So I Actually Did That Thing I Was Talking About

[Alexanderr]

Right, guys, so in theme with some previous threads of mine like 'You're Running the Wrong Life Strategy' I decided to take my own advice.

For some background, I just moved into a new city, and I'm looking for a job. Specifically for something service or catering related, since I know I like social contact.

Now here's what I could've done. I could've spent hours over-analyzing my CV, trying to perfect it, then several hours more applying online to several places on Indeed, worrying about my motivation letter and whether it's genuine. Whilst probably not landing a single one of those jobs.

But here's what I chose to do. I merely updated my CV to reflect my most recent working experience, printed out 5 of them, decided on which area might contain lots of interesting places to work at, went there, walked around until I found some place I could imagine myself working at, went in, and did my pitch. Comfortably direct. Tell a very little bit about myself, my motivation and why this place. Ask if they're taking anybody, and suggest leaving my CV. Smile. Done.

Did that 5 times. Of course, some places weren't actively looking but some said they'd consider me. Now, I can't say it's been a success yet because I just did it today without word back yet, but odds are I land at least one job, at a place I've already seen in person, having already interacted with the manager there, and already having a taste for what the place is like.

I've got orders of magnitude more information about my compatibility with that place than I ever would've had from reading their job description and looking the places up on Google.

That's what this is about. Action is the highest bandwidth form of information. Doing badly beats thinking perfectly, always.

But here's the real kicker. This isn't just about the job search. It's about what the strategy does to you. I'm now a person who knows I can do things other people would hesitate to do. I'm a person who can take initiative to get places. This'll come in handy whenever you see a nice girl you'd like to ask out, some unlisted internship, or some opportunity that wasn't advertised. This is how you get the "how did he get that?" moments in life.

Best part? It gets easier. Every single time you do it, it gets easier. I was pretty nervous first time I walked in, slightly less nervous the 2nd time, even less the 3rd, and by the 4th and 5th it felt like almost routine. This was all in the span of 30 mins.

 

[Dr. Mog]

 

[Dr. Mog]

I'm now a person who knows I can do things other people would hesitate to do. I'm a person who can take initiative to get places.

That’s great, you are now promoted to a Real Nigga

 

[pahadi mogger]

Congratulations on discovering that leaving your house and talking to people is a more effective strategy than sending digital smoke signals into the corporate void.

 

[Alexanderr]

That’s great, you are now promoted to a Real Nigga

Proud of myself, felt like backing out a few times because it's not really standard procedure here, haven't heard of people my age who got their jobs this way, even though it was pretty standard in the past (before Indeed and all that).

 

[Alexanderr]

Congratulations on discovering that leaving your house and talking to people is a more effective strategy than sending digital smoke signals into the corporate void.

Crazy innit

 

[SlayerJonas]

Right, guys, so in theme with some previous threads of mine like 'You're Running the Wrong Life Strategy' I decided to take my own advice.

For some background, I just moved into a new city, and I'm looking for a job. Specifically for something service or catering related, since I know I like social contact.

Now here's what I could've done. I could've spent hours over-analyzing my CV, trying to perfect it, then several hours more applying online to several places on Indeed, worrying about my motivation letter and whether it's genuine. Whilst probably not landing a single one of those jobs.

But here's what I chose to do. I merely updated my CV to reflect my most recent working experience, printed out 5 of them, decided on which area might contain lots of interesting places to work at, went there, walked around until I found some place I could imagine myself working at, went in, and did my pitch. Comfortably direct. Tell a very little bit about myself, my motivation and why this place. Ask if they're taking anybody, and suggest leaving my CV. Smile. Done.

Did that 5 times. Of course, some places weren't actively looking but some said they'd consider me. Now, I can't say it's been a success yet because I just did it today without word back yet, but odds are I land at least one job, at a place I've already seen in person, having already interacted with the manager there, and already having a taste for what the place is like.

I've got orders of magnitude more information about my compatibility with that place than I ever would've had from reading their job description and looking the places up on Google.

That's what this is about. Action is the highest bandwidth form of information. Doing badly beats thinking perfectly, always.

But here's the real kicker. This isn't just about the job search. It's about what the strategy does to you. I'm now a person who knows I can do things other people would hesitate to do. I'm a person who can take initiative to get places. This'll come in handy whenever you see a nice girl you'd like to ask out, some unlisted internship, or some opportunity that wasn't advertised. This is how you get the "how did he get that?" moments in life.

Best part? It gets easier. Every single time you do it, it gets easier. I was pretty nervous first time I walked in, slightly less nervous the 2nd time, even less the 3rd, and by the 4th and 5th it felt like almost routine. This was all in the span of 30 mins.

only few people understand this thread

Congratulations on discovering that leaving your house and talking to people is a more effective strategy than sending digital smoke signals into the corporate void.

can u elaborate

 

[pahadi mogger]

only few people understand this thread


can u elaborate

Using online job search tools is a numbers game with a low chance of success that is controlled by algorithms, and also has an additional layer of HR personnel who have to review each application. basically your CV is one pdf out of 500 pdfs. Going into an office and meeting face-to-face with someone who can make hiring decisions is a high agency action. This creates a human interaction so you skip over the computer screening/filter, and instantaneously show basic social skills , skills that are less common than any technical skills listed on your resume. The "corporate void" is a cattle processing system. Using "leave your home" as a strategy is for predators.

 

[Alexanderr]

only few people understand this thread


can u elaborate

I can imagine lots of people will think it's only self-obvious, (which it is) but almost none will or have tried it themselves. I'm not saying it's universally applicable, some jobs with more stringent requirements might not be receptive to this approach.

But even then, sending in your application via print, in person, is likely to beat out sending it digitally.

More than that, it's about crossing unspoken lines people conjure up out of fear. I'm sure everyone here has had moments they thought of doing something, but then talked themselves out of it. But there's probably way more moments they didn't even consider doing something because of this inhibition. It paralyzes your vision for opportunity.

Reminds me of this very simple quote I recall reading somewhere, something along the lines of sometimes you must be willing to do what others won't, to get what others can't.

What I just did wasn't extraordinary but that's the point, you don't need to be to do something most people won't.

 

[Arzenic]

Glad to hear that you’ve broken the ice with this one. Are these your first times going F2F looking for a job? This gives me inspiration to follow your path and try the same thing.

Sadly the average user here will ”dnr” this due to their ignorange. Proud of u man.

 

[FutureExoticChad]

Action is the highest bandwidth form of information. Doing badly beats thinking perfectly, always.

what a fucking bar, I might genuinely get a poster with this on my wall

Good thread

 

[Alexanderr]

Glad to hear that you’ve broken the ice with this one. Are these your first times going F2F looking for a job? This gives me inspiration to follow your path and try the same thing.

Sadly the average user here will ”dnr” this due to their ignorange. Proud of u man.

Yup, first time. The idea it was even possible only hit me like a month ago, when I was thinking about how often just doing something beats coming up with a perfect plan.

I also recalled reading an article about a guy with a ~99.9th percentile CV, wondering how the hell he got a job as a writer at a major Dutch news organization (De Correspondent) in his early 20s.

Turns out, he literally just walked up to their HQ and did a pitch. Got turned away the first time, came back and tried again. Of course, he had the credentials to back it up, but the point is; he showed up.

 

[ybuyhgui]

I like reading your threads a lot

 

[Arzenic]

Yup, first time. The idea it was even possible only hit me like a month ago, when I was thinking about how often just doing something beats coming up with a perfect plan.

I also recalled reading an article about a guy with a ~99.9th percentile CV, wondering how the hell he got a job as a writer at a major Dutch news organization (De Correspondent) in his early 20s.

Turns out, he literally just walked up to their HQ and did a pitch. Got turned away the first time, came back and tried again. Of course, he had the credentials to back it up, but the point is; he showed up.

That’s intresting, i’ve always thought that ”cold apporoach” is always the best way since you can truly give an impression that a simple file wouldn’t. Also you’ll get to know with the manager and the place before hand, as you mentioned.

 

[Alexanderr]

what a fucking bar, I might genuinely get a poster with this on my wall

Good thread

Best way to make any philosophy stick is to act on it, in whatever way you can.
The experience that comes along with it will sear it into your brain. Quotes are nice, but there's a reason you'll see miserable people with grande quotes plastered all over their walls. Reading doesn't translate into changed behaviour, action does.
I still suffer from this. Sometimes it just feels so productive, but it rarely is without some form of action/experience accompanying it.

 

[FutureExoticChad]

Best way to make any philosophy stick is to act on it, in whatever way you can.
The experience that comes along with it will sear it into your brain. Quotes are nice, but there's a reason you'll see miserable people with grande quotes plastered all over their walls. Reading doesn't translate into changed behaviour, action does.
I still suffer from this. Sometimes it just feels so productive, but it rarely is without some form of action/experience accompanying it.

Absolutely, action > theory

 

[FutureExoticChad]

By the way, reading this thread last month:

You're Running the Wrong Life-Strategy

Let's follow two guys, Alex and Mark. They represent two fundamentally different approaches to achieving success. We'll run them through three common scenarios. Scenario #1 - The Goal: Start an online business. Alex (The Theorist): For three solid months, Alex is in deep "research mode." He...

looksmax.org

was probably the best thing I've ever done with all my time spent on this forum. I can confidently confirm this thread alone has done infinitely more to improve my quality of life more than any other motivational shit-post this forum has ever produced.

So as soon as I had the time, I automatically decided to learn and develop a skill, so I went with sales and searched around for jobs on discord servers / forums to be a sales representative for a company.

I started working with this this tech startup in Minnesota that builds websites for businesses that don't already have them, or upgrades sites for businesses that have pretty trashy / outdated websites about 3 and a half weeks ago, and ever since I've been putting in at the very bare minimum 100 calls daily calling barbershops, salons, restaurants, etc, and have closed 9 sites as of yet, with more to come. Cold calling is fucking brutal though, really makes you see first hand how miserable normies really are.

Am currently planning to parlay the money am making via sales over to something more within my control, since cold calling 100+ people daily that cant be bothered to do anything like an abused dog gets tiring, but am extremely grateful happy that I actually started rather than ducking away and praying an easy comfortable path paves its way out of thin air for me.

The quote Action > Theory ultimately is changint my life for the better

greatest quote of all time

 

[Dsm]

Proud of you man.
I also did this for one of my first jobs and got that with ease. After that I've been doing it with every single job and I've never not been hired after a solicitation talk. I'm 17 though so it's probably different for you but I don't want to take away from your achievement.
Great work!

 

[LiL 369]

Now here's what I could've done. I could've spent hours over-analyzing my CV, trying to perfect it, then several hours more applying online to several places on Indeed, worrying about my motivation letter and whether it's genuine. Whilst probably not landing a single one of those jobs.

But here's what I chose to do. I merely updated my CV to reflect my most recent working experience, printed out 5 of them, decided on which area might contain lots of interesting places to work at, went there, walked around until I found some place I could imagine myself working at, went in, and did my pitch. Comfortably direct. Tell a very little bit about myself, my motivation and why this place. Ask if they're taking anybody, and suggest leaving my CV. Smile. Done.

Wow thats just way to low innibition for me to be able to do that. But about the CV I also didnt put much effort into it, I legit mean not even 30 min. Opened Word wrote my details, my experiences, where I studied and that was it... People overcomplicate things alot, if they like it, they like it, if they dont, fuck it... I dont know them I dont care.

 

[Alexanderr]

Proud of you man.
I also did this for one of my first jobs and got that with ease. After that I've been doing it with every single job and I've never not been hired after a solicitation talk. I'm 17 though so it's probably different for you but I don't want to take away from your achievement.
Great work!

We're not that different in age man, I'm 21, but the strategy remains the same, to be honest.
Information works two ways, so if you approach a manager in person they have a way better understanding of who they're actually hiring than a faceless CV, so really it's best for both parties.

Wow thats just way to low innibition for me to be able to do that. But about the CV I also didnt put much effort into it, I legit mean not even 30 min. Opened Word wrote my details, my experiences, where I studied and that was it... People overcomplicate things alot, if they like it, they like it, if they dont, fuck it... I dont know them I dont care.

I couldn't have imagined doing this just a few years ago. Maybe it's a bit much for you now but you can work towards it. For instance, try asking someone for the time next time you're in public. I went from someone with borderline clinical social anxiety in my teens to this.

The execution, the actual conversation is the easy part, it's gathering the guts to just walk into a place, and ask a question that's hard. Once you're committed (i.e. there's no way back) it's easy.

Overthinking is your worst enemy here. To help myself a little I reframed the goal "getting the first rejection". This change of perspective makes it easier.
At first I walked past half a dozen places, looking for the 'perfect' one. After 5 minutes, I realized I was fooling myself; there's no perfect storefront. So I decided I'll walk into the next one that looked even a little appealing.

I did, they weren't hiring, but the owner was nice and cordial... I asked her for places she recommends I go. I now realized I could do this again. Think the next one was some sort of pizzeria, again, had a short pitch, talked a little, left my CV. Done.

After about the 3rd try the walls 'came down', I realized, there's really nothing stopping me from just casually doing this. It's no big deal.

Your brain makes these things bigger than they are. You've gotta be a bit impulsive here, don't give yourself the time to talk yourself out of it. 3, 2, 1 and go. It's like this for many things in life.

 

[Dsm]

We're not that different in age man, I'm 21, but the strategy remains the same, to be honest.
Information works two ways, so if you approach a manager in person they have a way better understanding of who they're actually hiring than a faceless CV, so really it's best for both parties.

Yes I guess you are right. It just makes it easier for a manager to put a face to a CV and it makes it more personal. In my opinion thats the way to go when you're looking for a job.

But great work! Keep on going and you'll land a great job in no time!

 

[Foreverbrad]

Chadmin

 

[optimisticzoomer]

Just cold approach bro
I would feel giga awkward

 

[Luca_.]

I read your previous thread and it was really good. Do you ever have problems differentiating preparation from procastination? I often feel like I need to over prepare for something to be ready, but it also lowers the chance that I actually do that thing

 

[Alexanderr]

I read your previous thread and it was really good. Do you ever have problems differentiating preparation from procastination? I often feel like I need to over prepare for something to be ready, but it also lowers the chance that I actually do that thing

Hm, I'm personally someone who's way more prone to overpreparation than under-preparation.

A lot of things in life don't require nearly as much prep as people like to believe. You can usually iterate based on feedback. Look, we life in a day and age where you could, if you want, prepare into perpetuity because there's so much information on almost any topic imaginable. We life in a day and age where consumption is easier than ever.

The key is to become someone who gets meaning from doing, producing, acting as opposed to watching. A lot of us are on the sidelines in our own life, you gotta choose to be a player. That doesn't mean you don't do any prepping or theorizing, but you become someone with a bias for action.

If the information you gather doesn't enable you to act, and instead to consume more, you're probably doing it wrong.

This production-focused philosophy has really shaped how I think about everything. If you look at society, almost everything of value comes from production, not consumption. I'm on TikTok because a developer produced a functional app with an algorithm. I watch videos because someone produced a skit or edit. I love sports because athletes produce entertainment through skill and athleticism.

Even in intellectual spheres - we admire people for what they did, not just what they know abstractly. You can know more than anyone in the world, but if that knowledge doesn't translate into producing something valuable, no one cares. The world rewards you for what you do, not for what you know.

What's striking is how the digital age has turned the average person into a consumer more than ever before. Which means it's easier to be extraordinary than it's ever been - most people are distracted, consuming, not engaging in anything that transforms their skills or makes them better at doing something of value.

When I look at my own life: I almost always regret time spent on TikTok or Instagram (consuming). But time spent on piano, solving physics problems, or in the gym (producing)? Never regret it. Those production-based activities provide entertainment plus meaning and growth.

That's the difference. Preparation is fine, but only if it leads to production. Otherwise it's just another form of consumption.

 

[Debetro]

It works for you because you're chad hahaha

 

[Frogooboi]

Low inhib king

 

[Alexanderr]

Just cold approach bro
I would feel giga awkward

It is awkward if you let it. It's entirely psychological.

For instance, one store, the manager wasn't there, was just two female cashiers, about my age. No pressure. But I couldn't do my pitch as they couldn't hire me even if they wanted to, told me I should come back tomorrow when there's a manager there.

One of the girls was impressed with my bluntness, said she'd hear about people landing a job like that. They first thought I came via the shop's website but I told her I just straight up walked in since it looked interesting.

Anyway, it was a cordial exchange, but as I left, I could hear them giggling. They were probably intrigued given this doesn't happen everyday - did I let it bother me? No.

We make these things bigger than they are, but I know exactly how you feel because I would've reacted the exact same way just a couple years ago.

I don't know, moral of the story, your inhibition isn't a fixed personality trait. You can change it trough action.

 

[Negus__kaleb]

Right, guys, so in theme with some previous threads of mine like 'You're Running the Wrong Life Strategy' I decided to take my own advice.

For some background, I just moved into a new city, and I'm looking for a job. Specifically for something service or catering related, since I know I like social contact.

Now here's what I could've done. I could've spent hours over-analyzing my CV, trying to perfect it, then several hours more applying online to several places on Indeed, worrying about my motivation letter and whether it's genuine. Whilst probably not landing a single one of those jobs.

But here's what I chose to do. I merely updated my CV to reflect my most recent working experience, printed out 5 of them, decided on which area might contain lots of interesting places to work at, went there, walked around until I found some place I could imagine myself working at, went in, and did my pitch. Comfortably direct. Tell a very little bit about myself, my motivation and why this place. Ask if they're taking anybody, and suggest leaving my CV. Smile. Done.

Did that 5 times. Of course, some places weren't actively looking but some said they'd consider me. Now, I can't say it's been a success yet because I just did it today without word back yet, but odds are I land at least one job, at a place I've already seen in person, having already interacted with the manager there, and already having a taste for what the place is like.

I've got orders of magnitude more information about my compatibility with that place than I ever would've had from reading their job description and looking the places up on Google.

That's what this is about. Action is the highest bandwidth form of information. Doing badly beats thinking perfectly, always.

But here's the real kicker. This isn't just about the job search. It's about what the strategy does to you. I'm now a person who knows I can do things other people would hesitate to do. I'm a person who can take initiative to get places. This'll come in handy whenever you see a nice girl you'd like to ask out, some unlisted internship, or some opportunity that wasn't advertised. This is how you get the "how did he get that?" moments in life.

Best part? It gets easier. Every single time you do it, it gets easier. I was pretty nervous first time I walked in, slightly less nervous the 2nd time, even less the 3rd, and by the 4th and 5th it felt like almost routine. This was all in the span of 30 mins.

Dork lol The average person is such filth to me. You peasants beg to be wage slaves.