“Seeking a collaborative, detail-oriented, professional to work as a part-time (10-15 hours per week) virtual assistant for a small but growing coaching and consulting company.”
That was the first line of the job posting for Platinum Rule Advisors’ executive assistant role. It was Thanksgiving Day last November and I was sitting on my laptop getting ready to put the pan of lasagna in the oven for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Nothing about 2020 was normal, so why fix the turkey and all of the standard trimmings? My family was getting lasagna for Thanksgiving, and while cooking, I was spending time on my laptop job searching.
2020 was quite a year for the world, but it was also a pivotal year for me for a multitude of reasons, the last being that I was looking for part-time work. Virtual work was a good fit for me, and I had recently spoken to a friend of a friend about becoming a virtual assistant. In the few seconds it took to read the rest of the PRA job description, it was like the stars were beginning to align in my life. You know that little bubbly feeling you get when you can feel there are changes going on around you? There was this excited tension in the air that drew me to this particular job listing out of the hundreds I had read.
I mentally checked off the list of the job requirements and expectations, and I knew I had solid experience in each area listed. My excitement grew. It’s almost like the universe was calling me to submit my resume, so I did. Nothing to lose, right?
After applying, I received an email request to complete the Predictive Index (PI) assessment. Having worked closely with other business coaches and human resource leaders, I was familiar with behavioral assessments and talent optimization software. I know my DISC profile. I’ve seen my Profiles XT report. I’ve taken several similar assessments as either a hiring practice or for job placement in other roles. I was prepared to commit 30-45 minutes to answering questions such as, “was George Washington or Abraham Lincoln a better president?”, which was a real question from an assessment I took several years ago. I remember it because it still bothers me that I don’t know the answer, not that I can imagine there really is an answer. Pleasantly enough, the PI assessment was only 2 questions. Two! All I had to do was pick words from a list which I felt best described me, and as a bonus, it left no centuries-old unanswered questions floating around in my head. In less than an hour, I was invited to an interview with Leonora Williamson, Founder of Platinum Rule Advisors.
In the interview, Leonora reviewed my PI assessment. Looking back, I must have sat through that Zoom interview with my mouth hanging open because she knew so much about me, and we’d never met. Our backgrounds are not the same. We didn’t know any of the same people. We hadn’t attended the same schools or even worked in the same industries.
How had she delved so deep into who I was based on my resume and a seemingly brief behavioral assessment? The answer to that is simple, yet complicated. It’s simple because the entire assessment is only two questions and there are no wrong answers. However, there are decades of data and science behind each adjective on the list of words you select to describe yourself. Not choosing a word drives as much data as choosing one. I don’t pretend to fully understand it. All I know is that it inevitably landed me my dream job.
Leonora explained that my profile was an exact match to the kind of employee that she was looking to hire. Prior to creating the job listing, she had outlined a job profile in the Predictive Index software that listed the exact behavioral pattern she desired for the role. It’s no surprise that we work exceptionally well together. She has strengths in the areas that I don’t and vice versa, which was intentional. We started our working relationship aware of how the other operates. That is knowledge that typically takes coworkers months or even years to discern, not hours.
From an employee perspective, I’ve worked with some amazing people over the years, and I’ve always said that communication is key. PI takes communication to a whole new level. I think it’s safe to say that Leonora and I are both thrilled to be working with each other. I also recognize her deliberate approach. She was actively looking for someone like me because she knew that person would work well with her. Our PI profiles are a perfect match for the work we are doing.
I hear people fuss about coworkers and management at their jobs all the time, especially on social media. I’ve been there! It’s terrible dragging yourself out of bed in the morning to get ready for a job where you put a smile on your face and spend all day acting like you love it, when all you really want is for the workday to end so you can go home. The next morning, you get up and do it all over. There were years of my life where I lived for lunch breaks, five o’clock, and Fridays. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Author Jim Collins says “get the right people on the right bus and in the right seat” to move a business from good to great. I’m definitely on the right bus and in the right seat. I also like to believe that I’ve helped Platinum Rule Advisors grow since I started. That’s another benefit to purposefully selecting the right people for a role. The universe sure has a strange way of working out for the best!
This blog was authored by Angel Horn, Executive Assistant at Platinum Rule Advisors