Do you like the title?  Yes?  No?  As long as you care one way or another, I am happy.

What am I alluding to anyway?  Stick around, this is going somewhere….I think.

I went to see Owl City the other night in Manchester.  Not a bad gig, quite good in fact.  But the interesting thing here is Adam Young the originator of Owl City.

Adam was working at a Coca Cola warehouse and was suffering from insomnia.

He pushed his energies into recording in his parents’ basement and from there placed his work on MySpace and is now on the verge of something quite big – he is already signed and touring the world.

What got me is that ten years ago – broadband  BC – Adam would have had to impress a record label and gig incessantly to achieve success, struggle perhaps for years.

Here is an example one of many perhaps – where someone has had the tools to take their destiny in their hands (if that doesn’t sound hackneyed).

Adam could build his reputation online until the decision makers of the world took note.  He could take control.

I am waxing lyrical.  But when I graduated many years ago I had a CV to impress, something that could be easily binned without consideration – and why should it be any other way?  It offered little at first.

Now we can build reputations and relationships online.  The human element is important, but we can make a start.

Graduates trying to break into highly competitive careers at a time of high youth unemployment might feel  like giving up – save yourself the pain.  I did, at first.

But is it possible that you could be proactive:

• blog about your career aspirations, and your chosen profession – show off your insight, or at least build it
• read decision makers’ blogs and leave intelligent comments – and when the time is right ask for a meeting, not an interview
• use twitter to initiate conversations with key parties

• and no harm on going on LinkedIn to find out who the decision makers are

If you can and have an idea why bother with decision makers?  What is the worse that can happen?  You fail at 22!  Who couldn’t forgive that if you have conducted yourself  in a manner that is honest?

Why not create your job?  Find a gap in the market, a need and fill it.  Where can you add value?  Alright, not so easy, but it can be done.

Be creative, do research.  The world is more diverse in terms of opportunities and services needed.  There needn’t be the barriers to entry for newer professions.  Who would have thought of being an SEO professional 10 years ago? – not many at all.

We have to accept that there might not with jobs for us.  We have to see if we can do it ourselves.

It is hard.  But anything in life worth doing is hard.  Yes, I don’t have to take my own advice.  But I did when I said – and others who supported told me – “you can do it for yourself.”

Adam Young did it – there is no reason why many, many others cannot do it in many, many fields.

Tags: Adam Young, DIY careers, Owl City

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 9:39 pm and is filed under Careers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.