This single email transformed my career.
I was stuck. I hated my career. I was deeply unhappy in my life.
I was an average software engineer. I was doing average work.
I knew two things:
- I wanted more from my career
- Everything is going digital, and I wanted in
I hatched a plan.
Email every founder of a digital marketing agency in Dublin under the pretence I wanted advice on a digital course I was considering. For any meetings I got, sell me working at that agency.
I didn't even have money to take the course. I knew it was a long shot.
What's crazy about this email is it got flagged as 'Spam' (you can see in the image) and was sent to the agency's reception. I didn't have the founder's email address.
What are the chances he'd reply? A busy founder answering an email from their receptions Spam folder? Pretty unlikely.
Well, he replied, the only reply I got, and I did the meeting.
I sold myself hard for 30 mins, and I got a chance.
They were doing final interviews for a graduate role in digital marketing the next day. The NEXT day!
The final interview was a presentation, a digital marketing client pitch for a pretend client.
I knew nothing about digital marketing.
I got home and worked on the presentation all night. Didn't sleep for a single minute. I was filled with hope, adrenaline, and coffee.
The next day, I did my presentation. I got the role. It meant restarting my career all over again. I had graduated with an hon degree in computing science and spent four years as a software engineer. Now I was starting as a graduate again.
I didn't care. I was elated.
Since then, I've hustled, grinded, and focused on making up for lost time by being the best version of myself. Working in a career you enjoy makes all those things much easier.
Two lessons:
1. Don't wait for something to change; make it happen for yourself.
2. If you've had some success in your career, pay it forward and make time to give someone else a shot at their success.