How to get hired
2010-06-29
In my 15 years running two companies and two bands, I've employed about 100 people.
So from an employer's point of view, here's my best advice on how to get hired:
Focus on one company
Do some soul-searching to decide what you really want to do.
Then find the company in your area that you feel is doing it the best. (The company needs to be near you already. If you don't live near them, move there first, or choose a closer company. Do not do this remotely.)
It doesn't matter if they're not hiring.
Learn all about them. Read every page of their website. Become a customer. Read every article about them. Study and memorize this info.
(This only takes a few hours, and is a much better use of your time than blasting resumes.)
If you don't really want to work for this company, pick a different company and do this section again.
Tell them how much you want to work for them
Start contacting them to tell them how much you want to work for them.
It doesn't matter who you speak to first. Start with anyone. Just start.
Tell them, (in your own way), “You are my favorite company. It's my dream to work for you. If you have any aspect that could use a little help, let me do it, and I promise you it'll thrive. I'm that passionate about this.”
Eventually, contact different people in the company, especially the executives, not just human resources.
Ideally, you could be more specific, telling them ways you could improve one of their projects, services, or products.
Be persistent (though succinct)
Combine phone, email, and in-person. You must use all three methods, since each has its strengths.
Always be succinct. Don't take more than two minutes of their time. But always show your passion, and how much you can help them.
Vary your message. Sometimes ask advice. Sometimes give advice. But always make it clear how much you want to work there.
Do this every week. It's OK to be almost annoying. Polite manners don't prove passion.
Do this until hired
Eventually they will be hiring, and they'd be damn foolish not to hire you.
Especially when faced with the alternative of opening up the floodgates to help-wanted ads, they'll much rather go with this person who has persistently proven their passion.
(Could do this with a few companies at once)
If there are sincerely a few different companies you would love to work for, and you have the time, consider doing this process for a few companies at once.
P.S. For further inspiration, read how Tom Williams got hired by Apple at 14, using this method.
great advice! passion is the key.
Wrote an old blog piece "Both Sides of the Table" that touched on the similar themes
http://pjammer.livejournal.com/2978.html
Type 2 Error: Failing to hire a good candidate
This is a less obvious mistake, but its consequences are just as undesirable as those of Type 1. Failure to hire good professionals reflects serious weaknesses in your recruiting process, and its fundamental mission of identifying and attracting talent. More importantly, the competent and skilled applicants you fail to hire may (particularly if your industry is small) end up working for a direct competitor, and use the knowledge about your organization acquired during the interviews to better position his new employer against you. The most dangerous aspect of Type 2 Errors is that they are largely invisible. Since top-flight professionals you fail to hire are working elsewhere and out of sight, most hiring managers have no idea how many Type 2 errors they commit.
Nail on the head. Fail safe. Good stuff as usual Derek.
Wonder if there are any openings in Led Zepplin? LOL
The resume is dead. I've been happily dancing on its grave for decades.
Glad to see someone else at the funeral.
just recently someone called my office wanting to know if we hired freelancers. I said sure,"send me some work I'll check it out" 3 days later I got an email but I was cc'd with contacts at about 15 other companies. Bad move. I still followed up with him to tell him I received his email, and kind of wanted to tell him what a faux pas that was. He didn't even respond back. FAIL!
Whoa, did this recently: company was looking for me-types, I ended up 'hiring' them! (actually, they're gonna be joint venturers on a social media driven internet service.........mutuality=the key. Thanks, D
I'd hire that dog to eat my stuffed animals any day. Now that's passion!
Thanks Derek! I've never seen this method mentioned in any job hunting guide. Also, it intuitively feels like the right approach. Both are reasons to give it a shot. Thanks again!
I did this with the London Sinfonietta when I was at college and it worked a treat. had many happy years playing with them.
Not sure it would work with the Beatles though..?
Derek,
Great post! I love how you captured the essence of it all. Spot on, in my opinion.
PS. If you're interested, I'd welcome you to check out my blog, Campus to Career (http://campustocareer.wordpress.com). We seem to have a good alignment of messages being shared. I'd value your input!
Kind regards,
Kirk Baumann
Great post. To your advice I'd add: "Go public with it."
Start your own blog, and write meaningfully about the company. Its another way you'll be hitting their radar screen.
Passion is important. However, do not underestimate the power of demonstrating how you can help a company grow (make them money) without asking them to take a risk (paying you a lot.)
(i.e. - for the right salespeople, companies are ALWAYS hiring, because they ALWAYS need more sales.)
Its all about appearance. Nobody looks at your resume. I know because I've been working in Media for 21 years and you would not believe the illiterate people getting hired. LOOK GOOD. Hand your resume in to the front desk IN PERSON. Cute butt is a big plus.
Most of this is great advice.
It's been my experience that company websites are generally a terrible place to really learn about a company; it's simply their public face. So, I would also suggest speaking with employees or past employees to get a first hand account.
One employee utilized Facebook ads to target RF employees. It was witty, concise and definitely kept their name in everyone's conversation.
I am currently reading the Napoleon Hill's classic Think and Grow Rich.
Not only do I trust him, I trust you Derek, because your advice is advice that is echoed in Think and Grow Rich, it's echoed in meditations I've learned, in hypnosis techniques I've successfully used and just about everything I've studied. Finding a definite goal that you can visually see in your mind, creating a burning desire and believing you will achieve it(taken from Thinking and Growing Rich) truly appear to be universal truths of successful people.
Here's a question for you Derek:
How do you think your above technique would work in music licensing?
D, nice post! I think somebody wise once said that "persistence and determination" alone are omnipotent. Good stuff! I hope all is well in your world. I'm always interested in what you're up to. Peace...drew
Thanks for sharing this.
One of the gems:
"It's OK to be almost annoying. Polite manners don't prove passion."
Almost annoying or simply not lazy?
Nag, nag, nag.
Would this work for getting gigs?
@Victoria Galinsky Yikes.
Thanks for the article Derek. I December 2009 I took redundancy as the company relocated to another part of the UK. I'd worked for the same company for 27 years!! (I started very young). After 6 months I've struggled to get a new job. I was working for a large UK company doing IT operations support. I've had some interviews but no offers.
I was targeting a few choice companies but looking back I think my heart has not been in it. That has given me the push to start my own business offering a web design service for sole traders and individuals. Using my creative side which has been suppressed in my previous career.
A friend of mine told me to follow my own dreams and there is a reason I was not getting anywhere in terms of job offers.
So I'm taking the first steps. It may have been easier to climb back onto the corporate hampster wheel but I will be given my new venture my best shot
All the best,
Ian
Does this prove passion? If someone reads this advice and follows it, could they not have just learned a trick for simulating passion?
I've seen this at work at a startup I work for, it seems to me that the best guys are always hired this way, and this stuff works. This is an excellent article, as usual.
Always on time, my good friend . . . Just as I ahve determined that it is time for me to to reconsider my current career path, you come along with advice that is not foreign to me; however, it is very relevant at this particular moment.
Kudos!
Great advice!!! Thank you so much.
Michelle Carr
Great post. I loved the comment above: "I hired the company"- that sums it up. By taking ownership of the job before you have it, you are showing you would handle it well.
Amazing, thanks for sharing!
The latest song in my arsenal goes "Quit Your Job (and do something you believe in)"
this article helped me realize with conviction that there is no company around that i truly want to work for and any road forward would have to be entrepreneurial
Which is the exact opposite of the moral of this story,
i guess because i am in India - the opposite of anything that may be true, would also be true :D
the squeaky wheel gets the oil...
The squeaky wheel does indeed get the oil
The more frustratingly impenetrable the HR bureaucracy is at a company, the more important this technique becomes.
Thanks as always for sharing Derek! :]
Thank you for sharing this wonderful advice. I love the line "Polite manners don't prove passion." I will definitely keep this in mind as I continue my career search.
Derek, when you said "Focus on One Company", that pretty much says it all. And tell them why you want to work for THEM and not the others. I have done just this very thing lately and have already made it through two rounds. (I am also nearby) I hope to be hired round 3!
Thank you! I am job searching these days.
I actually applied for a position at CDBaby. I think I did a good job communicating to them how much I would LOVE to work for them, but sounds like I better give them a call!
"Derek Sivers suggested I call..." haha
The great thing about this advice is that not all organisations will respond well to it ... and they are probably the ones you don't want to be employed by anyway.
dont you think, if one keeps emailing the employees of the company "how much you want to work for them", they will think it as a spam or will they not get annoyed?
hello Derek sivers..i love my work clean up house.. i am deaf personal and i am mexican.. i love pool enjoy..with my friends public like learn sign language.. i did teacher sing language.. peoples like love deaf personal more smart, mature. i respect you.my facebook,is rosaedwards83@yahoo.com.thanks very much..
Derek, have you ever followed this advice personally for getting hired? What were your personal results?
I've always been the employer, (only once was an employee), but from a hiring point of view: yeah, anybody who did this got hired. -- Derek
Read "A Message to Garcia"
by Elbert HUBBARD
It will take you 10 minutes and can change your working life as both an employee and employer forever.
http://www.nato.int/nrdc-it/about/message_to_garcia.pdf
Problem 1...deciding what you want to do.
Problem 2...finding a place that is "hiring" near you.
...slice o pie after that, right?
...seems waaaaay over-simplified to me...like from the view point of someone who is not out of work or who doesn't need the money.
Ok that worked, now I need a "how to get fired" blog lol
Thank you so much for writing this post. There's a company I've been targeting this way, and every once in a while I need an outside reminder that "it's not stalking unless they've taken out a restraining order on you." In fact, this post reminds me that there is still plenty of room to step up my game. Thank you, I will be printing this out and taping it to my bathroom mirror!
Hello Derek,
How are you dear chap,as we say here in England.
Your advice is spot on.How could any company refuse a person so dedicated?
Take good care of yourself.We all need somebody like you.
Pete
Unless this reflects:
1. a new "business model" replacing the old, or
2. the younger generation coming into their own and pushing out the old, or
3. it's geographically-specific...
I gotta tell you that after 60 employers here in southwest virginia, companies want, and yes, i'll quote just one vp of one manufacturing facility, "warm bodies".
Then again, I'm looking at it strictly as blue-collar and it's clear that this is not geared toward my particular "working class"...
this is the absolute truth! i did this with the company that i have worked for since jan. 2009. it is the absolute truth every word. i don't know how i knew to do this, but i did. i even invented a position i now hold. listen to derek sivers peeps!
I would agree, this is a great way to do it. Great Article again thanks Derek!
I have been working at first in marketing & now the music industry for 10 years. Since graduating I have always got my jobs by sending off my CV & hitting companies the proactive way. I learnt this from my Dad who works in HR. Don't take no for an answer & fall down at the first hurdle. With both Marketing & Music, these industrys are all about making contacts & being in the right place at the right time.
Now that I work as a manager/ agent & essentially 'employ' people's services, I will ALWAYS employ the person who shows the most understanding & passion for the product. Combined, of course, with a good track-record.
On the other hand, I almost hope this method doesn't get taught in schools/ on careers sites & become too widespread! You don't want every Tom Dick & Harry to get on this method, bothering companies & feigning an interest in their products. It takes a very proactive & determined person to do well in the music business. We need to have some way of seperating the genuinely hard-working & passionate people from the hangers-on.
Nikc Miller I particularly liked your story. I guess it's how the person follows-up that sorts the men from the boys (so to speak!!)
Back when I did my first real job search, I picked up books on the subject. All of them said to tailor your resume and cover letter to the specific position and the specific company. (Your advice is even better for getting your dream job, but if they don't have a position open for the next 15 months, you've gotta find something else to pay the bills. This is the next best thing.)
So I individualized every letter and resume I sent. I assumed that's just how it was done.
Now I'm helping somebody find a personal assistant, and wow. You wouldn't believe how many people send generic resumes. "I guarantee that I will help your organization thrive" doesn't mean much when you're applying to work for an individual who wants you to clean stuff.
Yes, very true. I think this can work with bands and future mating partners as well. Follow up and follow thru.
Cute picture too.
I hear that less than 50% (actually much less, I think) of jobs ever get advertised anyway, so if you take the normal approach to finding a job - scouring the ads - you'd potentially never even see that dream job ad anyway, nevermind the competition for that job.
Excellent advice! Hope to see you soon in London. Peace, Tony
what if you're doing your own thing and just need a side gig to get you by till things take off?
Derek, this is excellent advise and coming from an employer stand point, a person demostrating that kind of passion to work for my company would definately get my attention.
I'm encouraged by your writings. I need to keep reading and, even more, do something about it. On your mark, get set.....
Derek, you know what I like most about you? The fact that you remain you and the integrity of your core that can be traced through time. Bravo!
Well, this is timely! I currently find myself in the 'fertile void' while re-inventing myself yet again. I forgot about this tactic, I used a modified version of it back in the early eighties to land a job at Hewlett Packard - without a degree! Thanks for the reminder, Derek.
Persistence,Persistence, Persistence, I love it Derek...
This is great genuine advice and even bits of wisdom for moment to moment and day to day life. Thank you as always for sharing. !!!!!!!!!
apparently nobody in hackernews agrees http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1472245
-- Derek
I'm surprised it was on HN at all! It's not advice for entrepreneurs.
During the second world war many people in high school married young. When I was 17 I graduated
high school and went to Texas to be with my husband. I was too young
to get a civil service job so I managed to get a job as a telephone operator. After I had my
next birthday I was old enough to
work for civil service so I went to
the army base and applied for a job. The place was overflowing with people wanting work. I was so
afraid I wouldn't get a job but I never let them know it. To my surprise the test wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.
I was one of the few people that day that was hired. Another surprise
to begin with all I did was cut
dog tags as the solders pass this
huge machine. Later I moved on to
a really good job in charge of all the
mail for Supply & Maintenacne. It
was a nice job even though it was in the middle section of a huge
hanger with B 29 planes on each
side. The office was full of high ranking officers. The one thing I
thought wasn't fair was the fact that our two colonels office was air conditioned and the rest of the offices were not.
Excellent. My dad, who was a brilliant business man and then eventually did consulting work through the SBA always had the following advice that you could add to this....offer to work for free for a week, or two weeks, or however long you think you can do it...and then work your ass off to prove how indispensable you could be to the company. If you are as good as you think you are, they will hire you!
: )
Mary
I don't want to get hired, I just want to rock. Tell me how to get paid to sit around home and noodle all day.
Sounds a bit like getting married.
great article. most people dont go that way, but perseverance gets through... and companies that dont like that - well you dont want to work them in the first place...
This is very helpful, good advice, and maybe not just about getting hired, but good advice to be passionate about any work we do that we care about.
Perfect timing, Derek. I'm tweaking my resume and about to begin looking for the next employment connection. Great reminder to start with the end in mind. Thanks! PMH
Thanks this was particulary timely for me right now
)))
One thing I should note: I'm always surprised at just how different the people are at various companies. This is good advice for working for companies like Derek's, but don't be naive enough to think that this is blanket advice as far as how to work for *any* organization. There are plenty examples of organizations that would dislike this type of behavior, and not because it's wrong. They would dislike it because they simply don't think the same way as Derek does. In the long run, trust your instincts. Derek knows a lot about startups, but he probably doesn't know much about yours (and if he does, it probably isn't in this article).
Very timely. This is a more pushy way to go than I was planning, but it's probably exactly what I should do.
Fantastic. This is really great advice. Currently I am self-employed, but if I ever decide to get a real job again, this is fantastic advice!
Good advice, although...
for many, the only company both worth this much passion, in terms of working conditions, management effectiveness, and general compitance, IS YOUR OWN! I wouldn't waste this much passion on any company, but my own...
Hmmm, just not too sure about this one pal... Personal experience shows me this is risky in many ways depending on which industry is desired.
Harboring my skepticism is the barge of reliable direction and insight that Sivers has parked in the bay of my tributary for a decade or so...
So, I humbly submit my profound "hmmm" or maybe "hmmm?", no, I like "hmmm..." better.
Hmmm...
What if you changed the title to "How to get laid" and altered the wording a little to make it fit the context?
You would either be a successful gigolo,
or get thrown in jail for stalking.
Either way it is not much different than what could happen to someone for using this advice in the original context.
somehow, very often, your kind public domain advices come synchronized with events in my life. Casual or not, i like your advices.
And if they are really sought after - get in the door by offering to work for free.
Agreed!!
I love the doggie pic!!!!
What are the names of the two companies and two bands?
I think the premise is great - persistence is the key but at the executive level I'm not sure it will work. I'm not claiming it won't - just opening up the conversation for ideas, clues, opinions etc.
Steve
I used to do high-school presentations in the Philadelphia area in 2007 and I used to give this very same advice in the class room for senior students. Some teachers were scared with the ideas, but majority loved it.
I don't want to take credit on it Derek, but I always thought this way, never been fired and never been denied at an interview. And have helped a few people to get dream jobs by forwarding this same mentality.
So, as a living witness, this method you just shared, works 110%.
derek, i am so sick of day jobs, i dread having to look for another one. how about a couple of tips on how to make money at music?
great advice. this is more or less how I found my current job.
Focus, passion + determination. A targeted campaign to seek out an engaged relationship with an organization. Very smart. Great advice.
Good advice Derek. A friend of mine had a "Sure Way To Get A Job". Step one: Send Flowers With Your Application. He say's it worked for him both times he tried.
great advice, and some of it is how i pursued working with a few of my heroes!
Doesn't matter if you're a freelancer or a 9-to-5er, you always need people to take a chance on you, and this is a great way to show them that they are minimizing the risk! Thanks for the great words of encouragement and action!
Hi Deerek..superb note..& it goes so well with one of my favorite cartoons by Hugh ..here goes..
"What people say they want and what they're willing to work their ass off to get are two different things" by Hugh MacLeod
What do you do if no company inspires you? I really don't give a rats ass about any company that I don't own - and why should I? What I care about are the people I will be working with, the problems I will be solving and whether I'm getting paid a fair amount. If all three are there, you get me working my ass off to improve your business.
As usual, great advice Derek. Persistence, good manners,passion and appearance will usually win in the end.
Cheers, Bill
It's amazing to me that we're willing to risk foolishness for so few things in our lives. Completely putting oneself out there for a relationship, for instance, seems to make sense whereas doing that for a job, initially, seems silly. Why shouldn't we risk our pride to work with a company/concept/group that would be as fulfilling as John Cusak holding a boom box playing Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes"?
I couldn't have read this at a better time. Tom's story is phenomenal, as well. Thank you so much for sharing that .
Thanks for the advice in your new article.
I understand and agree to this for the most part. But for people like me who are located away from the where the real action is its not really easy to decide today and move to say NY or SF tomorrow.
Plus it makes it all the more difficult for me to be considered for positions in the US because most opportunities expect you to be staying nearby. I get interviewed only to be told "Oh we thought you were in Austin, TX im really sorry". How does one get around that.
Thanks again. Great article.
Hi Derek,
I would add one point:
"Learn every day something that increases the value you could bring to the company you want to work for."
Only a fool would not hire a guy who has true passion + brings great value to the company!
Thank you for your article!
Have a good day,
Gabriele
good advice Derek, you wouldn't believe the amount of cv's I get and the cover letters are just so so wrong and worded incorrectly. Its so important!
Great article. X
The Key Word "Persistent"
Reff:
http://bible.cc/matthew/7-7.htm
my management prof told me the same advice just yesterday..=)
Reminds me of Bill Clinton saying:
"Don't ask yourself what your country can do for you, ask yourself what you can do for your country"
Cheers Derek for stimulating ambition.
good stuff
Derek
Thank you for this blog. You said:
"Do this every week. It's OK to be almost annoying. Polite manners don't prove passion."
I have found this aspect of your advice extremely poignant.
I find myself doing details and exceptions in my mind. And.
I think it goes back to the order of what you said. Soul search.
And not remotely. Finding that true with most substantial efforts of any type right now.
Your advice to vary really helps.
Combined the advice creates a structure that I think will help me with my resume challenge~ I exude passion. Not good in a Prozac job economy. Passion is essential. Without varying it or giving a person a sense of who I am I tend to come off as too passionate which in a current office might create an impression that I am too intense to enjoy 8 hrs of work around. Until people meet me. I Am a Sasquatch, that keeps it to myself in person. I adjust to my surroundings. I am told that doesn't show in my emails and remote presentations.
So I end up having to bury desks with references. Which turns into a prestige match.
Your advice helps me to skip my whole story of it. You have a ways of solving verbal emotional math problems that helps this simple brain to "get" the current job market.
Everyone is so subdued. Playing it safe. It makes people hard to read. Without feedback, I am not too bright.
Thank you Derek. For all you do
~stefan
Re. Comment asking why should anyone believe in something they don't own?
Derek. Please delete if this looks like grandstanding. I rarely engage.
And. Anonymous comments complaining about your advice show how big you are to leave it.
Sir Anonymous
You are too ashamed to put your name with your face. You don't even "own" you.
You are owned by your fear. If you used your serious intelligence to help people your life and the lives of everyone around you would prosper. Your income would probably double.
Why? When you believe in yourself, those around you, and what you do ~ no matter what you earn ~ you create Joy. Happiness will get you that job, that raise, faster than any three step process of what you won't do.
Blessings. Actually a compliment. Good scientific basis that it is true as well...
Sincerely
~stefan
Derek, your advice reminds me a bit of "What Color Is Your Parachute." I kept getting stuck at step one: finding what I really wanted to do--and that part took many years. I may be naive, but I believe that things turn out for the best if you let them. (Sometimes the "best" isn't what you envisioned.) Make an honest effort and good things will happen. But the key, as you often point out, Derek, is getting started. You can't be passive.
Derek, thank you for providing this forum for sharing ideas.
awesome...it just boils down to the fire to exceed in your belly...
In a past job of hiring highly paid people for a huge college, I took note of:
1. Did they show up on time for the interview.
2. Were they dressed appropriately for the job.
3. I asked "what do you do that's fantastic?" and "what do you do that no one else can do?" few people could answer this question.
4. I was instructed by my boss not to hire anyone with tatoos or piercings.
5. Did they have good eye contact?
6. Where they clean?
7. I contacted previous employers for information on past performance.
There's always work for those who work well.
Great advice Derek! you couldn't have posted this at a better time! Thanks a lot my friend! I agree with SD's comment above!
And A&R divisions in record companies went away along time ago.
If companies are too busy, or too arrogant to look for talent (waiting for the talent to come to them), will they succeed in the long run?
But face it, as long as folk are willing to take the actions DS suggests, why would any company look? And in a related vein, as long as folk are willing to play music for nothing, why pay?
Paul
Hi Derek!!
and... in the meantime.......
Thanks for the info..
Myself I am starting my own means of employment.!!
Still spreading the music!!!
Have a super day!!
Rachel
Yes Derek, what a waste of a life, doing something for a living that you despise..Success is not based on how much money you make or have made it based on when you wake up in the morning and you really look forward and can't wait to do something you really enjoy and grow as a person. That to me is true success! And if you make a lot of money doing what you love that all the more to you. But first and foremost feel your spirit alive with what you spend you time doing. that's real living.. peace, Mark
Derek
Thanks for the advice. I know someone that could use this.
James
The method requires to get emotionally invested, so if rejected it's gonna hurt badly. Also people don't change their minds so persisting is lame.
I like other Derek's essays, but this one is so naive.
Exactly what my father told me years ago, and it worked. Strange how history can repeat itself, over and over...
This method doesn't always work...I figure it works more for the one who is looking at jobs in an artistic field where appreciating the person for who they are and their talents are foremost.
My experience in business (23 yrs in accounting/business management) and healthcare field (nurse for 12 yrs) has always relied upon the resume. These are facts-oriented positions where credentials and education are the foundation upon being hired as the position requires specific abilities.
My jobs have all been the result of a good resume and while I didn't stay in one job, save one, for real long periods of time, it has been my education that landed the positions and not persistence.
Sometimes I've found that certain jobs I really wanted weren't meant for me and my resume highlighted that fact to those who were involved in the hiring process. I figured this out when I occasionally helped those who were reviewing applicants.
Bottom line? I believe it truly depends upon the type of job you're looking for and what your resume indicates as far as skills, consistency in employment, types of jobs you've held and abilities...but this is not so much a measuring stick for the 'artistic world.'
Once again, you nailed it. Anyone would be foolish not to follow this great advice, especially during these economic down-times. What stood out most to me was getting yourself up to know what your talking about when contacting... the more you know about the company, the more relaxed you'll be when questions start coming. And they will come!
It's true what you say,especially the part of researching the company so that when you eventually get an interview, you are armed with facts and figures about what they do. You'll be surprised at how impressive it makes you look.
aye the 3 P's: passion, patience, persistence. this sounds like a sound strategy...how can anyone resist enthusiasm and self-motivated hard-work?
all this is ok....best part is the persistence. I, myself, am an expert in getting hired....have had over 50 different jobs with 50 different companies in the last 4 years. I's am a singer and ultimately that's why I left. There is a major reason why I get hired....but this will be reserved for a book I'll write.
Hi Derek-
Wow, I've been an independent contractor for many years. I've learned something new today, this is GREAT advice! Thanks for the tips!
Very Best Regards,
George
And when 'the company' has used you up...they will throw you out like yesterday's cat pissed on newspaper...again.
SCREW CORPORATE AMERICA!
(Do I sound bitter?)
Derek,
You say not to do this remotely. Why is that?
What if I want to work for a company that is famous for having remote workers?
Thanks!
Then do it. I just meant for 99% of companies, it means a lot to be local and ready to start work the next day, when needed. -- Derek
Derek, you really don't think like 99% of the planet... and I really like that about you! As always, thank you for the inspiration. shoutwithjoy!
Derek!
Who could disagree? You've described the easy part!
What are your thoughts on the hard part for most people?
"Do some soul-searching to decide what you really want to do."
Ah-ha!
-Matt
This is how you got "hired".
http://sivers.org/sakamoto
I completely agree. This approach has worked for me twice. Those two jobs were the places where I did the most interesting work, formed the best professional connections, was happiest and are the longest engagements in my work history.
As an employer, I'd find it hard to say "no" to someone with skills we needed and this level of passion.
- lane
this is completely true and has worked for me every time for 40 years. only problem (aside from the one mentioned, about figuring out what you want to do) is finding a venue in which to do it. sometimes those places aren't readily apparent--more often as we grow older--but unless you want to regret lost years even faintly, it's important to keep on pushing until you find that place because, wherever it is, it *is* out there. then follow these instructions. it always works. just decide you are and you are, so go and be that.
Your advice is really real....i bet i'm doing a similar thing at this very moment. You can guess to which company or individual....LOL Whilst waiting for a response from my to be employer, i had spent the time reading all about him, his company and i keep pestering until i finally get started.