Random Career Opportunities

I haven't gotten around to putting any blogs up the last two or three weeks but for a good reason. I was contacted through my personal email by someone who was looking for someone to help out with a business plan. I read it, and moved it directly to my spam folder. Why would anyone approach me about a writing a business plan? I thought it was one of those email scams that is just fishing for any kind of personal information.To my surprise, a few days later I got another email inquiring about the exact same topic from the same individual. I decided to investigate the emails a little further and it turned out, I was legitimately being approached by an entrepreneur who knew my background and wanted to team up with me for an idea he had. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected someone approaching me out of the blue to ask about pairing up for a potential business opportunity!

Turns out, my name (through "random" networking that I participated in throughout college) had gotten to him through a friend of a friend. It is absolutely amazing how small connections you make with any person throughout your life can come back to you (and I'm only 23!). After replying to this guy through email, he decided he would like to meet up with me in person to talk business. He drove about two hours to meet me and we agreed upon a basic package where I would write up a business plan for him for a set price.

To think that an absolute stranger who heard my name decided to drive two hours to come talk to me face-to-face is absolutely stunning--and it all stems from networking and taking a risk. Now I cannot say that I have wisdom on the subject like many of you reading this blog do, but I have had countless of people from an executive level to an hourly level employee tell me never to say no to a good opportunity. Whether it is a random opportunity like I described earlier or that random project that has been tossed around your group at work, grab hold of that opportunity and give it your all. These random projects is what builds perspective, reputation, and allows you to build and strengthen your basic leadership skills. Proving that you are proficient in learning a new topic or completing something outside of your expertise is not only self-fulfilling but is a strength that is downright marketable.

Do you have a random opportunity that you came across recently? Feel free to comment or email me with any stories, questions, or concerns you may have.

Always Be Yourself and Never Lie

This post goes out to all the college graduates who think that the first job they get should be at an executive level. We all have been there, thinking to ourselves, "I could run this place and make so much more money than they are now". If you get cocky, it never looks good no matter which way you slice it. Here is a story to prove it.

One of the things you'll hear most when going into interviews, looking for careers, or just talking to people is, "always be yourself". You have no idea how many times I've heard this from my parents, family, friends, professors...and well, pretty much everyone I know. Sadly, even with everyone telling me to "be myself" and "not to be fake" I had to learn it the hard way a many years ago.

Let me set the stage. A 16 year old high school kid is looking to make a few bucks or two to buy a car and take out a girl on a nice date. Never having worked a day in his life, he doesn't know where to begin. Driving around with friends, looking for anywhere that has a "Hiring- Inquire Within" sign, finally he sees a small breakfast joint.

I never was the person who thought that one job was more important than another, to some extent. But, when I found out that I was about to apply to be a cook at this small neighborhood joint, I thought I was hitting the jackpot. Hear me out here. The only way this place made money was by selling food, so as the cook I would have been creating the sole product that made money for this restaurant--how awesome would that be! The only problem was that I had been a vegetarian my entire life and to tell you the truth I had no idea how to make anything remotely breakfast-y, let alone anything meat-related.

Fast forward to the interview. I was nervous, sweaty, and pretty much crapping my pants because I had told the owner that I make breakfast foods all the time at home (strike 1). When he brought me in front of the grill and told me to make him 2 eggs and some bacon, I swear I was having an out of body experience. Being an avid Food Network channel watcher, I grabbed an egg with one hand and figured, "How hard can it be to crack an egg like an expert?" (strike 2). I smacked the egg on the side of a bowl with one hand and before I knew it, had raw egg everywhere.

"Okay", I thought to myself, "I'll redeem myself with the bacon". Mind you, this was the first time I had ever touched raw meat before, so I had no idea what I was doing. I slathered about 1/5 of a stick of butter on the grill then put the bacon right on it (strike 3). It was a shit show. I looked up and the owner was laughing at me.

All in all, I thought I was above the job. I learned the hard (and very embarrassing) way that even what you consider the a "menial" or "low-level" job requires dedication, hard work, and staying true to yourself. I got cocky, and I made an absolute fool of myself. I have never again have I fell in that trap to date. Always be yourself and never lie.

Secrets to be Successful

This is it. My secrets to be successful. If you follow these four rules, you'll be the next Bill Gates, the next billionaire, the next leader in your industry. Now if you believe me, maybe you should get off the computer, take a deep breath, and get some champagne to celebrate your future wealth and success. For you that don't believe that following these four rules will make you the next billionaire, congratulations because you (most probably) are thinking correctly.

Everyone defines success in their own way--making $$$, the title, vacation houses in Tahiti, having a huge family, etc. I define success as having completed what you want to have completed. Broad and generic, I know. I have always followed these four rules that I think capture the essence of success in your career (think of them more as guidelines if you aren't a rule person). Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Have fun and smile.

• If you are going to your job everyday, dreading every minute, every second of the day believe me when I say that, that is not success. Although you think you may have to "pay your dues" to get to the level you want to be, you should be able to enjoy yourself when doing it. I'm not telling anyone to quit their jobs if they dread going into work, rather to find the small things in your job that you genuinely enjoy (if you can't find anything that you enjoy in your day job, you should start looking for a new job this second). You should be enjoying yourself in order to be successful, clear and simple. Also, a smile goes a LONG way, mentally for yourself as well as the way people view you. 

2. Be an action oriented person.

• Every leadership book or blog I've read have mentioned that successful people are so because they are do-ers. They get things done. You can plan all you want (I'm a big planner), you can talk the talk, but you need to be strong where the rubber meets the road, where things get done. Whether it be through influence or simply completing an action yourself, by physically doing something in your work, you can confidently state that you made a difference. What do you think looks better on a resume--1) Created proposal to increase first pass yield by 30% in the next 12 months, potentially saving $30,000 of rework costs per year, 2) Increased first pass yield by 30% in the next 12 months, saved $30,000 of rework costs per year. The answer: Number 2. Number 2 looks better on a resume. Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk. 

3. Learn something new everyday.

• This one is the most simple rule. If you come out of your day thinking, " I didn't learn anything" or, "That was a waste of a day", you are doing something wrong. You should always be learning, in failure or success, in boredom or excitement. 
• Something you could potentially learn today: only use bullets if you have more than one bullet, especially in a presentation. Apparently I can't apply my learnings. 

4. Networking is necessary.

• People are always afraid of the word networking. Networking, in its purest form, is being a people person. Being pleasant, approachable, and able to hold a genuine conversation. Any person you have ever met could potentially be the person that boosts your career to the next level. I know people that went in to an interview that didn't go well, but they got the job because the interviewer heard from the company's janitor that he/she was a nice person--no joke. You never know when someone you know can pull in a favor or two to help you out, but you should be open to do the same.  

So however you define success, you can be successful if you want to be. You need to apply yourself, follow some rules (or guidelines for you rebels), and enjoy.