Due Diligence Before the Seat
Learn the entire economics of a new career before you spend one paid day in it.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 85%
Between getting fired and going all in on recruiting, Posner ran a real options process — he genuinely considered running a Home Depot and something in travel. He filtered candidates through three questions: what am I good at, what do I want to be doing, and where do I have the potential to honestly make a lot of money, because house, expenses, cars, kids and insurance are real life. Once he chose recruiting, he did his due diligence before applying: he reached out to every recruiter he'd ever met and asked them to explain the business — the ups, the downs, what a draw means, how commission works against it, and critically how long it takes to actually get paid. Before he spent one day in the seat as a paid recruiter, he'd learned everything he could about it. That's what let a 35-year-old with a backpack and no experience walk in next to 23-year-olds who'd been crushing it for three years.
Origin
After the VaynerMedia firing, Posner spent a period weighing entirely different careers before committing to recruiting. He then systematically interviewed every recruiter in his network to learn the mechanics — including the draw-against-commission model he'd never had to understand as a W-2 employee.
Core principles
- 01Talk to everyone already doing the job before you commit to it.
- 02Ask about the downs and the mechanics, not just the highlight reel.
- 03Understand the money model specifically — how you get paid and how long it takes.
- 04Filter options through three questions: what am I good at, what do I want to be doing, where's the earning potential.
- 05Be honest that money is one of the criteria — house, kids, insurance, real life.
How to run it
- 1
Generate real options, including strange ones
Posner seriously considered Home Depot ('I like building and fixing things... maybe I'll go run a Home Depot') and the travel industry. Let the list be wide before narrowing.
- 2
Filter on three questions
What am I good at? What do I want to be doing? Where do I have the potential to honestly make a lot of money?
Pro tip Posner insists on naming the money criterion openly — house, expenses, cars, kids, insurance, real life stuff.
- 3
Interview everyone already in the field
Reach out to every person you've ever met in the target business and ask them to tell you about it.
- 4
Ask for the downs, not just the ups
Posner explicitly got 'the ups, the downs' — the outside view is always the highlight reel.
- 5
Learn the money mechanics
Understand the technical elements — what a draw is, how commission runs against it until you clear it, and how long it takes to actually get paid.
Pro tip Posner: 'people think oh man everyone's killing it, you're making these huge fees — how long does it take to get paid?'
Watch out As a salaried employee you've never had to model this, and the lag can break your finances before your performance does.
- 6
Then take the seat
Only after learning everything you can, go get the job.
Pro tip Pick the firm that values your existing asset — Posner chose Onward Search because they valued relationships over smile-and-dial.
In the wild
Before applying for a single recruiting job, Posner reached out to every recruiter he'd ever met and asked to talk about the business — the ups, the downs, what a draw means, how commission runs against it, and how long it actually takes to get paid.
→ He walked in at 35 having taken a pay cut from a strong six figures to a $40,000 draw, but with the economics fully understood — and joined Onward Search, a firm that valued his relationship rolodex rather than cold calling.
Common mistakes
Skipping the money mechanics
Posner had only ever received a paycheck and admits he never understood what a draw was. Entering a commission role without modelling the payment lag is how people wash out before their skills ever get tested.
Researching only the winners' highlight reel
The visible story is huge fees and people killing it. Posner deliberately asked for the downs, because the outside view of any commission business is systematically flattering.
Is it for you?
Best for
Mid-career professionals considering a pivot, especially into commission or sales-based work.
Not ideal for
Situations demanding an immediate income decision where there's no time for a research phase.
From the transcript
“I said I'm gonna do my due diligence and I reached out to every recruiter that I've ever met and I said can we talk,…”
“So before I even spent one day in the seat as a paid recruiter, I learned everything I could about it.”
“I always kind of went back to what am I good at, what do I want to be doing, where do I have the potential…”
From the episode
Adam Posner: Land The Job
Adam Posner