How to get hired (update on mini-me)

I've been getting quite a few emails from people on my list asking for an update on me hiring a "mini-me" for my company. I just got back home after spending 2 days in Chicago for a Saas mastermind so I didn't get to do much actual "work." I've finally gone through all the ads everyone wrote who got through to the second stage of the application process. I'll be sending out my verdicts to everyone by the end of day tomorrow. Only a handful will make it to the 3rd stage so it's tough to make a decision. Now let me use this as a moment to teach a little lesson. I've hired quite a few people at this point in my life. I've made some great hiring decisions, and some really stupid ones. So in no way am I an expert. But I'll tell you what I think matters if you want to land a certain gig or a full-time job. 1. The ability to follow simple directions. If you can't follow basic directions, you won't get hired. If I ask you to send me an email with a certain subject line, you're automatically disqualified if you can't do that. Think about it, how can I trust you to do a job when you can't do something a middle schooler could do. 2. Don't do the bare minimum. If I ask you to write up to 3 ads as a test, don't write one or two. That shows me you're going to do the bare minimum if I hire you. 3. Stand out. Take a risk. The second stage of the hiring process was to write up to 3 Facebook ads for [Email Game Changers](. Quite a few people wrote solid ads, but they were just variations of the sales page. They were generic and didn't show any creativity. The ads weren't bad. Some were good. But if you couldn't come up with anything new that I hadn't already said in the sales page, I'm not gonna hire you. Over 130 people applied. You have to stand out. You can't just be another person. You have to take a risk and come up with something unique. If you do something anyone can do, you'll be forgotten, even if it's pretty good. If you do something only you can do, you'll stand out and at least give yourself a chance. It's better to take a big swing and completely miss then to bunt and be forgotten. (Yes, I used a baseball analogy even though the sport bores me to tears.) On the flip side, if you hire people here's my best piece of advice I've learned from making some bad mistakes. Don't make exceptions. If you see a red flag, acknowledge it. Trust it. Don't make excuses for other people. Don't hire people just because you like them as a human. It'll backfire in the long-term. The famous saying is "hire slow, fire fast." I've known that since before I ever hired anyone, but basically practiced "hire fast, fire slow." The most challenging part of business isn't business itself. It's the people side of it. You have to be willing to put emotions aside to make the right decisions. Even if the right decision is the hardest decision. Anyway, that's my 2 cents for now. I have a big announcement coming next week. Can't wait to share. Talk soon, Ian "take risks" Stanley Sent to:{EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Almost Passive Income, 404 S 8th St. #201, Boise, Idaho 83702, United States