Level Up newsletter is 1 year old 🥳

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How to find the best career for you

We’re going back in time today…to the very first Level Up email newsletter.

It’s about the 3 circles framework, which will help you discover your niche and stand out in the job search.

Let’s dive in!

The 3 circles framework

If you’re looking for work - or even if you’re in a job - you probably know there is heaps of competition out there.

To employers, you’re not special.

(Don’t worry - we think you’re special though!)

To explain why, we’re going to explore the Sea of Sameness 🌊 

The Sea of Sameness 🌊 

You’ve just finished your degree, completed a couple of online courses and maybe even done some extracurricular activities.

With a smile on your face, you set sail on the next chapter of your life.

Then you see hundreds, thousands - no, millions - of boats just like yours setting sail next to you.

To an observer on the outside, all the boats look the same.

If they were to choose one, it would be at random. Or, it might be because one boat has a more colourful sail.

It’s both a humbling and scary thought to think that there are a lot of people competing for the same role as you.

If that wasn’t bad enough, we have two tsunamis on the way that we call:

Globalisation 🌏

The pool of prospective candidates has increased exponentially. With a small global world, companies can now hire anywhere in the world, which means even more competitive than ever before.

Automation and AI 🤖 

There are jobs that just no longer exist. We’re seeing more companies today make more money with less people than ever before.

There is an army of talent out there looking for a job, and there are less jobs out there.

So, how do you stand out in the Sea of Sameness?

This framework below is one of the best tools you can use to make you super valuable in your current role, or give you the best chance of getting a new job.

Introducing the three circles…

Playing games you can win - 3 circles ⭕️ ⭕️ ⭕️

The Three Circles framework is simple:

Figure out what skills you have, what your interests are, and be proactive to put them together.

Then, you’re playing a game you can win.

Let’s run through it.

Are you great at Data Analysis? Awesome.

There are probably millions of other data analysts like you.

Do you love creating video content?

Great! There are probably millions of people who love this too.

But how many data analysts love creating video content?

I’m going to bet it’s around 2000 people.

Less people in the pool of talent.

You might be thinking “damn, thats still a lot of competition.”

Here is the kicker, though.

This is the third circle - do you have the guts to do something about these two skills and create something unique?

Like, say, a youtube channel on Data Analysis?

Once we add this in, we’re looking at maybe 100 people.

That’s the thing - people will always “out-skill” you.

There is someone better than you at everything.

But few people are proactive, and go and make something out of their unique set of skills.

And that’s exactly what Samanvay did.

Standing out from the Sea of Sameness 🏅

Samanvay’s skills were in Data Science.

But he was also interested in video content creation.

So what did he do?

He put them together to create his youtube channel, Demystifying Data Science.

Samanvay built up his channel, posted about it on social media and made it really easy to be found.

He’s been reached out to by recruiters in the past, and has landed consulting jobs from people who watched his youtube channel.

And last month, he started as a Deployment Strategist at Palantir after being head-hunted by their team.

Samanvay combined his skills (Data Science), his interests (video content) and made something out of those skills (a youtube channel).

The takeaway

So to recap, ask the three questions:

• What are you good at?

• What are you interested in?

• And what can you make out of those two things?

Put these together and you should set yourself apart from the Sea of Sameness and win at work 🏆

If you come up with something new, or are already working on a project, reply to this email to let me know. We’d love to share your work with the world!

What did you think of the 3 circles framework? Let us know.

Until next week!