Almost all the standard career advice is BS.

“Pick a major.”
“It’s just about who you know.”
“Improve your resume.”
“Go back to school.”

Blah blah blah blah blah.

It’s 2023. The world is changing, rapidly. New paradigms are birthing. Here are the tips and mindsets you need in 2023 to crush it in your career and job hunt.

1) Create Daily

Start a blog. Write a cold-email once a day. Document your learning. Build a project. Whatever it is, simply follow your curiosity, chase your excitement, and keep creating. Creation begets creativity, makes you more valuable, and builds your portfolio.

2) Do What Most People Aren’t Doing

If you want to stand out to land a job, well, you’ll need to stand out. So own your different! Get imaginative. Burn your resume and send a short custom video instead.

 

3) Be interested in other people

When you meet people, rather than just ask auto-pilot questions like “where are you from?”, turn inward, then turn outward. Meaning, ask yourself “what am I genuinely curious about this person?” then ask an interesting question to draw out that person’s story.

4) Break the Rules

The truth is there are no rules. What companies really want is someone who creates more value than they cost. Forget what you’re “supposed to” do. That’s following into the schooled mindset of waiting for permission. Shed that now. But don’t break rules just to be a trouble maker, break them to become an indispensable value creator.

5) Know Yourself

To flourish in your career, you need to look inward and build a relationship to who you are, who you were meant to be, and what makes you tick. This is an ongoing process that takes courages, and sometimes uncomfortable honesty. But it’s the foundation.

6) Be Thyself

As you start to know yourself, commit to being yourself. Follow a path that speaks to your soul. Show up with relentless authenticity in pitching companies and working at companies. Prioritize being respected more than being liked. This can be hard – because we find ourselves in a culture of blending in and conforming.
That’s why the GOAT quote is by E.E. Cummings who said,

“To be nobody but
yourself in a world
which is doing its best day and night to make you like
everybody else means to fight the hardest battle
which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.”

 

7) Invest in Thyself

Read books. Heal. Learn. Take on 30-day challenges and PDP’s. Build a flourishing life by growing by 1% a day.

 

8) Build a Body of Work

No one cares about your resume and cover letter. They care about proof of work. So start building a portfolio that shows what you’ve done, what you’re working on, and more.

 

9) Build a Website

A portfolio starts with a good professional website. Here’s how to get started building one. And here’s mine, FWIW.

10) Do the Job Before You Have the Job

Forget waiting to “win the job.” Just starting doing the job without permission. Make a custom project like an SEO analysis, new landing page, mock ad, list of leads, mock customer support call script, new logo, or a blog post about why you love that company. They’ll love it!

11) Build Social Capital

Forget “networking” which connotes getting stuff from people. Language matters, so think about building social capital instead. How to build it? Add deposits into your account. Give to others, be curious, be reliable, be supportive.

12) Own Your Health

All the buckets of life interact symbiotically. To crush your career, take radical ownership of what enters your body, how you move your body, and the quality of rest you give your body. And don’t forget to take time for healthy friends and relationships. Like a well-cooked recipe, each ingredient matters and supports the others.

13) Do 1 Thing a Day

Understand the compound effect. Do small tasks daily to build momentum and watch your worth compound.

14) Start a Podcast

Probably the best way to grow your career, seriously. You can simultaneously build new connections, build a body of work, and learn about a topic.

15) Trust the Process (be patient)

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. Soak in patience like a soothing ointment. What can you accomplish over 1 month, 1 year, or 10 years? Play the long game.

16) Hold an Action Bias

When in doubt, ship it. Forget perfection. Good enough is almost always good enough.

17) Own Your Inner Game

EVERYTHING starts between the ears. Build a relationship to yourself, to all parts of yourself. Don’t suppress, deny, or disown emotions. Let them be there and then work with them to let them go, and integrate them. Unhook limiting beliefs to free your mind. Let go of the school mindset, and start creating without permission.

18) Email the Hiring Manager

Here’s how to find them. Use tools like Hunter.io to find email addresses. Skip the job posting!

19) Read Seth’s blog

The great Seth Godin will keep you on your toes when it comes to becoming a permissionless value creator, and not just a wait-for-directions employee. Subscribe to his blog to stay inspired. He’s been writing daily for some 15 years.

20) Write Handwritten Thank You Notes

Writing handwritten thank you notes make you a more grateful person, build social capital. cut through the noise of the digital world. If you absolutely need to go digital, then still write the care handwritten, but take a picture of the card and send the picture.

21) Be Reliable AF

Respond to email consistently and quickly, and you build a reputation of trust and reliability. This will be incalculably valuable for your career.

22) Don’t Do Stuff You Hate

If you hate your job or a task, make an exit plan to remove it from your life. You were meant to be overjoyed — it’s your birthright. So remove all the things that suck.

23) Subscribe to the Daily Job Hunt

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