How Luck Happens by Janice Kaplan & Barnaby Marsh

Author:Janice Kaplan & Barnaby Marsh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2018-03-06T05:00:00+00:00

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I wondered if I could be exaggerating the need for connections to keep you from the tossed-résumé pile until I talked to Jack, a thirty-one-year-old executive at a quickly expanding e-commerce site. Smart and hardworking, Jack is exactly the kind of inspired and thoughtful manager most people would like as a boss. He’s figured out that supporting the people on his team works out for everyone.

Jack needed to hire some twenty people when he started out, and the human resources group flooded him with hundreds of elegant résumés (and properly written cover letters) from applicants who boasted of impressive colleges and business schools and wide-ranging experience. How do you make the distinctions?

“Most of the people I hired had made some effort to reach out to me directly, or they tracked down someone in the company who could put in a good word,” Jack said. He wanted people who were self-starting and could take charge—and making the effort to connect with him was one way to prove their skill. Networking or weak ties gave them an edge. “I hadn’t really planned it that way, but when someone shows they’re eager and goes that extra step, you notice them.”

The new online company was acquired by a bigger firm—and Jack and everyone he hired seemed very lucky when their stock options were paid out at a generous number. But they had gotten lucky by reason of making good connections to start with.

Some people look at networking of that sort as being slightly disreputable, as if they’re stealing an advantage they don’t really deserve. And sometimes it can make you feel a little queasy. When the HBO show Girls was first announced, I remember being a little taken aback by the cast. Creator Lena Dunham had selected three women to costar with her, and two of them—Allison Williams and Zosia Mamet—had famous parents and the third, Jemima Kirke, was Dunham’s high school friend.* All were talented, but I kept thinking about all the equally talented young actresses who didn’t have their edge. I pictured rows of young actresses standing in line for their audition, not knowing the odds were stacked against them. It didn’t seem fair.

But then a funny thing happened. Over six seasons on the air, Williams and Mamet and Kirke so defined their characters that it was impossible to think of anybody else in their roles. Mamet continued honing her skills, and I went to see her in an off-Broadway play in which she was stunningly good. And that’s when I realized—connections can give you a foot in the door, but just like any other lucky break, what really matters is what you do with them.*

Still, the networks and weak ties that make luck for some people effectively block the path for others. In terms of social mobility and possibilities for everyone, we need to think about ways to distribute opportunities equitably in work and finance and entertainment. And some people are doing exactly that. My friend Julian Johnson is

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