Can’t replace it with anything else. You have to love work and be one of those people who simply cannot stop until it’s all done and done right.
It’s not that we drive our people to the extraordinary volumes of output they achieve – that’s just how they’re geared.
We need great athletes, in the intellectual sense.
Not overly specialized athletes though – we cover a lot of ground of different kinds in our world, so we need people with supple minds and a high degree of adaptability. If your idea of a good intellectual challenge is balancing your checkbook…stay home.
Phil Seefried, our co-Founder, is the single most competitive human being on Planet Earth. And our whole firm has molded itself in his image.
If losing sits well with you, you won’t like it here. And we won’t like you. For Headwaters people, losing sits in their stomachs like a burning habanero burrito with a Bailey’s Irish Crème chaser. If that’s you, come on down. You’re our kind of folks.
Can you write? Can you speak? Can you state an argument clearly? Did you get A’s whenever a test was given in one of those little blue books?
We’re in the information and ideas business and we’re constantly having to tell one group of people what’s wonderful and important about another group of people. That takes skill and natural talent. You can be a hedge fund hottie, but if you can’t write, you can’t come here.
It’s not that all smart people come from great schools. They don’t. But it’s an easier learning curve at Headwaters if you do.
You understand what it’s like to be in a roomful of scary smart people and understand the value and functionality of a great network. You also probably clear most of our hurdles by sheer virtue of the fact that you were admitted to one of the great schools where we recruit. Still think you’ve got the traits outlined above? Just know that you’re going to have to work a little harder to clear the initial bar
Read the list of innately required qualities above. If you find a person like that, and they don’t have a great sense of humor, let’s admit it: They’re probably a jackass.
So we won’t hire you unless you can laugh at yourself (and if you can, of course, then you’re allowed to laugh at others, too). You don’t have to be wickedly witty, but you gotta be able to laugh.