Most hiring managers will hate me for saying this - but the corporate hiring process for leadership roles is BIASED.
And if you’re aiming for those top-tier positions, this bias is an opportunity.
If you know how to use it.
I’ve recruited candidates for companies like Amazon, and the best candidate rarely gets hired. The candidate who is perceived as the best does.
When filling senior positions, hiring managers make calculated decisions.
They look for candidates:
Who commands attention when they speak
Who feels like a natural extension of their leadership team
Who they can trust to navigate high-stakes decisions
Your resume might get you considered, but it's your presence that gets you hired.
The most successful leadership candidates I've coached understand that by the time an application is submitted, opinions are already forming.
When a VP position opened at a Fortune 100 company, my client didn't just apply - she had already been exchanging thoughtful ideas with the hiring executive for months.
By the time the role was posted, her name was the first one mentioned.
Here’s the difference between traditional candidates and leadership candidates:
The traditional approach See job → Apply → Wait → Interview → Hope
The leadership approach
Identify target companies → Build relationships → Create value → Position as solution
One approach puts you in a crowded pool.
The other makes you the obvious choice - before the job is even posted.
If you're ready to play the game at a higher level, make the bias work for you.
- Audit your professional presence
Would decision-makers immediately see you as a leader?
- Reverse-engineer visibility
Where do leaders in your target companies spend their attention? Be there.
- Lead with insights, not applications
Engage with key players before you ever hit "Apply."
At the leadership level, the question isn't just, "Can you do the job?"
It's "Do they already see you as the leader they need?"
The hiring process is biased, but now you know how to use that bias to your advantage.
