Five Reasons Why I’d Rather Hire a High School Grad Than a Harvard Grad

A lot of you know that I’ve been massively scaling a new company called Straight Line Hiring. If it’s your first time hearing about it, Straight Line Hiring is where I’m actually taking a step back, and handling the entire process of building companies’ salesforces for them. That means recruiting, training, and delivering great people on a volume basis.

Now, one of the biggest problems people have when they’re hiring for sales is -- how do you know who’s actually good? Because going to Harvard really has nothing to do with whether or not you can close at a high level, or keep your mindset positive after getting hung up on by 100 straight prospects. In fact, one group of people who have CONSISTENTLY performed way above average in my sales organizations are the exact opposite-- they’re people who don’t have a perfect formal education at all. They’re HIGH SCHOOL graduates.

And I’m not joking. Not at all.

For most sales jobs, I’d rather hire a high school grad than a Harvard grad. A lot of the time, I’d rather hire a high school grad than any college grad. Some of the toughest, most high-quality salespeople I’ve ever hired are individuals with NO COLLEGE DEGREE. High school graduates-- that’s it!

Why is this? 

I’m not a scientist. I really can’t say for sure. But here are five reasons I’ve noticed over the years: 

  1. High school grads appreciate an opportunity, especially one as golden as getting to work with me;
  2. Once they’ve got a great job, they’ll work harder to prove themselves than anyone else; 
  3. When they’re actually talking to a prospect, they’re pros at relating to everyday people;
  4. Unlike Harvard grads, high school grads usually don’t act like they’re owed special treatment; and
  5. Their main interest is in closing deals and perfecting their craft. 

Whatever the case, my company, Straight Line Hiring, is putting hundreds of high school grads to work right now and looking for thousands more. Hiring the right ones is the first step towards building a dynamic sales organization. If that sounds like you, you need to apply for our program right here: 

Apply Here