I’ve written and talked about having the kind of “career insurance” that doesn’t leave you at the mercy of any particular employer – whether that is in academia or outside of it.
As I thought about what that would look like for me this year, I came up with three ways to build career insurance. Over the next three emails, I will expand on each of them.
Here are the 3 ways to build career insurance:
1 – Become a favor economy millionaire.
2 – Reactivate your circles.
3 – Create your own party.
Let’s talk about becoming a favor economy millionaire.
In our increasingly capitalistic and individualistic world, the idea of helping people for free is frowned upon and even, sometimes, completely eschewed.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think Target or my electric company should give me things for free. I will gladly pay for fairly priced goods and services – because I understand how business works.
But there is a place where we can help people and not expect anything in return…because the payout is bigger than what those people can pay you in monetary terms.
What? Why?!
Let me share a story I’ve shared a few dozen times:
In 2021, I started writing and creating videos to help PhDs like me figure their careers outside of academia out because I had struggled on the job market for 18 months and hated the feeling SO MUCH that I never wanted anyone to go through the same thing.
So I put all my thoughts out there for free for anyone who would listen.
About a year into doing this, people started sending me messages like these:
Cool right? I never charged these people for coaching or told them to buy anything from me (nothing wrong with these things by the way). They just watched what I put out, it helped them and they wrote to me to let me know.
Well, even though these people did not pay me, my payment has come in different ways.
One of those times was when another academic who had been reading my LinkedIn posts raved about me to a decision-maker at a prestigious academic institution. I went through the interview process and got the job but (a little painfully) turned it down to keep my industry role.
I remember thinking to myself after that incident, “There is no way these people would have paid any attention to me if I had cold applied to this role.”
This and many other ways people have tried to help me over the last 4 years have convinced me more than ever that becoming a favor economy millionaire – winning favor with many people because you help without expecting anything back- is something you cannot put a price on.
Find your own way to help people without expecting an immediate reward.
Will everyone you help return the favor?
Absolutely not.
95% won’t.
But those who do, do it in such big ways you cannot help but yell, “wow.”
Build goodwill with people. It comes back. Even for something like your career.
Thoughts? Hit REPLY and let me know.
Talk soon.
PS – this week, I launched an audio experience to the videos I post on YouTube. You can listen to The Bold PhD Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcast app. Listen to the first interview for the podcast here.