Hey hey!
Thanks for your attention at #Touch23.
Remember when I said in today's dynamic world, your career is like a product?
Years ago, I was really, really, really inspired by the thought that as every great product should have a competitive advantage, careers are no different.[1]
If there is one message I'd like to get across about careers in tech, that's it.
When building products, we are advised to focus on having a solid product that has 10x features better than the competition.[2] When you have that, only then should you start to accelerate your growth.
Similarly with careers, you want to Get So Good They Can’t Ignore You before heavy networking.
The main question to ask when evaluating career decisions is: “What are the things you can do today which make it easier to obtain your desired resources and career opportunities tomorrow, in a way that’s defensible and compounds overtime?”
You need four things to build career capital over time:
Specialized Knowledge / Skills (“Get So Good They Can’t Ignore You”) Financial Capital ($) Brand / Legibility (ability for your skills/assets to be widely recognizable) Unique Network Access/Strength
You’ll need the “minimum viable money” to keep going and not have to take a job that doesn’t increase your specialized knowledge & skills. You’ll want the “minimum viable network”, to know the right people to help, and the “minimum viable legibility (reputation)” to get them to care.
Discover what’s easy for you but hard for others, then get so good they can’t ignore you, and then leverage that to accrue social and financial capital. Don’t skip steps 1 & 2.
Notes
[1] My talk is highly inspired and replicates by Erik Torenberg’s thoughts on how people make career decisions and think about how to build career capital over time. He is a one of the great people in tech who open-sourcing his mind to help others know more. [2] The 10x Feature is Real. At Least, for a While. What’s Yours?.
Additional reading Pmarca Guide to Career Planning How to do what you love How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You) Climbing the wrong hill The power of tiny gains 4 secrets to building your network The 3 Types of Professional Relationships in Your Network: Allies, Friendlies & Followers Why Some Dreams Should Not Be Pursued The Struggle Give it five minutes The Tail End
1x1 time Iterating your career into tech? If you are going to iterate and change your career into tech, feel free to email me at guatabidze@gmail.com
Can we chat for a virtual coffee for 30m? More likely, yes. Share with me what you want to talk about at guatabidze@gmail.com or X.