A lot of people have asked me how to find great jobs and even more people have asked me how to find great people. So when my friend Bryan Flores left a job and within a week had people lining up to pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars per year I knew I had to know his process step-by-step so I could share with you.

For the employers reading this email (which is most of you), Bryan’s step by step process gives you great insight on how to hire great people.

It seems like magic that people just line up to talk to some people while others wait in the wings. But it’s not magic, there’s a process for this, both for employees looking for work and employers looking to hire and retain the best people.

• As an employee, you want to be this person. You want the best jobs, more autonomy, more money, and the ability to choose for yourself where you want to grow.

• As an employer, you're looking for people with the magic to excel, raise up their team, and drive value creation within the organization.

Here's how he did it and what you should know as an employee (top of page) and an employer (bottom of the page).

Let’s dig in.

Getting People To Line Up To Talk To You

People who have employers lining up to talk to them don’t have a crystal ball or magic wand, they work for it.

High value people are problem solvers, so they approach employment differently.

Most people looking for work start applying for jobs. High value people bring to organizations and knowing how to bring the value means knowing how to solve complex problems.

When they find themselves in a position where they are looking for work, they go to work finding what they want and what suits their lives best, target those companies, and go around the standard systems and processes for hiring. Here is the step by step on how they do it.

To be clear, this is for people who do not already have a massive audience where everyone is reaching out to them all the time.

Rule 1: Know your values and know what you want

My parents always told me that no one is going to give you anything in life. If you want something, you have to go get it yourself. So the first step is to figure out what you want in life. How much do you want to make? Do you live to work or work to live? What do you want your life to look like? What do you want your work-life balance to look like? What are your values?

The exercise below helps you solve potentially one of the most important things in anyone’s life, so you should do this even if you’re not looking to change roles.

How To Know What Success Means You:

Step 1: Make a list of categories for life such as work, relationships, family, adventure, etc.

Step 2: For each item write out: “I know when I am successful at/in [category here] when…” then finish the sentence. Then follow up each item with a clear paragraph about what success means for each item.

Step 3: Take an entire day to think through this and write everything down, then sleep on them for a night and come back to them the next day.

If you’re in between roles you probably have a lot of free time, so take your time and really, really think about this stuff.

Rule 2: Get your story straight

Now it’s time to start developing a compelling story. You were doing something before looking for the next role and you have a direction in life.

Figure out your story and practice saying it in front of the mirror. I was at [former company], I am great at [fill in the blank] because I did… whatever. Just make sure you know this inside and out. Most importantly, remember that the values you present have to align with the companies you’re going to be speaking with. If they don’t then it’s not a good fit for you, no matter how much money they throw at you.

Rule 3: Do your homework

This is a big missing piece for so many potential employees these days. They don’t do their homework. Not only do they not know what we do, they don’t know what they want.

Now that you know your goals and you’ve got your story straight, it’s time to spend some time with Google or ChatGPT and find companies that align to you

So look up the companies you think you want to work with, read recent news articles about them, read the profiles of the leadership team on LinkedIn, have AI put together a profile of the company for you, and know where you want to fit in that organization.

Now you’ve got your targets list.

After you have the companies selected, figure out who your boss would be at this company and look them up as well. Reach out to their former employees (again through LinkedIn) and ask what they did and didn’t like about working with them. Ask former or current employees if they can get you connected to the person.

Just don’t actually talk to them until you do the rest of the stuff below.

Rule 4: Make yourself look presentable

Step 1: Look good in person. Go to the gym, get a haircut, shave, get a new outfit, whatever you need to do to look great in person.

Step 2: Look and sound great on CAMERA. This is IMPORTANT if you are interviewing, you’re probably meeting people online, and at least at first you’re almost certainly going to be interviewing on a video call. So don’t use a shitty webcam. Get something that presents you well. Make sure you’re background is professional. Most importantly, get a good mic! If they can’t hear you, then you lost before you ever started.

What was important before Covid was the way you looked in person by wearing sharp clothes and nice shoes, being freshly shaved, and having a nice haircut. Now it’s about how professional you look on camera. You don’t necessarily need to wear a suit or equivalent for women, but you need to have a sharp picture and great sound.

That is professionalism in today’s world.

Step 3: Optimize you LinkedIn Profile. Now that you look good, have a bright smile, and a great headshot (here’s how to do it without getting professional photography done), it’s time to freshen up that Linkedin profile. Have a professional picture and a background that presents you professionally, and spend some time writing a good bio that highlights the value you provided and the value you will provide to employers. Finally, spend some time teaching people through posts Linkedin how to do the job you’re already great at. Just remember, keep it simple and pretend you’re writing for a short post on Tiktok. These days, people’s attention spans are about as long as that of a moderately intelligent goldfish. If you want to really push your Linkedin, reach out to my buddy Jordan Carroll at Unlocked Authority.

Rule 5: Hunt.

In sales, we talk about hunters and farmers. In this case, a farmer will plant a thousand seeds by submitting applications all over the place. High impact people are HUNTERS in finding their next role.

You know who you are, you know what companies you want to work out, you’ve got a great story, your headshot looks amazing, you look and sound great on video, you’ve practiced your spiel, now it’s time to go hunting.

The first step in hunting is: DO NOT APPLY TO WORK AT THE BUSINESS, that’s farming, and that’s not how great people get new roles. High impact people know how to sell themselves. If they are looking for a role at company where they don’t know anyone, they don’t go apply right away, that’s for everyone else.

So what do you do?

1. Find connections you have to the business and get them to be references for you. Leverage your personal network. Make calls to old colleagues you haven’t talked to in a long time, reach out to your second and third degree connections on LinkedIn, or call your friends and ask them to call their friends. A personal reference from someone at the business skips the line.

2. Find the headhunters the company uses and talk to them about how you want to work at the company. This is one of the secrets that high impact people use that most people don’t realize is an option.

3. Call the person in charge of the department where you would want to work and talk to them directly. You can also find ways to message them directly, for example through LinkedIn. Once you get connected, get them on the phone and ask them what they are struggling with right now and figure out how to say that you can solve that problem. If they don’t have any problems, ask what problems they expect to have in the coming year. This is the person that will make the final decision on hiring you, so make a great impression and tell them you would like to work with them. Let them then direct you to apply. This is how sought after people skip the line.

Rule 6: Be clear on culture

If the company’s culture doesn’t fit you, look elsewhere. It’s that simple. If you’re not going to fit in, it just going to be hard and you’re going to quit anyway. High impact people work where it’s best for them, where they can thrive. If you’re always going to be going against the grain, you’re just going to get splinters.

Rule 7: Persistence and tenacity

Drayton Mclane, the CEO of the billion dollar Mclane Enterprises told me his story about getting his first deal with Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. He said he went to see them every other week for YEARS before Sam Walton decided to give him a chance. It took tenacity and persistence to make that deal happen, and that’s why Drayton is a billionaire.

I’m not saying you’re going to be a billionaire, but high impact people are paid well, and if you want that to be you, then you too need to be persistent and tenacious.

Rule 8: In life you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.

Here’s the trick to maximizing your salary; figure out what the budget is for the role you’re trying to get. Ask your friends at the company if you have any. Ask the other employees that you contacted or your soon to be new boss if he can help fill you in on it. Go onto Indeed and other job boards where a lesser informed HR person may have posted the job at the full rate. Look everywhere you can because this is important!

Once a high impact person has convinced the leadership that they are the right person for the role, if the role has a budget of 175k and they’re offering your 150k, the leadership will almost always go up to the initially budgeted amount and often beyond. If you’re the top pick, they will make additional concessions.

• Want more work from home time? Negotiate.

• Want to be fully remote? Negotiate it.

• Want then to cover your phone? Negotiate it.

• Want a company car? Negotiate it.

Want to see the full interview with Bryan where he goes through his process step-by-step? Check it out here:

Hiring High Impact People

Now you know what I’ve seen high impact people do time and time and time again, and now you know how they approach finding their next role.

As an employer, here are lessons you can learn from the list and process above:

Rule 1: Know what your company stands for.

The best companies I’ve worked for and have run stated their values every week, they hire and fire by them, treat people according to them and even fire customers due to them. You need to know what you stand for, what’s important, and why.

If you don’t, the company will develop it’s own values, and you may not like them. The most high impact, sought after people want to work at companies that are driving towards something bigger than themselves, that stand for something important, and that aligns with their values. If that’s not you, then that’s probably why you don’t have the most high impact people applying.

Rule 2: Get your story straight. 

When you’re looking for great people, they need to see clearly what you do, why you do it, and where you’re going. Great leaders show people a vision of the future and can guide them, step by step, towards it. The most high impact people are looking for this.

Rule 3: Do your homework.

When you’re looking for great people, don’t just throw up a job description onto a few job boards, actually do your homework. Have your team read books on how to hire, go to conferences and see how others are doing it, really work towards finding the best people and creating an environment where they want to work.

Here is a link to my favorite hiring process that works. It’s probably one of the most valuable pieces of content I’ve put together. The most sought after people, the ones that are the difference between mediocrity and ruling the world aren’t going to give you a second thought if you’re just like everyone else, mediocre.

Rule 4: Be presentable and be known.

Be known so you can be on people’s target list. How will great people find you if they’ve never heard of you? Obviously, there is a lot to be said about this, but I’d have to cover that in a separate email.

When you’re working remotely, it’s no longer about wearing a suit, it’s about having a good camera, a good microphone, and a professional background. The most sought after people out there have this and they are judging you by these standards as well. See my notes in the top section for my camera and sound setup.

Rule 5: Hunt.

Most of the time, the best people are already employed. If you want those great people, you have to go hunting, head hunting. Often, the best people in your industry work for your competitors, and some of those competitors aren’t so great to work with.

Wouldn’t those high impact people be happier working with you? I know you’d be happier working with them.

Rule 6: Control culture.

Whether you like it or not, there is a conversation going on and if you’re not a part of it, you can’t control it. Don’t let culture direct itself. Just like values, it can get out of control if you’re not watching.

An out of control culture can turn toxic fast and will inevitably drive away the most high impact people that are applying, not to mention your current team.

Also, remember that if someone isn’t a good culture fit, don’t hire them. It’s just going to be a mis-hire and you’re going to have to start over.

Rule 7: Be tenacious about hiring the right people and persistent about firing the wrong ones.

Letting the wrong people onto the ship you’re captaining through perilous waters can end up with you and everyone else drowning. If someone isn’t the right fit, don’t hire them. If they were the right fit and they aren’t anymore, let them go.

Most importantly, remember that firing is an act of kindness. Kindness to the team members who are working their butts off for the business that you are holding back because you’re not making the hard decisions. And kindness to the person you’re letting go because everyone wants to excel at work and if they are not, they probably know it and it’s causing them stress. So let them go somewhere they can be successful.

Rule 8: Negotiate. 

If you read the part for employees above, you know that the most hpeople are smart, very smart. They are looking for ways to get past your defenses and loose lips sink ships. Be careful about what information you let out during the hiring process, these are the cards you can play, don’t show them before the game even starts.

So there it is, eight rules for employees and eight rules for employers that happen to be exactly the same, just applied a little differently. I hope this is helpful for you in your job search or in your search for high impact people.

A few people always respond to my very long emails, but I would love to hear more. If you have time, please just hit reply and let me know if this was helpful for you!

Some Of My Top Tools

I get a lot of questions about the tools I use and I wanted to use today’s email to walk you through a few of them and go over how much time and money they save me.

Thinking about starting a newsletter? I’ve got the system for you! Beehiiv is what sent this newsletter. It was recommended to me by Mitchell Cohen from Appsumo and it has been a GREAT system. The thing they did that no one else has done is to enable your newsletter to be promoted by other newsletters on their system. They make writing the emails a breeze, the UX is great, and their deliverability is fantastic. Five Stars, definitely recommend.

A lot of people have asked me over the years “who is ‘Jasons Notetaker’”. Well, here he is! It’s my buddy MeetGeek. This is possibly one of my best purchases on Appsumo. This deal ended a while ago on Appsumo, but the thing I like about it is that even if I was going to buy it, it’s not terribly expensive. It’s definitely less than Fireflies and Fathom for what you get at the top tiers (which is what I use).

Let’s say you were spending $20 per person per month for your team of 10 people for AI access, but you need to know what people are doing, enable them to work together, let them incorporate new AI tools, and have all of it managed? With TeamGPT you have team management capabilities, can store and share both prompts and chats, organize everyone easily, and you can use other models like Gemini, Anthropic, Deepseek, and even Perplexity in the same system. I use this system probably 5 times an hour. I also picked this up on Appsumo when it first came out. If you want to manage your entire organization’s use of AI Chat systems, this is probably your top choice. Here’s a quick video on how I use the system.

That’s about it for this week. I’ve been working on a very lengthy post on how to get your development team back on track if they are missing deadlines, producing too many bugs, and other issues. It’s turned into a book though and I’m thinking about turning it into a course. If you’re interested in learning about that, let me know!

Till next time,
Jason

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