I had graduated in late 2019 and had just started working at an architecture office when 2020 came. And with it, came lockdown and an eventual end to my contract.
With the market being saturated as it was, finding a job mid-2020 was rough. After some back and forth with my amazing partner, who is an avid entrepreneur himself, I asked myself “what am I doing wrong? what do people do, when nothing seems to be working?”, to which he said, “think outside the box, be creative and do something completely different.”
Honestly, it sounds simple, but it’s not that easy when you’re down on your luck and unemployed. But he was right. Looking back, so many people through history found ways to create their own opportunities. And that’s what I wanted to do. If no one would hire me, I would do it myself.
And let me tell you, it’s a steep learning curve, and I’ve barely started! But during the past several months, I did learn some very valuable things that would help me regardless of whether I’d continue to be an entrepreneur or not.
So here are my top 3 things I’ve learned.
Providing value
One thing I’ve learned while making the shift from unemployment to self-employed is how important it is to provide value in either of those situations.
After graduating and finding myself unemployed, I went in a deep dive of how to make the perfect resume, how to optimise my LinkedIn profile, and how to nail my cover letter. Basically everything under the sun (or what the internet can give you).
You get all of these great examples, these beautifully worded applications, and still nothing. Now, I’m not saying that my applications were perfect, but changing perspective to the one of a business owner made so much sense. Just stating my education and experience doesn’t really cut it. Especially nowadays where higher education is so accessible and there are so many smart and talented people out there.
To paraphrase Alexa Shoen (author of #ENTRYLEVELBOSS: How To Get Any Job You Want) in one of her tik toks: people get hired when they’re helping someone to either save time or make money. Now I know this is very simplistic, but at the core of it, it makes so much sense. In a world in which most are struggling to stay afloat, and competition is tight, employers (and clients for that matter) need to make difficult decisions on who can help them best.
But how to do that? While I don’t have all the answers, I can say what I did to figure out how can I provide value. It’s a fun exercise that anyone can do: when I write my CV and application for my dream job, I think about what skills do I highlight? What do I tell hiring managers about myself so they will hire me? So I wrote down my skills and list the things I can do with them.
This gave me a good perspective of what I can do, what are my strong points, and where I want to improve.
Self-esteem and imposter syndrome
I’m going to tell you a secret. When I had my first potential client, I went through something similar to a panic attack.
I told myself “Why would someone want MY help?”
Because the client clearly saw some value in what you do (hint to the previous point).
“But what if I can’t do it?”
You know what? I wouldn’t have known if I could actually do it if I didn’t try. And even if I wouldn’t get the client, I still learned something. I learned to be honest with myself and my client if I think I can’t finish the task. What’s the worst that can happen, waste time? So don’t sabotage yourself with self-doubt.
I’ve also learned how to be confident despite failing to get a potential client. For a long time I have conditioned myself to think that if I failed one thing, it’s over. But that can’t be further from the truth. Looking at most successful professionals, I realized that they failed many times before getting where they are. This is especially true for entrepreneurs because some things you just learn by doing.
This also lead me to learn how to communicate better, whether it is with clients or other professionals. If you’ve ever watched the Dragons’ Den or anything like it, you’d see how important it is to be clear and concise about what you do and how much you value your work.
Putting yourself out there
Now, you may have heard thousands of times how important networking is. I know I did. Let me say it one more time: NETWORKING IS IMPORTANT. Go and do it! Don’t worry about not starting earlier, the important part is to start now.
Why is it so important? Well, from a job seeker’s perspective, it is estimated that more than 70% of all jobs are being filled through networking. And for architects, the most successful leads channel is through referrals.
But networking is not only for lead generation. It helps find new opportunities or partnerships, spar with other professionals, expand the business, and learn so many more things.
And there’s another little aspect that I want to mention here. The potential of social media. In the past 10 or so years, social media has grown exponentially, and with continued social distancing restrictions, it is the main channel of communication.
Whether it’s Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or any other platform, it gives the opportunity to be seen by people, by many people. And if you’re a new business like me, that is exactly what you want. If people don’t know that I exist, there aren’t many opportunities for work.
It also helps define who I present myself as professionally. Think of it as creating my own brand. And I can do this from my computer since meeting in person isn’t as easy as it used to be.
There are so many more things I would share on here, and even more that I will learn. So as a conclusion I will only say this:
Share your value in a loud, clear, and in aconfident manner with as many people as you can. This helps whether you’re looking for a job or thinking about starting something of your own.
