Understanding the Organizational Landscape
Here’s a question for you: Have you ever been in a hiring position? How challenging is it to find the right person for the role?
Most leaders tell us that hiring top talent is one of the most challenging parts of their job. Now, imagine this: someone you know and trust introduces you to a candidate with a strong background and a genuine passion for your work—wouldn’t you be open to a conversation?
Our goal today is to help you have more decision-making conversations. The key to achieving this is identifying the decision maker in your target companies or the person who can influence that decision maker.

Today’s Task: Deconstruct the Org Chart
- Review Job Descriptions: Take the job descriptions you gathered yesterday and analyze the reporting structures.
- Identify Key Individuals: Determine who your direct supervisor, department head, and other key influencers would be.
- Utilize LinkedIn and theorg.com: These resources can help you pinpoint the reporting structure and gain insights into the organization’s hierarchy.
Note: Tomorrow, for day 5 of the challenge, we are going to move to interview prep, but we will come back to target company research and researching the hierarchy of companies. Please download the resources from today and yesterday and keep them handy. Just to remind you, links will expire after 3 days.
Worksheet: Mapping Your Path
To guide you through this process, we’ve created a helpful worksheet:
Why is this Important?
- Visualize your role: Understand where you fit within the larger team and company.
- Identify decision-makers: Know who to target in your networking and application efforts.
- Tailor your application: Highlight relevant skills and experience based on the organization’s needs.
- Prepare for interviews: Research potential interviewers and anticipate questions about your understanding of the company structure.
Remember: Org charts can be fluid, so focus on the bigger picture and how your target role contributes to the organization’s success.
Let’s get started!