Do you remember sitting in class, listening to another boring lecture thinking: “What’s the point of this?” For Isaac Morehouse, the point of school is not so much to learn, but to get a stamp on your forehead that says: “Passed Basic Inspection”.
If you graduated college, you have a signal that shows you can do some monotonous work and follow orders.
In his book, Crash Your Career: Ditch the Gatekeepers and Be Your Own Credential, Morehouse says that college is dead, most people just don’t realize it yet. He says there is a better way to signal value to employers than an old sheepskin.
What about your boring resume? That’s dead too. You can make a better signal, and it will be more fun too!
In the past, a college degree was a valuable signal. There weren’t other ways to easily assess whether one job candidate was better than the next. A degree showed that you could do some basic stuff like perform basic tasks, take directions, and conform.
It helped filter out the weirdos who refused to go to class or wear deodorant (like umm… Steve Jobs).
Morehouse says that you can create a better signal. With the advent of the internet, you can create a much better signal! You can show your work, learn out loud, and experiment.
With a little creativity and initiative, you can signal to employers that you can do the job. For example, suppose an employer needs help with email marketing. Which person do you think they’d rather hire, a recent grad with a marketing degree, or someone who took the initiative to set up a five sequence email drip campaign with a landing page to collect emails?
Hint: It’s the person who actually did something of value!
When you do something of value, employers won’t even notice that you don’t have a degree! They’ll be so impressed by your work, that they won’t be able to ignore the massive signal of employability you’ve created.
Getting Started
Are you looking to change the trajectory of your career? Then do something about it! Be the author of your job hunt. Start creating a better signal.
Check out the pitch I sent to Isaac Morehouse himself seeking a new job. Sign up to use the Crash.co’s pitch builder and make a great pitch.
Crash You Career Book Club Meet-Up
If you are interested in this book, consider joining me to discuss it next Wednesday, April 27th at 8pm CST. Join the Careerhackers Slack channel to join. Contact me if you’d like a calendar invite.
Aaron Olson 