1. DELETE 80% OF YOUR RESUME
A good resume is so succinct, so strongly rooted in your unique narrative, that it will disqualify you from jobs not meant for you.
This makes you a slam dunk candidate for the opportunities you really want.
This isn’t really about resumes, it’s about clear positioning.
Be a deep well, not a shallow lake.
2. IMPROVE RAPIDLY
The best opportunities are opportunities you're not quite "ready" for.
These opportunities are harder to get, because they require you to demonstrate not just how great you are, but how great you’re becoming.
Ambitious and talented people are all headed in the same direction. What matters is the speed at which they’re moving.
3. CREATE EXCESSIVE CAREER OPTIONS
Think about how much energy people put into office politics and backstabbing, due to insecurity about their own jobs.
Imagine all that energy, redirected:
Keeping your head up, entertaining what-ifs, befriending people you admire, stirring the pot, helping others, and understanding your marketplace value are great ways to upgrade your peace of mind and reduce your vulnerability.
(And, ironically, improve your performance at your current employer.)
Opportunities pile up when you don’t need them. Position yourself to not need them.
4. GENERATE ENERGY
Don’t conserve energy, create it.
I often tell a story about an old co-worker, Tom. Every week he came to the office with new intel, new inspiration boards, new ideas, new enthusiasm.
He was junior, but became a de-facto leader. Everyone else, even his peers and superiors, quickly rallied under him because that was much easier than going out and doing what Tom was doing.
To them it was work; to Tom it was fun.
Tom's energy made him indispensable.
5. BUILD A SOCIAL CIRCLE AROUND YOUR VOCATION
In a pool of equally qualified candidates, the most connected person wins. It isn’t fair, it just is.
We are not rational creatures, we are social creatures.
You can pop up for some “networking” every 3-4 years when you need a new job, or you can create a world of plenty, and live in it.
Get to a city, get surrounded by people who do what you do, and do nice things for them.
If the community you want doesn’t exist, build it.
6. CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT INTERVIEWS
Interviews are just opportunities to make friends with decision makers.
Who cares if you don’t get the job — you just made a powerful friend, in your industry, who now has your phone number.
Take care of your long game, and you’ll never be desperate again.
7. FREELANCE ASAP
Freelancing is the best possible value-add to your W-2 career.
Most people don’t have the risk tolerance, client network or self-starting nature to set up and run a successful freelance business.
But if you are not most people, congratulations. You now have 10x the contacts, are more resilient during tough markets, and have the “entrepreneurial spirit” that 9 out of 10 full-time job descriptions are asking for.
The short term benefit of freelancing is you’ll never be unemployed.
The long term benefit is arriving at “retirement” age with a rolodex full of companies who want you to share your talents with them, on your terms.
