Car people are a misunderstood group. Granted each is different but there are some characteristics that we share that make us exceptional employment candidates. All companies struggle to find the right fit for their organization. They want to hire people that will rise to the occasion, be perseverant and committed to the team. Here’s an inside look at the qualities indicative of a car enthusiasts that illustrate the considerable value we add to organizations.
To make it easier to attach to resumes and upload with your next job application, we’ve also created this handy Why Car Enthusiasts Make The Best Employees Inforgraphic.
Demonstrated Passion
No apathy here folks. You may not always agree with them but they know what’s worth fighting for. A car person can argue the superiority of manual versus a dual clutch transmission for three hours with the engineer who made it. Now, that’s a person that will always stand up for what they believe in.
Attention to Detail
Have you ever washed a car enthusiast’s car for them? Of course you haven’t. It’s never been dirty. Of course there was that one time a bird crapped on their pristine ride. They used their lunch break to take care of it with the waterless car wash and battery operated orbital buffer they keep in their trunk and then lamented for 3 hours about the audacity of the bird. I mean, their car was parked the appropriate distance away from trees and next to a Pontiac Aztek that was just begging to be the birds target.
Problem Solving
Have you ever been in your garage at 3am finally about to finish a “quick” install that was supposed to take 30 minutes but actually dragged on for 7 hours? It may be a no from you but I’ll bet just about every car enthusiast has had the pleasure. Nothing like an event the next day to finally get you motivated to do that thing that you could (and should) have done weeks ago. Well, now you’re covered in oil (even though this is a brake project), you’ve lost 14 10mm sockets, you have burnt your thumb with your blowtorch but you finally have those damn stainless steel brake lines installed. Time to reassemble. Turns out you let that guy from your club borrow your torque wrench. No worries, a few Youtube videos later, our hero has figured out how to fashion one with a wrench, breaker bar, measuring tape and a little (slightly complicated) math. (This is a real thing, btw-here is the link to the video) Ta Da! Now the job is done (ish). Our hero just needs to find a torque wrench the next day- not because he isn’t confident in his solution but to marvel with pride at how close he was to the perfect specs with his on the fly internet enabled engineering. But now it’s time for a glorious shower and 3 precious hours of sleep.
Ability To Overcome Adversity
You’d probably think that our car enthusiast would be grumpy from being up all night with problems and no access to the tools he needed to finish the job. Nope! The ability to solve the problem was a net win and our enthusiast will be all smiles, despite the challenges. What went wrong isn’t important- all you need to know is that they fixed it. They’ll tell you the story of the algebraic formula they had to master for the solution to the torque wrench way before they’ll harp on why the project took so long in the first place. In fact, that part may not even come up at all.
Interpersonal Skills
There is nothing better than a group of car people together. The common interest allows for meet ups and wrench days to scope out and help with other people’s builds. Usually their interest in the other person’s car is out of respect for what they’ve accomplished but sometimes it’s out of curiosity, jealousy or just to marvel at the freak show. Regardless of the motivation, car people need each other. We are here to troubleshoot, attend events with other enthusiasts and cheer each other on. Sometimes we also troll and mock each other but that comes with the territory. I’d argue though, any active car enthusiast is above average in their ability to brainstorm ideas, implement a plan or spend significant time with people that they don’t always see eye to eye with. When you put yourself out there as a car enthusiast, you tend to show and treat other enthusiasts with respect even if you secretly think they’re insane.
Adaptive
It takes real tenacity to work around some things. I personally, once drove a car with all the power door locks and windows disabled because I couldn’t identify a power drain. I mean, it wasn’t either of those things but it seemed like it was slightly less frequent that I needed to buy a new battery so I just left it be and convinced myself that I didn’t use those features anyway. If you think that’s called stubbornness, I’m here to inform you that I’m tenacious enough to tell you you’re wrong.
Communication
Car people are super creative and I’m not talking about body kits. Have you ever heard a car person describe a problem they hadn’t figured out how to address yet? Out comes a thesaurus worth of adjectives. “There was smoke but not a lot- like when you’re grilling wings- and it wasn’t gray, it was steel with a hint of chartreuse and it smelled like oranges mixed with burnt gym socks.” And as far as being a good listener goes, well, they may not hear their spouse ask them about a transaction on their credit card from the next room over but they can certainly use their super hero ears to tell that a car on the freeway 3 miles away is running lean. It really gets fun when you can get car enthusiasts to try to recreate a sound their car was making; they become the sound effects guy from Police Academy.
Performs Under Pressure
Racing is nerve racking. Even more so now than ever before. No matter if it’s drag racing, autocross or a road course; you’ve got people watching you, judging your car and driving skills with their phones out. You’re only one slight mistake away from being the viral video of the week. Things break, mistakes happen. It also provides a measurable opportunity to look straight at your performance, make adjustments to fix what didn’t’ go well and go back and try it again. There is an intertwined humility here that is essential for success.
Start Recruiting
Having been a car enthusiast myself for about 20 years, I’ve watched my friends go from cheesy aesthetic modifications that were popular in the fast and furious early 2000’s to professionals with luxury cars that still enjoy spirited drives and heading to the track to play with their toys. I have seen first hand how this particular hobby has built the kind of crucial attributes and soft skills essential to professional success. So next time you’re interviewing and you ask someone what their hobbies are, maybe skip the golfer or the movie buff and hire the car enthusiast on the spot. I might be just a tad bit biased though.
