What Type of Employee Are You?
Are you a “Whiz Kid” or a “Steady Eddie?”
by Shane Christopher

Whiz kids” have heaps of potential. They’re career-oriented.They have a presence. They light up a room. Nevertheless, since they’re typically heavy on promise and shy on experience, they also come with some risk.

“Steady Eddies” are pluggers. They’re content. They’ll give you an honest day’s work. They’re reliable, but they’ll never change the company’s stock price.

Companies want both. In real numbers, companies need many more “Steady Eddies” than “Whiz Kids.” The ratio differs by industry and by company. The National Basketball Association drafts for potential, which is evident in their preference for high school players with huge promise over proven college players whose potential has mostly been realized. NBA teams want the next Lebron James, knowing that he may single-handedly turn a franchise around. In an industry that longs for stars, NBA teams are willing to take the risk. By contrast, insurance companies are risk-averse and likely will hire more Steady Eddies.

Whiz Kids must be challenged and given opportunities for upward mobility. If a company has more Whiz Kids than promotion opportunities, it will lose them. What’s more, Whiz Kids thrown into one group tend to succumb to infighting and lead to team inefficiency. So all companies need both. Even the NBA has role players, and they probably outnumber the stars five to one.

So Are You a Whiz Kid or a Steady Eddie?
You may have characteristics of both. And that’s why the type of position you seek and the company’s appetite for risk can determine how you frame your résumé.

Say you’re a successful military recruiter, which has a lot of sales relevance. Consider two big companies that sell widgets to FORTUNE 500® companies. They want to hire sales people. Company “A” is looking for Whiz Kids. Company “A” could look at your résumé and note how well you performed relative to your recruiting peers and envision success selling anything.

Company “B” wants a Steady Eddie. They could look at the same résumé and determine that selling jobs to high school students does not translate into selling widgets to sophisticated FORTUNE 500® buyers. Company “A” may make you an offer. Company “B” may opt to hire someone with more widget sales experience.

You cannot hide lack of civilian job experience on your résumé, but you can certainly improve your chances by highlighting your potential and by showing superior performance relative to your peers. Framing it correctly will help you land that job.