Those who change the rules of the game win

And they usually win big

In his book Purple Cow Seth Godin talks about breaking the “rules” that were made by others.

He gave this example of applying for a job and said that if in a process of applying for a job the “rule” is ‘send out CV’ the majority will do just that — send out CV. As a result your CV will sink in a sea of other CVs. It is the rare individual who will stop and ask himself

“What if sending CV is not the right way to go about it?”

And that’s exactly what people who want to apply for a job or a position should ask themselves.

If you think that the job application process is all about creating a killer CV, looking good at interviews, giving right answers and asking smart questions, you want to play the same game that 99% of young people are still playing.

Oddly enough, we tend to assume that the established rules must be followed. That they are wise. That they are sacred. That by breaking them we will get ourselves into trouble or hurt the feelings of previous generations. We assume their legitimacy and relevance. Which in many cases isn’t true. Sometimes those are bullshit rules that need replacement, and fast.

Why should you follow this rule? Why not try a different approach?

By playing the same game as everyone else how good are your chances at succeeding?

Maybe you should try the following:

1. Starting today search the internet for the most weird, crazy, out-of-the-box, sick, beyond normal, ways of applying for any position (the position is irrelevant — what matters is the process those outliers used to get that job, position or whatever).
2. List 20 ideas how you could change the rules / play a completely different game than everyone else.
3. Take action. Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself. If there’s no chance that you’ll make a fool of yourself your options are not original enough. You should go back to the drawing board and list another 20 ideas (only this time they should be 10 times more crazy than the previous ones). Push yourself.
4. Don’t listen to those who will tell you that by playing by your own rules (new rules) you will lose because that’s not the way the game should be played. Odds are you’ll find quite o lot of such “advisors” because most people believe the rules are there to be followed. And that’s exactly why they’ll lose. They just don’t know it yet.

Once you try this approach you’ll fall in love with it and you’ll be much less likely to fall into the same trap again and again in your life. The trap of thinking and doing what everyone else is thinking and doing.

Writing a CV is an easy path, even if you want to write a killer CV. It’s the method that is in use a lot. People are comfortable with it. They know how the game “should” be played. Thus, they’ll follow the finest script on how to write a killer CV, add all the bells and whistles, and call it a day.

With this new method you will feel a different set of emotions. You’ll be uncomfortable and you’ll feel like you’re not “normal”. You’ll create your own map and it’ll be more difficult and stretching than merely preparing a CV, waiting for an interview and following another script that’s called “How to win at every interview by giving the right answers and asking the killer questions.”

Eventually, this new method has a potential of altering your whole mindset, your whole approach to work. Hopefully the next questions you’ll ask will be “Why do I want this job in the first place? Why compete with this crowd in the first place? Why lock myself up in this profession/ position? What is it that only I can contribute?”

And that’s where the real magic starts to happen because those questions will change your life in a way that is (and will be) inaccessible for most of your peers.