One Question for Job Hunters

by | Feb 5, 2022 | Daily Job Hunt

This post originally appeared as a 2-5 Weekend Issue of the Daily Job Hunt email. Sign up for kick-butt career hype in your inbox each morning.

The Daily Job Hunt

Mindsets for Success

Selling a $50k product
Would you buy a $50,000 product without testing it out first? Probably not.

Well, if you’re looking for a job paying $50,000, remember, you are the product. So why would a company want to hire you without proof of your value?

Give them some free samples! Share a portfolio, a custom project, and/or offer to work for free for 7 days. This is the secret to crushing and crashing your career.

Creative discomfort
Creating projects is often uncomfortable. It means putting yourself out there, being vulnerable.

And yet, it’s also the only path to fulfillment, and liberation.

So don’t hide. Lean into that discomfort.
Creativity is what makes us human.

Quote of the Week

“What is one thing you can do today that your future self will thank you for?”

― Hannah Braime

The one question you need to ask yourself

“Good afternoon, my name is John Doe and I hear you’re handing out paychecks? I’m interested.”

This is what most job applicants sound like.

The reason for that is simple: they’re not picky. At all. They don’t care what the company does, what its mission is, or what they’re looking for. As long as the company’s hiring, that’s good enough for them.

And so they fall on job openings like crows on roadkill.

Of course you don’t want to come across that way. And if you’ve been following DJH for a while, you’ll know not to. You’ll know that we do actually want you to be picky.

A handful of companies you’re actually excited about, and that’s it.

Quality over quantity.

But how should you be picky?
How do you know which companies you should apply to?

Turns out there is a simple rule of thumb for that.

Do you genuinely think this company would be better off if they hired you?

If you can answer that question with a resounding “yes” you should apply.

Simple.

Why does this work?
Because you are almost always your own worst critic.

So if you can look yourself in the eyes, and say that this company would be better off with you on board, chances are you can convince somebody else of that too. And that’s the crux.

Of course, before you can answer this question, you need to know two things:

  • the company
  • yourself

Start with the company: What are they selling? Who’s is their market? Who’s the competition? What is their competitive advantage?

Then, think about yourself. What are you naturally good at? What excites you? What gets you out of bed in the morning?

If you can see yourself doing what you love at this company, and the company would genuinely be better off for it, then you’re golden.

And you should definitely apply.
Right away.

But don’t just apply. Because if you do that, the company won’t be able to tell you apart from the hoards of indiscriminate applicants we just talked about.

Instead, take a minute to write down a few bullet points re that same thought process that made you conclude that you’d be a great fit in the first place.

What’s cool about them?
What are you bringing to the table?
How does that make you a great fit for each other?

That’s your pitch.

Record it in a video and email/DM it straight to the hiring manager.
This works like a charm every time.

You know why?

Because that hiring manager is trying to answer that very same question: would our company be better off if we hired this person?

And you’re the only one who has a straight answer.

“Yes! And here’s why.”