WEBVTT 00:00:21.709 --> 00:00:24.945 My entire life I've done what everyone 00:00:24.945 --> 00:00:27.677 told me I should do. 00:00:27.677 --> 00:00:31.017 From kindergarten to my senior year of college 00:00:31.017 --> 00:00:33.929 I had a high GPA, I volunteered, 00:00:33.929 --> 00:00:35.956 I played sports, I was in groups, 00:00:35.956 --> 00:00:38.387 extracurricular activities, student council. 00:00:38.387 --> 00:00:40.253 I did all that stuff. 00:00:40.253 --> 00:00:42.474 I was checking off the boxes in order 00:00:42.474 --> 00:00:45.369 to become a successful American. 00:00:45.369 --> 00:00:49.470 And so by the time I graduated in 2008, 00:00:49.470 --> 00:00:52.606 even though we were in the heart of a recession, 00:00:52.606 --> 00:00:56.465 I fully anticipated that I would be able to land 00:00:56.465 --> 00:01:00.045 a 40,000 dollar gig without very much effort. 00:01:00.045 --> 00:01:04.811 And after 12 weeks of applying for jobs 00:01:06.134 --> 00:01:09.064 to dozens of companies -- maybe even a hundred, 00:01:09.064 --> 00:01:12.474 I had been turned down by every single one of them. 00:01:12.474 --> 00:01:13.978 With the exception of two: 00:01:13.978 --> 00:01:17.108 one was a staging company whose only 00:01:17.108 --> 00:01:20.163 job requirements were “have a pulse” 00:01:20.163 --> 00:01:22.397 and “be a chain-smoker”. 00:01:22.397 --> 00:01:25.687 And the other company was a pyramid scheme. 00:01:25.687 --> 00:01:28.330 So, thank you careerbuilder.com! 00:01:28.330 --> 00:01:29.828 (Laughter) 00:01:29.828 --> 00:01:32.048 And my friends were all going through the same thing. 00:01:32.048 --> 00:01:33.465 It wasn't just me. 00:01:33.465 --> 00:01:36.070 And I remember coming across a buddy of mine, 00:01:36.070 --> 00:01:39.128 and they were so excited because 00:01:39.128 --> 00:01:40.475 everyone had been saying, 00:01:40.475 --> 00:01:42.922 “You gotta take what you can get in this market.” 00:01:42.922 --> 00:01:45.783 And they had just landed a sales rep position 00:01:45.783 --> 00:01:47.887 at Verizon wireless. 00:01:47.887 --> 00:01:49.470 And they thought within a year maybe they could 00:01:49.470 --> 00:01:50.959 make middle manager. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:52.545 (Chuckles) 00:01:52.545 --> 00:01:53.878 I was like, 00:01:53.878 --> 00:01:56.388 “What? Did we really just spend the last 4 years -- 00:01:56.388 --> 00:02:01.059 no, the last 17 years -- pursuing this stuff 00:02:01.059 --> 00:02:03.538 that other people told us to do, 00:02:03.538 --> 00:02:05.102 following the rules? 00:02:05.102 --> 00:02:06.788 And this is where it's gonna take us? 00:02:06.788 --> 00:02:09.160 Verizon wireless, selling crappy cellphones?" 00:02:09.160 --> 00:02:10.639 I hate Verizon! 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:11.962 (Laughter) 00:02:11.962 --> 00:02:13.331 I didn't want that at all. 00:02:13.331 --> 00:02:15.941 And that's what brought me here, 00:02:15.941 --> 00:02:18.127 the bathroom floor, (Laughter) 00:02:18.127 --> 00:02:20.545 where I laid on the ground for an hour one night, 00:02:20.545 --> 00:02:22.560 just like pulling my hair out in frustration, 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:23.831 being like, 00:02:23.831 --> 00:02:28.063 “That advice that I took for my whole life, 00:02:28.063 --> 00:02:30.252 it was a lie! It was a scam. 00:02:30.252 --> 00:02:33.114 It's leading me somewhere that I do not want to go. 00:02:33.114 --> 00:02:35.263 It's taking me to a place that 00:02:35.263 --> 00:02:38.067 is going to be unremarkable. 00:02:38.067 --> 00:02:40.902 And so, I decided I'm going to forget 00:02:40.902 --> 00:02:42.547 what everyone else is saying, 00:02:42.547 --> 00:02:45.446 I'm going to make up my own rules. 00:02:45.446 --> 00:02:50.412 And I asked myself, “What is the worst that could happen?” 00:02:50.412 --> 00:02:53.129 In my early 20s, I had nothing to lose. 00:02:53.129 --> 00:02:55.229 Am I going to keep getting turned down by companies 00:02:55.229 --> 00:02:57.264 I don't want to work for? 00:02:57.264 --> 00:02:59.657 Am I going to keep not getting paid? 00:02:59.657 --> 00:03:01.019 I have nothing to lose. 00:03:01.019 --> 00:03:03.031 So, I'm just going to work on stuff that 00:03:03.031 --> 00:03:06.378 is interesting to me, that I want to pursue. 00:03:06.378 --> 00:03:11.924 And within 8 months of doing this new strategy, 00:03:11.924 --> 00:03:15.242 I had turned a complete 180°: 00:03:15.242 --> 00:03:18.359 I had done all the stuff that I really cared about, 00:03:18.359 --> 00:03:20.310 and was really passionate about. 00:03:20.310 --> 00:03:22.016 I had worked with all these best-selling authors, 00:03:22.016 --> 00:03:24.666 I got to help market a Hollywood movie, 00:03:24.666 --> 00:03:26.840 I had worked with successful entrepreneurs. 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:29.180 And the coolest part was I didn't have 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:31.497 to send out my résumé anymore. 00:03:31.497 --> 00:03:33.257 Like, really good companies were coming to me 00:03:33.257 --> 00:03:36.006 and offering me jobs, and I was turning them away. 00:03:36.006 --> 00:03:38.767 And I was doing stuff that I really loved. 00:03:38.767 --> 00:03:42.125 And it's not because I'm special, 00:03:42.125 --> 00:03:43.763 it's not because I'm smarter -- 00:03:43.763 --> 00:03:45.478 believe me, Carnegie-Mellon, I'm not smarter. 00:03:45.478 --> 00:03:48.672 And I am not unique. 00:03:48.672 --> 00:03:50.577 I wasn't handed any of this stuff. 00:03:50.577 --> 00:03:54.043 Anybody could have done what I did. 00:03:54.043 --> 00:03:56.975 The only thing that separates me from everybody else 00:03:56.975 --> 00:04:00.655 is that I adapted and took a different strategy. 00:04:00.655 --> 00:04:02.336 And that's what I want to teach you guys, 00:04:02.336 --> 00:04:04.189 I want to teach you how to become 00:04:04.189 --> 00:04:07.159 recession-proof graduates. 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:08.972 What does it mean to be “recession-proof”? 00:04:08.972 --> 00:04:10.998 First thing it means, is that the economy 00:04:10.998 --> 00:04:15.515 does not dictate what kind of work you can have. 00:04:15.515 --> 00:04:17.050 It doesn't matter whether we're in a boom, 00:04:17.050 --> 00:04:19.613 a bust, depression, recession, whatever. 00:04:19.613 --> 00:04:22.946 You can still work on stuff that you really care about 00:04:22.946 --> 00:04:24.828 and stuff that makes you happy. 00:04:24.828 --> 00:04:26.531 You're not going to do soul-sucking work 00:04:26.531 --> 00:04:29.146 in your mid-20's. Please do not work at Verizon! 00:04:29.146 --> 00:04:30.639 (Laughter) 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:32.167 You're going to work on projects that 00:04:32.167 --> 00:04:35.034 you actually care about with people 00:04:35.034 --> 00:04:36.421 who are smarter than you. 00:04:36.421 --> 00:04:39.367 So you're going to continue to grow and learn. 00:04:39.367 --> 00:04:43.434 And most of all, you're going to control the lifestyle 00:04:43.434 --> 00:04:45.651 that you ultimately want. 00:04:45.651 --> 00:04:47.558 Because what I see over and over 00:04:47.558 --> 00:04:49.483 is people who get out of college 00:04:49.483 --> 00:04:51.649 and the first halfway decent offer that they get 00:04:51.649 --> 00:04:54.261 with a good paycheck, they take. 00:04:54.261 --> 00:04:55.431 And they think to themselves, 00:04:55.431 --> 00:04:57.163 “You know, I'll do this for 6 months, maybe a year, 00:04:57.163 --> 00:04:59.000 and then I'm going to leave and go pursue 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:00.900 something I actually care about.” 00:05:00.900 --> 00:05:02.914 And then, after a while they get a girlfriend, 00:05:02.914 --> 00:05:04.486 and then they get an appartment, 00:05:04.486 --> 00:05:07.367 and a car, and their girlfriend turns into a fiancée, 00:05:07.367 --> 00:05:09.831 then turns into a wife and they have kids, 00:05:09.831 --> 00:05:10.900 and then they get a house, 00:05:10.900 --> 00:05:12.601 and then 10 years later they're in a spot they 00:05:12.601 --> 00:05:14.751 didn't want to be in, but they're in an industry 00:05:14.751 --> 00:05:17.993 that they didn't want to be in as well. 00:05:17.993 --> 00:05:20.737 And we want to avoid that. 00:05:21.999 --> 00:05:24.097 Don't expect anyone to understand 00:05:24.097 --> 00:05:26.399 this stuff that I'm going to talk to you about today. 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:27.445 (Laughter) 00:05:27.445 --> 00:05:28.945 It took my parents like a year and a half 00:05:28.945 --> 00:05:29.754 before they were like, 00:05:29.754 --> 00:05:33.241 “Okay, maybe he's on to something.” 00:05:33.241 --> 00:05:35.233 Because the advice that I kept hearing -- 00:05:35.233 --> 00:05:38.435 they keep giving you the advice that they were given 00:05:38.435 --> 00:05:41.592 because it's going to justify all of their past decisions. 00:05:41.592 --> 00:05:44.044 The stuff that my friends were telling me were, 00:05:44.044 --> 00:05:45.597 “Dude, you gotta keep shotgun-blasting 00:05:45.597 --> 00:05:47.658 your résumé out to these websites. 00:05:47.658 --> 00:05:49.261 We've got careerbuilder, monster.com, 00:05:49.261 --> 00:05:50.628 that's where it's at!” 00:05:50.628 --> 00:05:51.158 (Laughter) 00:05:51.158 --> 00:05:52.412 No, it's not! 00:05:52.412 --> 00:05:53.983 These sites are terrible! 00:05:53.983 --> 00:05:55.551 These sites are like city bars. 00:05:55.551 --> 00:05:57.473 They're where mediocrity thrives. 00:05:57.473 --> 00:05:58.581 Because there's only going to be 00:05:58.581 --> 00:06:00.172 2 hot offers in the bar, 00:06:00.172 --> 00:06:01.025 (Laughter) 00:06:01.025 --> 00:06:02.924 and the rest are going to be widely mediocre. 00:06:02.924 --> 00:06:05.215 (Applause) 00:06:05.215 --> 00:06:08.823 You don't want to have anything to do with them. 00:06:08.823 --> 00:06:10.147 And for some reason, douchebags 00:06:10.147 --> 00:06:12.573 wearing their party shirts snatch up all the hotties. 00:06:12.573 --> 00:06:14.400 I don't know why they thrive in this environment, 00:06:14.400 --> 00:06:15.482 they do. 00:06:15.482 --> 00:06:17.991 I don't have those answers. 00:06:17.991 --> 00:06:21.996 But, I can offer you an alternative. 00:06:22.550 --> 00:06:26.908 In terms of rapidly advancing your career 00:06:26.908 --> 00:06:30.670 and working on stuff that you actually care about. 00:06:30.670 --> 00:06:33.043 There is one way: it's my way 00:06:33.043 --> 00:06:34.856 (Laughter) 00:06:34.856 --> 00:06:36.706 that stands above the rest. 00:06:36.706 --> 00:06:38.657 And that is free work. 00:06:38.657 --> 00:06:40.486 And some of you might be sitting there thinking, 00:06:40.486 --> 00:06:42.257 “Oh, I know what free work is, 00:06:42.257 --> 00:06:44.072 it's an internship. That's not new, guy. 00:06:44.072 --> 00:06:46.181 You're not even that good of a public speaker.” 00:06:46.181 --> 00:06:49.622 Well, chill out, let me get through my speech -- jeez. 00:06:49.622 --> 00:06:53.324 An internship is actually very different from free work. 00:06:53.324 --> 00:06:56.949 In internship, you're applying for like it's a regular job. 00:06:56.949 --> 00:06:59.009 You're sending in your résumé, 00:06:59.009 --> 00:07:00.117 you're doing an interview, 00:07:00.117 --> 00:07:02.032 and you're competing with other applicants. 00:07:02.032 --> 00:07:03.675 And then, if you get that internship, 00:07:03.675 --> 00:07:06.789 you're going to be given menial work from 9 to 5. 00:07:06.789 --> 00:07:08.069 Because they don't trust you, 00:07:08.069 --> 00:07:10.179 so they're not going to give you much responsibility. 00:07:10.179 --> 00:07:11.789 Now, this is generally speaking, so -- 00:07:11.789 --> 00:07:13.386 settle down. 00:07:13.386 --> 00:07:16.051 But you're going to be likely filling out 00:07:16.051 --> 00:07:17.824 spreadsheets and retrieving coffee 00:07:17.824 --> 00:07:20.856 and all this stuff that you don't want to do. 00:07:20.856 --> 00:07:23.670 And at the end, there are no guarantees: 00:07:23.670 --> 00:07:25.567 you might do this for 3 to 6 months, 00:07:25.567 --> 00:07:26.691 and the door is going to close, 00:07:26.691 --> 00:07:28.219 they'll tell you to hit the bricks. 00:07:28.219 --> 00:07:29.943 Happened to me. 00:07:29.943 --> 00:07:31.919 With free work, it's different. 00:07:31.919 --> 00:07:35.087 You can work with anyone in the world, 00:07:35.087 --> 00:07:38.162 and you can reach out to them virtually. 00:07:38.162 --> 00:07:40.182 So you can work at any time, 00:07:40.182 --> 00:07:41.468 you can work on your own hours 00:07:41.468 --> 00:07:43.085 and there are no dead ends. 00:07:43.085 --> 00:07:44.442 If you do this correctly, 00:07:44.442 --> 00:07:46.706 if you work for a bunch of people, 00:07:46.706 --> 00:07:48.651 then something will pan out 00:07:48.651 --> 00:07:50.841 and more opportunities will open up for you 00:07:50.841 --> 00:07:53.253 than you ever thought possible. 00:07:53.253 --> 00:07:55.720 And, most importantly, you're only going 00:07:55.720 --> 00:07:57.339 to work on stuff that you care about 00:07:57.339 --> 00:07:59.226 and you're going to be able to figure out 00:07:59.226 --> 00:08:01.384 what you're truly passionate about. 00:08:01.384 --> 00:08:03.099 Because you can objectively say, 00:08:03.099 --> 00:08:05.308 “I would do this even if I weren't being paid.” 00:08:05.308 --> 00:08:07.095 Because you're not being paid. 00:08:07.095 --> 00:08:09.124 (Laughter) 00:08:09.124 --> 00:08:11.303 And this is the key distinguishing point 00:08:11.303 --> 00:08:14.101 between internships and free work. 00:08:14.101 --> 00:08:16.348 You're continually building a foundation 00:08:16.348 --> 00:08:18.527 for your career. 00:08:21.173 --> 00:08:26.313 So, the 6 steps to become a recession-proof graduate. 00:08:26.313 --> 00:08:28.435 This is how it's done. 00:08:28.435 --> 00:08:31.117 Step 0 – this should not be a step. 00:08:31.117 --> 00:08:32.728 Stop acting entitled. 00:08:32.728 --> 00:08:35.380 For some reason, as soon as we throw our graduation 00:08:35.380 --> 00:08:38.186 caps into the air, we expect this 40, 50, 00:08:38.186 --> 00:08:41.592 60 thousand dollar job to land into our laps. 00:08:41.592 --> 00:08:43.490 But the fact is that 00:08:43.490 --> 00:08:45.409 college degrees are not given to 00:08:45.409 --> 00:08:47.753 unique snowflake children. 00:08:47.753 --> 00:08:48.488 (Laughter) 00:08:48.488 --> 00:08:49.697 Seriously, they aren't. 00:08:49.697 --> 00:08:51.180 The people who get college degrees 00:08:51.180 --> 00:08:53.532 are people who are good at taking tests 00:08:53.532 --> 00:08:55.227 and people who can afford them, 00:08:55.227 --> 00:08:56.950 generally speaking -- again. 00:08:56.950 --> 00:08:58.309 This is the truth: 00:08:58.309 --> 00:09:00.104 sadly, college degrees are commodities 00:09:00.104 --> 00:09:03.269 at this point -- but not Carnegie Mellon. 00:09:03.269 --> 00:09:05.156 (Laughter) 00:09:05.156 --> 00:09:09.332 So, step 1: choose a few areas 00:09:09.332 --> 00:09:11.690 that you'd like to work in. 00:09:11.690 --> 00:09:12.891 A lot of us get out of college 00:09:12.891 --> 00:09:14.557 and we feel completely pigeon-holed 00:09:14.557 --> 00:09:15.969 by our major. 00:09:15.969 --> 00:09:16.738 And it's like, 00:09:16.738 --> 00:09:18.193 “Aw, man, I just spent 4 years studying 00:09:18.193 --> 00:09:20.587 something that I'm not like that crazy about. 00:09:20.587 --> 00:09:24.443 Ah, I have to get a career in this industry, 00:09:24.443 --> 00:09:25.675 I have all these other interests, 00:09:25.675 --> 00:09:28.144 I like music and art, and all this other stuff.” 00:09:28.144 --> 00:09:30.120 Well, you can still do all that stuff. 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:33.104 So choose all the things that you're still interested in, 00:09:33.104 --> 00:09:34.678 because you're in your early 20s, 00:09:34.678 --> 00:09:36.642 and again you have nothing to lose. 00:09:36.642 --> 00:09:38.600 So you can try all this stuff for free, 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:40.976 and figure out what you really care about. 00:09:40.976 --> 00:09:44.095 You don't have to be pigeon-holed. 00:09:44.095 --> 00:09:47.355 Step 2: get some skills. 00:09:47.355 --> 00:09:50.331 It's so sad, because so many college students 00:09:50.331 --> 00:09:53.098 leave their university and they have 00:09:53.098 --> 00:09:55.015 no marketable skills. 00:09:55.015 --> 00:09:56.730 If you've thought about writing 00:09:56.730 --> 00:09:58.981 “proficient in Microsoft Office” 00:09:58.981 --> 00:10:00.521 on your résumé, 00:10:00.521 --> 00:10:03.099 or “I have excellent communication skills” 00:10:03.099 --> 00:10:04.802 you have no skills! 00:10:04.802 --> 00:10:05.500 (Laughter) 00:10:05.500 --> 00:10:07.932 Seriously, you're competing with 35-year-olds 00:10:07.932 --> 00:10:10.303 who are willing to take a cut in pay, 00:10:10.303 --> 00:10:12.469 who have 10 more years of experience than you. 00:10:12.469 --> 00:10:14.643 You're just not going to win. 00:10:14.643 --> 00:10:17.216 So the way I think of getting skills in those 00:10:17.216 --> 00:10:19.060 industries that you've picked, 00:10:19.060 --> 00:10:21.355 you look at the skills that are both 00:10:21.355 --> 00:10:23.882 in high demand and difficult to learn. 00:10:23.882 --> 00:10:26.466 Those are going to be the ones that are a value 00:10:26.466 --> 00:10:28.992 and will land you gigs. 00:10:28.992 --> 00:10:30.475 Seriously, if you want to be making 00:10:30.475 --> 00:10:33.536 100 thousand dollars right out the gate from college, 00:10:33.536 --> 00:10:36.548 go learn how to put out oil fires in the Middle East. 00:10:36.548 --> 00:10:38.683 Is it in high demand? Yeah. 00:10:38.683 --> 00:10:40.468 Is it difficult to learn? Yeah. 00:10:40.468 --> 00:10:42.427 Is it scary as shit? Absolutely. 00:10:42.427 --> 00:10:43.858 (Laughter) 00:10:43.858 --> 00:10:47.819 But more realistic, if you're an iPhone developer, 00:10:47.819 --> 00:10:49.645 or an iPad developer, whatever, 00:10:49.645 --> 00:10:54.052 the demand for that is so huge that even if 00:10:54.052 --> 00:10:56.182 you're not that good at Cocoa [Objective-C], 00:10:56.182 --> 00:10:58.406 which is a kinda difficult language to learn, 00:10:58.406 --> 00:11:01.241 you can command five-figures a project for doing that 00:11:01.241 --> 00:11:02.658 and you'll be able to market yourself 00:11:02.658 --> 00:11:03.929 super easily. 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:06.207 So have skills that are in high demand 00:11:06.207 --> 00:11:08.695 and are difficult enough to learn. 00:11:08.695 --> 00:11:10.980 Step 3: build your online presence. 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:12.795 I'm not going to get into the process of this, 00:11:12.795 --> 00:11:14.405 because we got into it earlier 00:11:14.405 --> 00:11:16.135 and ultimately what it boils down to 00:11:16.135 --> 00:11:17.855 is blog, blog, blog, dorky stuff, whatever. 00:11:17.855 --> 00:11:18.879 (Laughter) 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:23.844 But the reality is that résumés are pretty antiquated. 00:11:23.844 --> 00:11:27.566 The truth is, you're going to be googled. 00:11:27.566 --> 00:11:29.806 That's more important than your résumé. 00:11:29.806 --> 00:11:34.157 And if you googled my name in 2007, 00:11:34.157 --> 00:11:36.630 in the top 5 results were the words 00:11:36.630 --> 00:11:38.789 “drunk” and “abortion”. 00:11:38.789 --> 00:11:39.525 (Laughter) 00:11:39.525 --> 00:11:40.861 I swear to god! 00:11:40.861 --> 00:11:42.447 That is like the worst possible result 00:11:42.447 --> 00:11:43.934 you could ever have! 00:11:43.934 --> 00:11:45.290 I can't make up anything worse than than 00:11:45.290 --> 00:11:47.323 except murder. 00:11:47.323 --> 00:11:48.636 It's terrible! 00:11:48.636 --> 00:11:51.179 And, while I didn't want to have a slide 00:11:51.179 --> 00:11:53.493 that said “Charlie Hoehn = Drunk Abortion”, 00:11:53.493 --> 00:11:54.762 there is a backstory to that, so -- 00:11:54.762 --> 00:11:57.288 The first one, the “drunk” one, 00:11:57.288 --> 00:11:59.880 was me submitting a video of my friend 00:11:59.880 --> 00:12:02.642 to collegehumor.com of him drunkenly riding 00:12:02.642 --> 00:12:04.439 a bicycle down a flight of stairs. 00:12:04.439 --> 00:12:05.473 (Laughter) 00:12:05.473 --> 00:12:07.808 Very funny, and I didn't think it would come 00:12:07.808 --> 00:12:10.065 to bite me in the ass years later. 00:12:10.065 --> 00:12:13.797 But collegehumor has great SEO, so it did. 00:12:13.797 --> 00:12:15.326 And the “abortion” one, 00:12:15.326 --> 00:12:18.640 was me making fun of abortion protesters 00:12:18.640 --> 00:12:20.011 on my campus. 00:12:20.011 --> 00:12:22.714 Not because I hate or love abortion, 00:12:22.714 --> 00:12:24.541 I just think protesters are funny. 00:12:24.541 --> 00:12:26.909 (Laughter) 00:12:26.909 --> 00:12:29.167 Step 4: pay the bills and cut costs. 00:12:29.167 --> 00:12:31.399 Because you're going to be doing free work, 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:33.333 obviously you're not going to be getting paid 00:12:33.333 --> 00:12:35.034 for a little while so you've got to figure out 00:12:35.034 --> 00:12:37.230 a way to pay the bills and cut your costs. 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:39.066 So, do something on the side -- 00:12:39.066 --> 00:12:40.622 doesn't really matter what it is -- 00:12:40.622 --> 00:12:42.861 but you've got to make a side income 00:12:42.861 --> 00:12:45.851 to allow you to do stuff that you really care about 00:12:45.851 --> 00:12:47.755 for a while, because eventually, 00:12:47.755 --> 00:12:50.618 that stuff will transition into paid work. 00:12:50.618 --> 00:12:53.661 If you do it well-enough. 00:12:55.369 --> 00:12:58.920 Step 5: contact those targets and prove your worth. 00:12:58.920 --> 00:13:01.437 So you remember, you picked the areas that 00:13:01.437 --> 00:13:03.513 you want to work in, and now you pick your 00:13:03.513 --> 00:13:05.593 contacts or your targets, 00:13:05.593 --> 00:13:08.654 the people who are really high up, 00:13:08.654 --> 00:13:11.142 because you're an unproven college gruaduate 00:13:11.142 --> 00:13:13.268 with no experience and anything notable 00:13:13.268 --> 00:13:15.239 for most of you -- sad to say. 00:13:15.239 --> 00:13:17.849 And offering to do free work, 00:13:17.849 --> 00:13:20.123 they're going to have super-low expectations. 00:13:20.123 --> 00:13:21.364 And because you're doing free work, 00:13:21.364 --> 00:13:23.010 you're removing these barriers 00:13:23.010 --> 00:13:25.876 of, “Do I have to pay this guy?” 00:13:25.876 --> 00:13:27.699 and because you're reaching out virtually 00:13:27.699 --> 00:13:29.385 they don't have to pay attention to you 00:13:29.385 --> 00:13:31.612 so they don't have to spend time monitoring you. 00:13:31.612 --> 00:13:33.125 So you're removing these barriers 00:13:33.125 --> 00:13:34.905 and you can reach people who are further 00:13:34.905 --> 00:13:38.120 out of your reach than you think, 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:40.859 like if you approached them for paid work, 00:13:40.859 --> 00:13:42.309 for a paid gig right away, 00:13:42.309 --> 00:13:44.129 they would have said no. 00:13:44.129 --> 00:13:46.908 So the way I always reach out to these people 00:13:46.908 --> 00:13:48.625 who are seemingly unreachable -- 00:13:48.625 --> 00:13:51.075 but they're very, very approachable -- 00:13:51.075 --> 00:13:52.837 is, I send them an email. 00:13:52.837 --> 00:13:54.624 I give them a courteous introduction 00:13:54.624 --> 00:13:56.470 and delicately elude to the research 00:13:56.470 --> 00:13:57.800 I've done on them. 00:13:57.800 --> 00:13:59.929 I say I'm a fan of their work, 00:13:59.929 --> 00:14:03.048 and then I offer three examples of free work 00:14:03.048 --> 00:14:05.001 that are going to have a positive impact 00:14:05.001 --> 00:14:06.705 on their business. 00:14:06.705 --> 00:14:09.587 And I tie them back into skills of mine, 00:14:09.587 --> 00:14:13.452 so, “I can edit video, I'm good at online marketing, 00:14:13.452 --> 00:14:15.336 and I'm a good writer”. 00:14:15.336 --> 00:14:16.288 So I'll be like, 00:14:16.288 --> 00:14:17.962 “Oh, you can improve this, this, and this. 00:14:17.962 --> 00:14:20.123 The way you are going to improve it 00:14:20.123 --> 00:14:22.185 is by hiring me, I'll do it for free 00:14:22.185 --> 00:14:25.061 and you don't have to worry about me, 00:14:25.061 --> 00:14:27.617 if you don't like my work, you can scrap it.” 00:14:27.617 --> 00:14:30.099 And then I'll just sign off with, you know, 00:14:30.099 --> 00:14:32.961 “I'll do this stuff for 2 weeks, 00:14:32.961 --> 00:14:36.705 and if you dig my work then let's talk about 00:14:36.705 --> 00:14:38.000 doing something a little more formal, 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.896 and possibly a paid gig in the future. 00:14:40.896 --> 00:14:42.604 Can you talk this week?” 00:14:42.604 --> 00:14:45.706 Pretty easy, it works very well. 00:14:45.706 --> 00:14:50.056 Finally, you transition to paid work. 00:14:50.056 --> 00:14:51.924 And if you've done your job, 00:14:51.924 --> 00:14:54.712 if you do a really good job doing the free work, 00:14:54.712 --> 00:14:57.831 then they're going to have more to lose 00:14:57.831 --> 00:15:00.723 by not paying you than you'll have to lose. 00:15:00.723 --> 00:15:03.408 So they're going to want to keep you around, 00:15:03.408 --> 00:15:05.539 and they'll eventually pay you. 00:15:05.539 --> 00:15:07.788 It's the way it works. 00:15:07.788 --> 00:15:09.373 But now, there's some bad news. 00:15:09.373 --> 00:15:11.643 America is in a tough time, 00:15:11.643 --> 00:15:12.892 and it's going to get tougher. 00:15:12.892 --> 00:15:15.264 I mean, honestly, we have to pay for your sins 00:15:15.264 --> 00:15:17.047 at some point, we can't keep this up. 00:15:17.047 --> 00:15:18.519 I mean, let's get real. 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:21.879 And the economy is going to get worse, 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:23.777 and jobs are going to be cut, 00:15:23.777 --> 00:15:24.709 jobs are going to be eliminated, 00:15:24.709 --> 00:15:26.309 jobs are going to be outsourced. 00:15:26.309 --> 00:15:28.018 It is a tough market for us. 00:15:28.018 --> 00:15:30.396 But, there's good news. 00:15:30.396 --> 00:15:31.742 And the good news is, 00:15:31.742 --> 00:15:34.897 as long as there are problems that need to be solved, 00:15:34.897 --> 00:15:38.071 there will always be work. 00:15:38.071 --> 00:15:42.245 And I'm here today to ask you guys to try free work. 00:15:42.245 --> 00:15:44.451 Because I want you to chase after the things 00:15:44.451 --> 00:15:46.954 that interest you and make you happy. 00:15:46.954 --> 00:15:49.223 You need to stop acting like you have 00:15:49.223 --> 00:15:51.600 a set path in life. You don't. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:52.473 No one does. 00:15:52.473 --> 00:15:53.705 You shouldn't be trying to check off 00:15:53.705 --> 00:15:56.094 the boxes of life in order to become 00:15:56.094 --> 00:15:57.934 a successful American. 00:15:57.934 --> 00:15:59.967 Those boxes are not real. 00:15:59.967 --> 00:16:01.951 And they were created by other people. 00:16:01.951 --> 00:16:03.222 Not you. 00:16:03.222 --> 00:16:04.697 Now is the best time, 00:16:04.697 --> 00:16:06.103 when you're in your early 20s, 00:16:06.103 --> 00:16:07.731 when you have nothing to lose, 00:16:07.731 --> 00:16:11.065 to pursue a path that you care about. 00:16:11.065 --> 00:16:14.324 And to start building a reputation and a history 00:16:14.324 --> 00:16:16.139 of work that matters to you 00:16:16.139 --> 00:16:17.946 and that you're proud of. 00:16:17.946 --> 00:16:22.846 So, when I ask you to try this “free work” concept, 00:16:22.846 --> 00:16:24.663 I want you to ask yourself the same 00:16:24.663 --> 00:16:26.945 question I asked myself on the bathroom floor 00:16:26.945 --> 00:16:29.503 3 years ago: 00:16:29.503 --> 00:16:32.821 “What is the worst that could happen?” 00:16:32.821 --> 00:16:35.544 Thank you. (Applause)