Having initiative and being a ‘self starter’: skills that will get you far

Part of my role as Head of Talent for the Bauer Academy is to understand key talent priority areas for the business and help to identify skills gaps, both within Bauer and the wider creative industries. 

I’m currently conducting interviews with key people from across Bauer to make sure that as an Academy, we’ve got an up to date and accurate picture of what the business needs and where the gaps are. This helps us to design effective training solutions and, in turn, create an effective talent pipeline.

From the outset there has been a clear front runner across all departments (radio, magazines, digital) when talking about must have qualities that people look for in new recruits and what they see most lacking in those who apply for positions. 

And the winner is… (drumroll please…) the ‘self-starter’ - someone who can show clear initiative and can think for themselves.

As someone who is getting a bit long in the tooth, it grates on me that I’m writing a blog post on something that should really be filed under ‘common sense’ but over the years I’ve really noticed something being lost in translation around this topic.

I don’t want to go as far as to say it’s a generational thing as I know plenty of young people who’ve shown exceptional initiative and a fair share of older people who haven’t. But there’s a distinct lack of it going around just now, whether that’s down to the age of the internet, a growing lack of confidence in people or something else.

At a time when knowledge work is more important than ever, the ability to show initiative and creatively problem solve will put you massively ahead of the pack when you’re looking to get into the industry or progress within it.

What does being a ‘self-starter’ really mean?

Essentially what managers are looking for are people who don’t need to be babysat, who come to the table with fresh ideas, who find stuff to do and don’t wait to be told. It’s the ability to critically think and creatively problem solve. It’s being proactive (but importantly being proactive about the right kind of things – that small distinction is key). 

There is a slight art to this and it’s important not to confuse enthusiasm with initiative. It’s easy to feel that you are being a self starter if you’re eager to please but to show real initiative you need to be able to understand context, know priorities and what is most important to those you are working for, and not just your perception of what should be a priority (i.e. usually the ‘fun’ stuff). 

What not to do

There is an abundance of stories that suggest this ability is not as common as it should be and as the new series of ‘The Apprentice’ has kicked off I’m sure we’ll see lots of examples from the boardroom flooding our timelines over the coming weeks.

Since the Academy was formed (back in 2012) we’ve come across a few examples ourselves that are worth sharing.

The person who couldn’t find the radio station door (yup, really) 

One of our radio content directors was interviewing for a producer role.  One candidate didn’t turn up but emailed a couple of hours later to apologise for his no show, saying that he had travelled (quite a distance) there, then described in great detail the building and surrounding area but said he was unable to locate the front door so he just went home. I’ll admit, the station in question has an awkward entrance that looks more like a window or a fire exit and it confused me the first time I went there but… I still made it in. 

Now, this is extreme and I’m sure there must be more to this story and other things going on with that particular candidate than just what they told us. However, it happened and is an exaggerated but great illustration of the need for initiative. If you ever find yourself in this situation, be a normal human and find someone to ask - in the bar next door, call the radio station’s reception, email the contact you’re due to meet, anything.  There’s always a way!

Not knowing the brand they’re applying to

This situation is more common than you would think. A student on one of our programmes went for an interview for work experience at a radio station and couldn’t name any of their presenters. I can’t tell you how bad that comes across for something so simple. And internally we regularly get people in for job interviews who can’t talk about the brand they want to work for, I hear it from lots of different areas of the business. Huge mistake and makes an awful impression on the very people you want to hire you. This goes beyond initiative to just plain common sense. Know what you’re interviewing for and make sure your knowledge/info is up to date.

Expecting an opportunity to be handed to you

I can’t stress enough how important it is to be ‘doing stuff’. The whole essence of a self-starter is someone who doesn’t wait to be told what to do, to be given permission to do it or even to be given the opportunity in the first instance. Instead it’s someone who creates as much opportunity and momentum as they can by themselves.  You don’t need us, instead show us how much we need someone like you (saying ‘I’ll work really hard’ is great but doesn’t show us anything, we need more).

The Academy is an excellent foot in the door for those wanting to work in the media industry, but it is not a golden ticket, you still need to show talent and put in the work. I’ve come across a few people over the years who have assumed that as soon as they have done one or two courses with us that they had done enough and should have everything given to them. That’s not how it works. Those in charge of hiring want to see the self-starter in you and doing one course doesn’t show that.   Show us what you’ve got and that you’re keen. (And just as an aside, show me that and I’ll champion you all the way).

So, what does ‘good’ look like?

Ok, so now we’ve covered some brief examples of what’s not acceptable, it’s time to have a look at some shining examples of people who have impressed by showing that they have a brain and they know how to use it (which ultimately is all we’re really asking for!).

Finding a contact without asking

Also referred to (by me) as doing a ‘Jessica Fletcher’ and showing off some good old fashioned investigating skills (younger readers may need to google that ref). 

My favourite out of the blue email came from someone who had saw me retweet an opportunity in radio, discovered what I do, worked out my email address without asking for it and sent me a charming email asking for some advice. I can’t even begin to tell you how refreshing it was. It was over a year ago and I talk about it all the time.

We’re all suffering from the internet age where we want everything in an instant and let others do our thinking for us so I’m used to people asking outright ‘can I get your email address’ when actually it would take less than 3 minutes to find it online (or quicker to hazard a guess based on all Bauer email addresses). That little bit of effort on your behalf shows me that you’re a capable person worthy of being trusted to find creative solutions at work too. 

I honestly can’t tell you how much of a difference this makes (and I also can’t believe I’m saying that finding my email online is a ‘creative solution’ to be applauded so highly but you wouldn’t believe how many times people have asked for information just like this which is ready available). 

Please, if you do nothing else from this post, when faced with something you don’t know, try and figure it out! Do a bit of investigating, take a punt and make a good impression.

The digital executive who volunteered to build their skills

One of our digital executives was in between jobs and realised she had a gap in her skillset where she wanted to get some more experience. She volunteered her time with a local charity to keep her current skills fresh and up to date as well as brushing up on areas that she hadn’t done as much of. It meant she had no gaps in her CV (she showed that she kept working on something when her previous role finished) and she had clear examples of things to show in her portfolio that she didn’t have previously.

Whether it’s volunteering or doing your own thing (developing a blog, website, podcast, youtube channel, whatever), show that when you don’t have a job or a boss telling you what to do, you’re actively doing something productive with your time. 

How can you be more ‘self starter’?

To wrap up, here are a few things to keep in mind:

•  Think before you act. Consider all angles and potential consequences. In the Academy we call it Deliberate Action (it’s in our Culture Code) and it’s helped me many times to consider things I hadn’t thought of and to see them in a different light just by pausing, even briefly, to think things through rather than steam rolling ahead.
• Think ‘how else could I find out this information’? (or, if it helps, think ‘what would Jessica Fletcher, Gil Grissom or Eve Pollastri do?’) Have fun with it and try and figure it out yourself. And whatever you do, try not to ask questions that you could easily find out by google or other means, it just makes you look lazy.   That said….
• Be curious! Ask questions (good questions not lazy ones!), ponder why things are the way they are and in what ways they could be different. Daydreaming doesn’t always go down well in a day job but if you are problem solving it can be helpful and the thing that helps find a solution. Find time to daydream when faced with a problem, see where your thoughts take you and you might have some surprising insights.
• DIY (Do it yourself) – There are no excuses in this day and age not to be creating something whether it’s your own blog, vlog, podcast etc. 
• Do your homework / research – you know that old chestnut ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’? As cringeworthy as it is, it’s true. 
• Embrace a lifelong learning attitude. Never lose the desire to learn and grow, it’s your kryptonite, the thing that will keep you relevant. There is nothing worse than someone thinking they know it all.

These are just a few examples. Hopefully they have inspired you to think about what it means and what you can do to help to become more of a self starter if it doesn’t come naturally to you. 

Some of this stuff comes with experience which only time can give, but in the meantime don’t wait to be told what to do or wait to be given that opportunity. Develop a raised awareness of what’s around you, embrace responsibility, ask for regular feedback (and apply it) – these are all key to helping you to develop and nurture your own initiative.  It is genuinely one of the essential and most rated skills that senior people within Bauer and further afield are looking for in candidates so it’s worth investing some time to consider it and develop where you can.