To be on your own.

‘And say do you want to make a deal? How does it feel? To be on your own. With no direction home. A complete unknown.’

-Bob Dylan

And, from Seth Godin:

‘There are millions of college seniors beginning their job search in earnest.

And many of them are using the skills they’ve been rewarded for in the past:

Writing applications

Being judged on visible metrics

Showing up at the official (placement) office

Doing well on the assignments

Paying attention to deadlines, but waiting until the last minute, why not

Getting picked

Fitting in

The thing is, whether you’re a newly graduating senior (in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt) or a middle-aged, experienced knowledge worker looking for a new job, what the best gigs want to know is:

Can you show me a history of generous, talented, extraordinary side projects?

Have you ever been so passionate about your work that you’ve gone in through the side door?

Are you an expert at something that actually generates value?

Have you connected with leaders in the field in moments when you weren’t actually looking for a job?

Does your reputation speak for itself?

Where online can I see the trail of magic you regularly create?

None of these things are particularly difficult to learn, if you are willing to be not very good at them before you’re good at them.

Alas, famous colleges and the industrial-education process rarely bother to encourage this.’