Career Slingshots

“How do you create so many cool career opportunities?”

I got this question in my DMs, and if I’m being honest, it caught me off guard. Why?

Well, for many of us, it’s easy to get caught up in where we’re going that we forget to appreciate how far we’ve come.

While I’m far from where I want to be, I have picked up a few tips on how to accelerate your career with the internet.

I call these accelerants, “Career Slingshots”.

Today, I want to share my strategy for making yourself a magnet for opportunity.

What is a Career Slingshot?

When I was a kid, I played point guard in basketball.

Put simply, I was in charge of dribbling the ball and keeping it away from the other team.

The other team would send two defenders to steal the ball. Oftentimes, my response was to panic and attempt to dribble through both of them (that never worked).

It was only when I learned to dribble backward, survey the court, and create space that I was able to move forward. I had to learn to give up my position so that I could retake and improve it.

That’s the essence of a Career Slingshot. You take one step back so you can take two steps forward.

Most people pride themselves on being #unemployable. But I believe one of the best career decisions you can make when you’re young is to work for someone else.

When we’re young, the harsh truth is, we don’t know what we don’t know.

Instead of starting a Facebook Ads Agency and burning your own cash for clients, why not work at an agency and get paid to learn?

Instead of starting your own business and taking all the losses yourself, why not work at a startup where you have room to make mistakes?

While working for someone else may seem like you are taking a step backward, in reality, you’re priming yourself to slingshot past everyone else.

So how do you find a Career Slingshot?

1) Study marketing

One of the most powerful skills you can learn as a young person is how to market yourself, your ideas, and your offers.

For example, when I first met Noah Kagan, he asked me to put together a pitch deck on why he should hire me.

While it was only my second time creating a pitch deck (the first time was at beehiiv) — I used the marketing principles I learned from launching my past digital products to get the role.

Underrated career hack: Study marketing.

2) Learn how to write a compelling cold email

A compelling cold email is like chugging an ice-cold Gatorade after a long run. It hits the spot.

Here are a few quick tips:

1. Always think, “What’s in it for them?”

2. Grab attention ASAP

3. Have a specific ask

4. Be concise

Here’s the cold email I sent Tyler Denk (the CEO at beehiiv):

3) Talk to lots of people

I’ve had hundreds of Zoom calls this past year (not an exaggeration).

While some may argue that these calls stole my focus from my personal projects (like this newsletter), I believe these calls are fundamental for any young person.

If you think someone is working on something cool, DM them. That’s how I met Mike McGuiness and started working at his startup called Perch.

4) Read as much as possible

You’re probably thinking, “Boooring”.

I get it. That’s what I used to think too.

But here’s the secret:

When you learn from reading, you…

• Make fewer mistakes
• Train yourself to notice patterns
• Look smarter (even though you’re borrowing wisdom from others)

What should you start reading?

Anything. Something. The first thing that grabs your attention.

As Naval Ravikant said, “Read what you love until you love to read.”

5) Build a portfolio of proof

In the age of the internet, resumes are outdated.

Instead of writing fake titles and using the biggest words you can think of — build a portfolio of your results.

Results speak louder than resumes.

Here are three examples:

Instead of just submitting her application for a writer position — Claudia wrote three full newsletters BEFORE she was hired. This is called a Permissionless Pitch.

You don’t need permission to prove your work.

The craziest part? She’s only 15!?!? (I’d hire her on the spot)

Instead of applying the normal path, my friend Pri created a website filled with client examples, testimonials, and his backstory.

High performers find ways to stand out.

This guy rebuilt an entire landing page for Danny Miranda (a podcaster). While he wasn’t looking for a job or to get paid — doing the work before you’re hired is a great way to attract attention.

Don’t tell me what you can do, show me.

6) Say ‘thank you’ more

Showing your appreciation is an underrated way to create opportunities.

A few months ago, I sent an appreciation message to Noah Kagan’s creative director, Jeremy.

Jeremy hosts an awesome podcast called Backstage Careers where he interviews the people working behind the scenes with well-known creators/entrepreneurs.

His podcast inspired me to cold-email Tyler at beehiiv.

We started talking and he mentioned Noah was looking for someone to help with his newsletter growth.

I showed Jeremy my old newsletter about newsletters (portfolio of proof). He liked it and put me in contact with Noah.

When in doubt, say ‘thank you’ more.

7) Curate your content output

If you’ve been reading my emails for a while, you know I’m a huge advocate for sharing your ideas online. The internet breaks all geographical boundaries.

However, there’s a deeper level than simply sharing your thoughts with the world. You must curate your content output. What do I mean?

Take a look at these two examples:

Which hook attracts your future mentors?

Look. I’m not judging how anyone else uses Twitter. There are many ways to play the game.

But if your goal is to use the internet to attract career opportunities — the question to ask before publishing any piece of content is, “Would my future mentors enjoy this?”

All my recent career opportunities have occurred after I stopped sharing content around “how to grow an audience” and started sharing my notes and milestones.

• What would make your future mentor DM you?
• What would make your idol retweet you?
• What would make your hero follow you?

We’re not optimizing to create a “movement”. We’re optimizing for cool people and cool opportunities to come to us.

If you haven’t started writing online yet (but you want to), here’s an easy way to get started from Jack Appleby:

Every week, publish three posts:

1. Something you learned that week

2. Something you’re proud of at work

3. Someone else’s work + why you like it

It’s an entirely different approach from what the audience-building gurus have taught you. We aren’t writing downward, we’re writing upward.

Jay “Know What Game You’re Playing” Yang