whether you work the front desk of a medical office, the fry cooker at a fast food joint, or in an office staring at a spreadsheet - your daily goal should be to add value. Don’t just coast. Don’t sit back and treat your job description as a shield (or handcuffs) from extra work. Look for places that you can add value. Take an extra assignment. Help a coworker with theirs. You’ll be amazed at how much faster your career, your pay, and your job satisfaction will advance when you become the person your business can count on. So get motivated, get busy adding value, and see what happens. I, for one, am not ready to welcome our robot overlords just yet.