Ditch the Traditional Job Market: Do This Instead

2 weeks ago, I published a Twitter thread pitching myself to work for Alex Lieberman, the co-founder and executive chairman of Morning Brew.

As of writing this, this thread has generated:

• 42,000+ impressions

• 110+ likes and 50+ bookmarks

• 100+ followers from people in tech and biz

And crazily enough, I landed a call with Alex and got an offer to help him out on his business, StoryArb, a B2B content agency for heads of marketing at companies valued at 10+ million in revenue or venture funding.

I did this without a resume (I genuinely don’t know how to craft a good resume) or sending in a traditional job application.

Heck, this role working 1:1 with Alex didn’t even exist in the first place. And no, I don’t have a 4.0 GPA (nowhere close) or any prior professional work experience.

How did it happen? And for those who want to pursue a similar path, how do you do it?

Whether you’re ready or not, I’m going to show you the red pill and introduce a concept that may blow your mind.

No fluff on this newsletter, only hot takes and honest-to-god thoughts.

Here it goes:

Outlier Actions

If you want to stand out in a ‘crowded’ job market, you have to differentiate yourself among the masses.

Everyone with the same credentials is applying for the same jobs and roles on the same websites with the same resumes.

It’s like the Buzz Lightyear meme:

I’ve seen this over and over again:

• People sending 100+ job applications but hearing nothing back

• Going through interviews getting asked dorky things like: “So how do you cook your steak?” (No really, my friend got asked that at an interview for Morgan Stanley 💀)

• People with fancy STEM degrees from top 20 universities but getting rejections left and right

It’s not that you’re not qualified enough - it’s all about how you position yourself that sets you apart from the rest.

If you want to stand apart, you need to cultivate high agency.

Cultivate High Agency

What’s high agency? Most of society waits for permission before they can do x, y, z.

High agency people call this BS. They don’t wait for the green light to tell them what to do. They control the traffic, not let the traffic control them.

When it comes to starting their career, they see what 99% are doing, do the opposite, and take the third door. Here are some unconventional examples:

• Don’t apply to jobs, cold DM for jobs

• Don’t attend networking events, start a podcast

• Don’t create resumes, create content or build in public

Don’t believe it works?

It’s not just me; recently, this Waterloo student made a video pitch to become Shopify’s first marketing intern (in all of Shopify’s history).

Within a few days, her video got:

• 950k+ views, 600+ retweets, and 5.9k+ likes

• Replies by Shopify’s COO and President (“You are hired”)

• The attention of the world’s best founders, executives, creators

If the state of the job market - and college admissions - is already this abysmal, what else do you need to convince you to pivot to a new path?

Play a New Game

If something isn’t working, why keep on hammering the same place? Find a different place to hammer, or better yet, consider whether the game you’re playing in the first place is even worth playing at all.

Here’s a video Peter Yang made that I recommend checking out:

Control your own destiny - live your life in a way where success is 100% guaranteed, not a slim 1% chance by doing the same thing as everyone else.

Don’t partake in a losing battle where the odds are stacked against you. Play a game where you know you can turn it into your hero’s journey.

Stop waiting for someone to hand you the golden ticket; you have to create it yourself.

Stop hammering. Take the red pill.

Cheers,

Jeston Lu

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