She satisfied every criterion in the job description. Ten years managing cross-functional teams. An MBA from a top program. Strong technical skills. A referral from someone on the hiring committee.

After her final interview, the feedback was diplomatic but unhelpful: "We decided to go with someone who brings a different perspective."

"Ginny, I'm doing something wrong, but I can't figure out what," she emailed me late that night.

She'd applied to nearly 150 jobs over six months, customizing each application. Zero offers. On paper, she was exactly what companies said they required. Yet she couldn't get past the final round.

I hear this story far too often. Accomplished professionals who follow every piece of job search advice still lose out on opportunities you’re seemingly suited for. You expect your track record to speak for itself, and when it doesn't, you start doubting your worth.

After years of recruiting, I’ve learned that you’re not being filtered out because you lack qualifications; rather, it's because you’re not demonstrating something recruiters value that transcends domain expertise and past achievements.

Most candidates lead with experience. Standout candidates reveal how they think.

That’s what hiring managers remember.

In executive search, we had a term for this elusive quality: global mindset.

The phrase sounds grandiose, but we weren’t necessarily looking for people who had led international teams or were multilingual (though these credentials didn’t hurt). We wanted the much harder-to-find leaders who were adaptable and could integrate views that challenged their beliefs.

I saw this in action at a recent energy conference in Curaçao. The leaders I met had fascinating backgrounds. Many had studied or worked abroad before returning to their home country. They spoke many languages, including Papiamento, a Creole blend of Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese, itself reflecting centuries of cultural confluence. When we discussed industry concerns, they posed expansive questions that opened up new angles I hadn't considered.

It made me realize how rare it is to encounter such thoughtful leaders. Global mindsets leave lasting impressions.

The issue with staying comfortable

Teams now span generations, cultures, and disciplines. When leaders default to promoting people who process information just like them, they suppress the very diversity that could give them an edge.

You've watched someone confidently present an idea that resonates with no one else in the room. That's what happens when smart people mistake their own perspectives for objective truths. Organizations that reward sameness wonder why innovation stagnates and exceptional talent walks out the door.

Developing a global mindset can completely change how you operate. It makes you a more capable collaborator who pursues what others would miss.

How to foster a global mindset

Try forming habits that broaden your horizons. You don't need to work across continents to acquire this capacity.

Here are seven strategies to get you started:

1. Practice being curious. Ask "Why do they do it that way?" about every department and discipline. Curiosity isn't innate. The leaders who stand out have trained themselves to examine assumptions others take for granted.

2. Idolize someone. Whose biography would you read twice? Whose style resonates with you? Start by appreciating someone, then study their influences. It doesn’t have to be a mogul in your area of work. The most compelling leaders I've recruited drew inspiration from unexpected disciplines like philosophy, art, or medicine.

3. Cultivate taste. Stop focusing on what's trending. Notice what authentically moves you and follow that thread. We consume more information than ever, but access isn't knowledge. Endless scrolling kills your energy for discernment.

4. Set up systems that help you retain wisdom. Don't just consume; catalog. My method: Kindle highlights flow directly into a Google Doc for easy reference. You might use voice notes or Notion databases. The key is to create a way to revisit and build on what you have learned.

5. Resist surface-level engagement. Restore your attention span. Slow down. Read the full article or watch the full documentary. Thanks to AI, instant information is readily available, but it can't generate the kind of deep understanding that comes from grappling with nuanced ideas over time.

6. Draw connections between fields. Great ideas come from blending disparate methodologies. Be the person who applies lessons from behavioral psychology to product design or jazz improvisation to team management. When you’re the go-to for novel approaches, you’re indispensable.

7. Curate your intellectual community. Share what you’re discovering intentionally. Ask colleagues, "Have you seen this?" and audit your inputs regularly: What am I looking at? Where is it coming from? What worldview does it reflect? Then seek out alternative voices.

If you’re in a season of transition, before you update and send around your resume, start questioning what you’ve always believed about what makes you -you- and hireable.

The next time you're in an interview, don't just talk about what you've accomplished. Show your reasoning process. Demonstrate that you can handle complexity and surpass what you’ve already seen done.

Global mindset does more than make you memorable to employers. Once you hone this ability, it's what helps you work effectively across divides, spot opportunities in adjacent markets, and form creative, effective teams once you're hired.

The recruiters looking for "different perspectives"? Now you know what they mean. More importantly, you know how to get it (and flaunt it).

Sending love and light,

Ginny