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The Person Beside You Today May Hire You Tomorrow

July 21, 2026 5 min read

Twenty years ago, I had a young, eager, and ambitious assistant who worked with me in the media business. We were only about three years apart in age; the only difference was that I was hired to be an Account Executive, and he was hired to start off as an Assistant. Other than that, the only separation was the timing of when we joined the business. I very easily could have been the assistant if I had shown up second and there were no roles to have been had.

We instantly became buddies, partly because we were close in age and we both liked sports, but more importantly, we became close because we both had hardcore work ethics. We both showed up early and worked late, and I think we admired this quality about one another while we saw others sort of glide through their days without putting in the effort they could or should have.

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About a year later, I got a Manager job and moved to California; he got promoted to an AE role. Then, as the years went on, we stayed in touch before he moved off to the Commercial Real Estate business. I would run into him scouting buildings downtown Seattle, always hustling. Every once in a while, we could grab lunch or coffee to catch up. I was always proud of his success.

Then, when I needed a CRE guy to help with a building lease in my last job, I called him. He took care of it flawlessly.

So about a month ago, he called me. “Scott, I need a COO. I need your help, your expertise, and experience. I need someone to run my business.”

I was honored that he would think of me, especially with all the success he’s had. So we sat down, we brainstormed, outlined a plan, and by the time it was all done, we agreed to continue the dialogue in some capacity. I would either consult short-term or long-term; I would maybe join him one day.

It’s always fun to get the opportunity to work with people you have a great relationship with, whom you trust, and who you can be honest and direct with while pursuing aligned goals.

But no matter what ends up happening, the moral of the story is you never know who you are going to end up working with or working for. I never would have told you twenty years ago that one day he would possibly hire me. In fact, neither of us would have ever imagined that in any capacity, but the world works in funny ways, and you never know who is going to show up when you least expect it.

It’s the reason why you should be mindful of the fact that you’re sort of interviewing at all times for your current and future jobs.

Treat the assistant with the same respect you give the executive, because one day they may be the same person.

The people watching how you work today may be the people deciding whether to hire you ten years from now. They notice whether you follow through, whether you treat people well, whether you make excuses, whether you take ownership, and whether you are the kind of person they would want beside them when the stakes get higher. None of those moments feel like an interview while they are happening, but they are building a case for or against you all the same.

Your career is full of people who may reappear in completely different roles. The assistant may become the CEO. The peer may become the client. The person you managed may one day be in a position to open a door for you. Titles change, companies change, and power shifts constantly, which is why treating people based only on where they sit today is such a shortsighted way to move through your career.

This also means that reputation compounds in ways you cannot always see. The reason he called me was not because of one perfect meeting or one polished resume. It was twenty years of watching each other work, staying in touch, delivering when asked, and knowing that neither of us had to pretend around the other. Trust was built in small pieces long before there was ever a job to discuss.

You cannot manufacture that kind of relationship when you suddenly need something. You cannot disappear for fifteen years, show up with an ask, and expect the history to feel the same. Staying connected matters, but so does giving people a reason to remember you positively in the first place. Your future opportunities are often sitting inside relationships you are building right now without realizing it.

So do the work well. Be someone people can count on. Treat the assistant with the same respect you give the executive, because one day they may be the same person. You have no idea who will call you twenty years from now, what role they will be in, or what opportunity they may place in front of you, but you can make sure the version of you they remember is someone they would still want to work with.

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