133 - From Dismissed To Undeniable Expert

The Connection / July 11, 2023 / Issue #133

Hello, Connectors 😎

Scroll through LinkedIn, and you'll see dozens of ambitious professionals playing the “numbers game" when it comes to remote jobs:

That's the wrong approach. Here's what to do instead.

Today in 7 minutes or less, you'll learn

• The 3 steps to becoming undeniable in the remote job market

• Why "showing, not telling" is your secret sauce to stand out

• The "insights" cheat code used by a $3.7 billion B2C app (that you can steal)

• Plus: save hundreds of hours in scheduling with this one calendar setting

Let’s jump in.

Become Undeniable In The Remote Job Market

Last week, we talked about 3 common mistakes that are killing your remote work job opportunities. Now let's fix them:

1/ What you do, why it's valuable, and why you're the one

Mistake: "I-I-I Syndrome"

What's the problem: Too focused on "I". I have an associates degree. I don't mind learning. I'm affordable.

How to solve: I loved how Erin Riska summarized this:

1. What you do: Draw a 1:1 relationship between job responsibilities and what you've done in previous roles

2. Why it's valuable: What impact did your work have? Examples: revenue earned, time saved, projects shipped, employees managed, etc.

3. Why you're the person: Highlight recent challenges and opportunities the company has faced (i.e. last 3 months) and how you've faced these before.

2/ Show, don’t tell

Mistake: Waiting for permission

What's the problem: Don't talk about what you're willing to do. Show either what you've done or what you're doing.

How to solve: You probably will never have all the skills a role requires. While you should never let that disqualify you, you can't go in there all Oliver Twist with both hands out.

1. What problems will this role work on solving? Not sure? Figure that out (more on that below).

2. Have you solved similar problems? If yes, highlight that in your cover letter and application.

3. If no AND this is a repeated pattern: go get that skill. Find a project to work on. Do it for free. Drive results, then talk about that.

Want to learn Excel? Build a P&L for your own finances. Or someone else's. Offer to do inventory for a local business.

I wanted to learn social media marketing. So I did marketing experiments, on the side, for the family restaurants.

I didn't get paid a cent.

I didn't stick with it.

But learned a lot.

3/ Ask, then give

Mistake: Emphasizing skills > impact

What's the problem: 99% of the time we apply for jobs but have no idea what the employer actually wants. So we just focus on skills, instead of the impact we can have.

How to solve: You ask.

Ryan Levesque wrote an entire book on this tactic. At Noom, "asking" was the seed that spawned their onboarding survey, which has driven hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

Ask, ask, ask:

1. Current employees

2. Previous employees

3. Ask people in similar roles, at adjacent companies

This is literally like getting all the questions before the big test. In school, they call this cheating.

In your career, it's called research.

Do your research.

It's a competitive market for remote work roles. But when you understand what a company is looking for and can speak to that, you become undeniable. And that opens the door to work anywhere you want.

“Your Business Here” (For 1,580+ Ambitious Remote Workers)

I'm looking to spotlight ambitious remote workers and digital nomads in The Connection. Share your story and your business with 1,580 other readers. Interested? Complete this short form (2 minutes).

Remote First Tips

Tips and tricks that make a remote-first company even better.

Make your calendar public

When your calendar is public, your colleagues are empowered to schedule around your priorities. They see what meetings you have, when you're with your family, etc.*

How to set your work calendar public:

1. Open Gcal

2. Top right --> Click Settings

3. Left --> In General --> Settings for my calendars --> Calendar Settings

4. Make avail for [Company]

5. See all event details

If for privacy reasons, you only want to set your calendar public for specific people, you can do that too!

^{*Before you do this, make sure you set your working hours and block off time you're with family, working out, etc.}

Conclusion

That’s a wrap.

On Monday, July 17th, 2023, here's what we'll cover:

• A real-life case study on becoming undeniable in the remote job market

• Plus: my favorite knowledge management tool (this is THE central hub of my remote life)

See you next week 👋

P.S. All my friends keep talking about how good The Bear Season 2 is. And it does look good! But it reminds me of this bit from Jimmy O. Yang about Chinese restaurants (which is hilarious - and true).

When you’re ready, here are 3 more ways I can help you with remote work: