I couldn’t care less about education, not because i’m missing some degree or didnt go to uni - i did, i went to uni’s on full academic scholarships no less…

Yes its a nice way to brag, yes it does help you get a job and yes you will learn some things in Uni…

…But also yes

• Yes you can learn way more by just doing

• Yes a degree or qualification does not define you

• Yes the best people i’ve employed had no formal education

This one isn’t going to sit well with the life long learners, or those of you who are dating/married to teachers and professors

You lot can skip this email - just kidding! Sit tight and lock in.

JOBS

Who doesn’t love Mondays right?

Ok so who are these Monday-loving people and where do we hunt them down?

Well apparently they use this job board

• loads of jobs

• can filter for part-time, full-time etc

• they have an Easy Apply, so just create a profile

The bad though… mostly recruitment agencies use it, so you wont know the company you’re applying to - that means you cant email them, cant linkedin DM them.

You’re going to be in the dark on a lot of the roles. But maybe you can just email and LinkedIn DM the recruitment agencies instead ;)

CAREER ADVICE

For those WITH and WITHOUT “Education”

Ok so here is my thoughts on education, even though I don’t rate it - I did enjoy it

• Girls

• Friends

• Time to grow up

and that last point is the most important - i’m an immature little shit - always have been - but there was a time, when it was way worse, and that was from like 19 till 24 (which is precisely when I was in Undergrad and Grad school)

If I had gotten a job during that window - I would have been fired so quickly, it would’ve made for a hilarious newsletter post, but that’s about it.

I was 24 applying for senior roles in investment banks and management consulting firms with zero experience lol

That time let me settle into myself, while “learning” and becoming “qualified” to work.

Now outside of the time to let me mature and have awesome friends and get some tail (girls). School didn’t do much for me, except for when it did.

More on that later…

If you have schooling

• Highlight your achievements

• Show how its relevant to your career

• Put it at the bottom of your CV, unless its like harvard or some shit

• Stop wanting to do more schooling, school time is over, its real life time…

If you don’t have schooling

• You’re going to be just fine, especially if you’re very experienced, schools value decreases by 50% for every year of work experience - Bojan’s Law

• You’re going to struggle if you’re trying the typical work application route - you need to network, create a portfolio, attend events, create content

• Btw, the last 4 points, they will teach you more than any school could

• You’re going to have a chip on your shoulder for no reason, school =/= education and for some reason, people are dumb enough to think it does

School can help you get a job, but its just one path, its just one strategy, just one door.

There are other doors, other paths and other ways to get what you want, and school is probably the most Basic Bitch way to do it.

Stop being a basic bitch

INTERVIEW ADVICE

For those WITH and WITHOUT “Education”

This is GIF hits hard, because its so true - so many people use sucking up as their get ahead in work and life strategy.

It’s only going to get you so far - no one who has sucked up to me got a better job, more pay, more benefits, more anything

It’s usually the strategy of the less valuable people, or less valuable organizations, because they care more about optics than outcome.

Still it is a strategy that works

But what other strategies work that will help you get a raise?

1. Find projects in your company that make the most money - working on high value projects, the closer you get to the money, the more money you get

2. Find high-value projects that are not doing well - make them do well, this is usually a lot of work and I only recommend it for when you really can learn something too, because sometimes, the company will just say thank you

3. Do Less - want to double your hourly rate? keep the same salary, but half your time. This sounds silly but if you create a constraint where you say you will only work 4 hours a day, you’ll find a way to make it work

   • My GF used to work 10 hour days sometimes, she does he work in 4 hours now most days, some days its even 2 to 3 hours

   • I used to work 9 hour days at Standard Bank - I dropped that hard, first to 5, then 4 then eventually about 2 hours

   • Cut back an hour a day, and see how things go

4. Network - some of you a well paid, some of you are average, and some are wayyy below average - and the only way to know this is to speak with people, especially hiring managers, team leads, recruiters, CTOs etc. Get a sense of market rates for your skillset

   • Speak with your boss if you are below market rates, if you’re really afraid, have another offer lined up, or start doing interviews, so that you have leverage and other opportunities

   • When I quit my first job, 250k more per year suddenly became very available, where as before, it did not exist… I still quit, but I always have budget for good people, and so do companies

Now the Ask

When you’ve done some or all of the above - it’s time to speak with management

• Dont try have a meeting when Kak is hitting fans and all kinds of spinning devices - you really want things to be going well

• Prepare - this is points 1 - 4, they should have helped you (point 3 less so) but even there, if you have more time, you can do more work/take on more responsibilities

• Set the meet - let management know you want to talk about your career and compensation

• Ask don’t Tell - you need to be professional here, don’t just say you want more money, don’t we all? You need to justify why you have this ask - are you paid below market, are you capable of taking on more responsibilities, have you been taking on and delivering on key projects

Then you listen

• Yes, lets pay you more - that’s awesome, you look at next steps and timelines for when the new pay starts

• Maybe but not now - that’s fine too, but find out why later, is it that some conditions need to be met, what needs to happen to turn the next meet from a maybe to a yes

• No - well you have to be prepared for this too. No might spur you on to look for other opportunities, to work far less, to work far more to prove your worth

I messed up my first salary negotiation - I basically wanted a 25% increase and said they can pay more or I can work less - they said no to both, but I didn’t give them a good reason for either outcome

Then I just worked way less, and made the same salary - there were days where I would not work at all lol - just 15 minute stand up calls, twice a day with the two teams I was managing.

Sorry not sorry Standard Bank - also if someone comes at me, i’m going to say this story is fiction 😛 

THATS A WRAP

Before you go: Here’s 3 ways I can help you

1. LinkedIn - I’m always hiring - but only 2 to 4 people a month - connect with me on and send me your CV - currently, I only hire people with 7 or more years of experience - if you have less, but are EXCEPTIONAL, i’ll make exceptions

2. Youtube - i’m always making content to help you out, subscribe and binge

3. Free Career Advice - i’m going to be giving away CV feedback for early subscribers for free, I usually charge $100 for a resume roast - i’ll make a recording and send you feedback - just reply back to this email with your CV - its totally free for first 10 people