The Writers Coin

Regardless of the type of career you’re in or would like to be in, one of the biggest obstacles standing between you and “the next level” is a lack of experience. How many times have we all heard that after a job interview we thought went really well?

Employers won’t give you a shot unless you have experience and you can’t get any experience unless someone gives you a shot.

Which makes it pretty clear what you have to do: get some.

Sound hard/impossible? Here are some things that anyone can do to get that coveted “experience” regardless of the field you’re in:

• Start a blog: This is one of my personal favorites. I was having a conversation with some of Ramit’s people about changing careers without quitting your job and I wound up pounding this point home. Blogging about anything will automatically give you experience and something to show potential employers. Think your career doesn’t lend itself to blogging? Email me and I’ll prove you wrong. Blogging will not just give you the experience you can then show a potential employer, but it’ll also help you grow and learn more about yourself and your profession. Which, ultimately, isn’t that the whole point of experience?
• Freelance: I don’t care what you do, there is someone on Craigslist that could use your help. Maybe they don’t want to pay for it, but they need help. I remember doing this when I was putting together my advertising portfolio—I created ads that I commissioned myself to create. No one made me do it and I certainly didn’t get paid to do it. But at the end of it, I had some experience and some ads to show. The more you do it, the sooner you can graduate to paying gigs. Trust me, they’re out there.
• Events: Whether you’re a copywriter, an interior designer, or a lawyer, there are always events to attend to. They may be boring and you may hate them, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. Especially if you aren’t “in the biz” yet. Go to all the events a person that has the job/position you’re after would go to. The trick is to basically live how they live and do what they do—even if you’re only simulating it. That also counts for experience. Oh and don’t just stand there with a drink in your hand—talk to people.

If you want to gain valuable experience, it’s all about practice. Blogging, freelancing, and going to events all comes down to practicing—you have to pretend to be the person with the position or job you want. Why? Because if you do all the things that they would do, you’re getting that experience that you’re missing.

Why do you think I started this blog? I know it works—I got my current job thanks to the writing I’d done on The Writer’s Coin.

Now you go out there and do the same and stop complaining that your boss never “gives you a shot.” Make your own shots as you go.

Image by jasontheaker

This post has been included in the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights over on Wisebread. Make sure to check it out!

I can’t think of any other number that influences who we are and how we view ourselves in relation to others than our salaries. It’s the number we use when we compare ourselves to other people, how we view our progress in the workplace, and how we measure if we’re truly happy or not at our jobs.

Does that sound a little too dramatic or over the top? Welcome to reality. If you honestly don’t feel that your salary is a big deal in your life, you’re living in some kind of alternate universe (or you’re making a lot more than I am).

My old job was stingy when it came to salaries. Their MO was to hire smart, young people who were willing to work for a very low salary. Once they got enough experience and got really good at their jobs, they were allowed to leave. Then the next round of smart, young people would come in and pick up the slack. Somehow, they managed to make these transitions pretty effortless—the work rarely suffered (I guess it goes to show how good they were at picking the right, smart, young people to hire). Did I mention everyone was young and smart, including myself?

But the people were great, that was the weird thing about the job. Everyone liked each other (with some exceptions near the top of the pyramid) and got along great. It made going work a lot of fun. But the frustrations of being paid so little is what kept people leaving—they just couldn’t keep a lot of these people.

The salary is what made me move on to my next job, and it’s a number that’s constantly on my mind. Am I being underpaid? Should I be making more? Should I be making more than this or that person at my current job? This constant worrying about possibly being “underpaid” is really something that can get in the way of enjoying your job. Sometimes I wish I knew what everyone around me makes, and other times I’m like “that would only cause trouble.” Imagine if you found out that someone in your office whom you think is clearly an inferior worker to you is making more than you! That would ruin your job—there’s no way you could function properly carrying that kind of weight around.

Then there are the life questions that come at you and you have to look at that salary number to see how your life is going to pan out:

• Can I get married?
• Can I support a baby?
• Can I provide for a family?

And the endless list of “Can I”s goes on and on and on. And that’s why most people want to make more money, in my opinion. To eliminate all these “Can I”s and stop worrying about what you can and can’t do.

Here’s what I’m trying to say about how big a role this one number plays in our lives: when I worked at my old job, we all knew we were underpaid. That was a given. And as I looked for a new job, I obviously wanted to get paid more, but I didn’t believe I deserved to be paid more. When I found my new job and they wanted to hire me, part of me couldn’t grasp the idea that company A valued me at $X and company B was willing to give me 20% more.

It just goes to show you that what we make slowly becomes a part of how we value ourselves, and that can sometimes be a dangerous proposition, especially if you’re short changing yourself.

The other day I read this story about the Chicago Bulls’ first-round draft pick, Derrick Rose. It’s about what a talented player he is, but also how quiet he can be. Especially for a young guy experiencing some success in the NBA. And this caught my eye:

Teammate Lindsey Hunter, who is in his 15th NBA season, calls Rose “a guard with some freakish ability and an extra gear that a lot of guys don’t have.” Hunter wasn’t expecting the rest of the package.

“It was like a breath of fresh air to see how humble he was, how eager to learn,” he said. “He really has a lot of selflessness in him, and that’s a unique find these days. It’s a hard thing to come by.”

Humility is something I really prided myself on back in my baseball days growing up. I didn’t do it on purpose, it’s just the way I was built for that particular game. I didn’t appreciate younger guys coming up and acting out like they were hot stuff—it was a major turnoff. If you’re even a moderate pro-sports fan, this will sound all-too familiar.

But seeing young guys like Derrick Rose impress veteran players with their humility is a huge breath of fresh air. And it got me thinking about humility in the workplace. Is there a place for it?

I’ve been thinking about this for a while after writing my “Being a Better Employee” series. Let’s say you thought of a great idea and your whole group is getting credit for it. Should you step in and say something so everyone knows it was your idea? Should you keep your mouth shut and not say a word? You want to be a team player, but no one is going to watch out for your interests but yourself. How else will your bosses realize how valuable you are if you don’t toot your own horn at least a little bit?

“It’s Just Business”

How many times have you heard that from pro athletes? That’s the first thing that comes to mind is that big contract that lures them away from their home team in exchange for bigger dollar signs. Most fans get upset and say the player “sold out” or “followed the money.” Wouldn’t we all do the same? Granted, it’s different when you’re talking a salary of XX thousand dollars versus millions of dollars, but don’t we also want to feel like we’re being valued by our employer?

I don’t like to “toot my own horn” at work. It feels very self servient and selfish (plus it’s just plain awkward). But sometimes you have to do it, otherwise people may never know how valuable you are to the job. How many times have you heard a boss/company offer someone more money when they say they’ve found another job. Often times they’re shocked because they have no idea how much you wanted to leave or how vital you were to the office.

So I guess this is more of a question than an informative post with humorous lines in it (like all the other ones).

Is there room for humility at work? And if there is, how do you balance that (which I think is a valuable, or at least likable quality) with the need to be recognized/rewarded at work?