Leaders hire people to work “with”

You know how we all have those words that make us look up? Phrases where you know, in your head, what they meant, but it still makes you want to correct them?

For me, the phrase pops up when talking about recruiting. I hear it all the time, “I’m trying to hire a product marketer to work for me,” or “I’m trying to hire a developer to work for me on our engineering team.”

When I hear it, I want to say, “you mean, ‘with’.”

They’d likely look at me with the “huh?” look. You know, the look that suggests I might have a personality problem.

So for the most part I say nothing. But what I know is this – Leaders hire people to work with. And that last preposition is important.

Not “for” but “with.”

When you recruit or hire staff, build a team of people you want to work with, not a team of people you want to manage or be in charge of.

It’s a tiny little change but dramatically changes who and how you recruit.