How to Create Self-Created Opportunities

I graduated university with zero corporate experience — yet I still landed 4 job offers. And no, it wasn’t because someone referred me. It was because I built my own proof of concept through relevant experiences, freelance strategy work, and hands-on implementation gigs. You can do the exact same, but only if you stop waiting for opportunities to appear and start creating them yourself. Here are 3 actions I recommend: 1. Audit your evidence gaps Look at your current experiences and identify what proof you're missing. Which skills don’t you have evidence for yet and in what real-world context do you need to show them? 2. Build a target list of NGOs & startups Find organizations that have clear gaps or needs you can help solve. Look for places where your skills can genuinely add value. 3. Start reaching out with clarity Talk to these organizations, validate whether the gaps are real, and then propose how you can support. Go in with a clear idea of the role, deliverables, outcomes, and what you want to gain from the experience. These can take the form of unpaid internships, volunteering, freelance projects, or shadowing opportunities, many of which can turn into paid roles once you show value. When you create your own opportunities, you get to set your own terms: • how long you want the experience to be • what you’ll contribute • what outcomes matter to you (experience, recommendations, introductions, etc.) Any questions? P.S: waiting to board my flight for Halifax

The Time I Cracked the Chicken and Egg Dilemma 🐣😍 Many of us face this frustration when changing careers: I can’t make the change because I don’t have enough experience, and I can’t get the experience because I haven’t made the change. I’ve been there. As a senior production engineer, I wanted to pivot into marketing but had zero formal experience. Here’s how I overcame it—and how you can too: 1️⃣ Gain Knowledge Before Experience I pursued an executive MBA while working full-time and researched B2B social media for my thesis. I interviewed 12 senior marketing professionals (thank you, Susan Emerick, Todd Wilms, Kirsten Hamstra, Alli Soule, Krista Kotrla, Rebecca Lowell Edwards to name a few), gaining real-world insights. 2️⃣ Leverage Transferable Skills I used my engineering skills—research, problem-solving, project management—and applied them to marketing. Your current skills are more transferable than you think! 3️⃣ Build Credibility While Transitioning I turned my thesis into a business book, which became a top-seller on Amazon UK. This showcased my expertise before I even had hands-on experience. 4️⃣ Create Opportunities I pitched a pilot social media project to my boss, got a small budget approved, and proved what I could do. The pilot project became the foundation of my marketing career. 5️⃣ Adopt a Growth Mindset I stopped waiting for permission and started creating opportunities to learn, build, and demonstrate my potential. If you’re feeling stuck, remember: Start where you are. Knowledge, skills, and credibility can open doors—even before experience catches up. So, what’s your first step going to be? 😊 #YOstories #CareerMoment

📢 To everyone in the job market: You’re more than a resume. Searching for jobs is exhausting. The waiting, the rejections, the self-doubt… it can wear you down. But I want to remind you that your value is not measured by how many interviews you land. You bring experience, creativity, resilience, and a unique perspective that no job posting can fully capture. If you feel stuck in your job search, consider stepping outside the traditional apply-and-wait approach. Here are some out-of-the-box, creative ways to stand out: 🔷 Show, Don’t Just Tell  Instead of just listing skills, create something to showcase your expertise. A case study, a mock strategy, a personal website, or even a short video introduction can leave a lasting impression. Visual storytelling is powerful. 🔷 Engage, Don’t Just Apply  Comment on industry leaders’ posts, share insights on LinkedIn, or write about trends in your field. Thoughtful engagement can get you noticed before you apply. 🔷 Pitch Yourself Differently  Consider an interactive presentation, a short project proposal, or a creative storytelling approach that aligns with the company’s mission. Don’t just rely on a traditional cover letter. 🔷 Network Beyond the Obvious  Attend niche virtual meetups, contribute to industry online groups, or start your own professional roundtable discussions. Many opportunities arise from conversations, not job boards. 🔷 Reverse-Engineer Opportunities Identify companies you admire, research their challenges, and reach out with tailored ideas on how you can add value. Use design thinking and product management principles. Initiative speaks volumes, and you don’t have to wait for job postings. 🔷 Reverse Mentorship Offer to mentor someone within your target company, in an area where you have unique expertise. It builds relationships and positions you as a valuable contributor before you're even hired. 🔷 Personalized Impact Reports Instead of just a resume, create a short report outlining the impact you could have on a company based on your skills and research. Quantify your potential contributions. 🔷 Tell an Impactful Story You are not just looking for a job. You are looking for your next opportunity to create impact. Use the STAR method to tell your story about your great work and impact with a clear format about the Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Most importantly, keep going. With this intentional approach beyond what's on your resume, you're expanding your surface area of possibilities. New places, new people, an expanded network, a stronger brand about your work ethic and growth mindset... they all increase the likelihood of opportunities. And you’re more likely to find the right role where your skills, passions, and purpose align. What unique strategies have helped you stand out in your career journey? Share below and with someone in your network who is in the job market.

Most career opportunities are never advertised. And yet, many professionals still spend hours sending CVs into the void, hoping for a response. Early in my career, I made the same mistake. I believed that the harder I worked on tailoring my applications, the better my chances. Don't get me wrong, it works to a degree but it isn't the whole package. What I didn’t realise was that I was competing with hundreds of others for the same few roles. The breakthrough came when I shifted my focus from job boards to people. I remember reaching out to someone in an organisation I admired, asking for a short conversation. That 15 minutes changed everything. Not only did I get insights into the role, but I built a relationship that eventually led to an opportunity I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Here’s what I’ve learned about creating opportunities through connection: 👉🏿 Curate your environment – Surround yourself with professionals, mentors, and peers who align with your career goals. Follow their work, learn from their insights, and engage genuinely. 👉🏿 Converse with purpose Don’t lead with “I need a job.” Instead, ask thoughtful questions, share your perspective, and show curiosity. Conversations should feel like two-way learning. 👉🏿 Demonstrate value Be ready to share clear examples of the problems you’ve solved, the actions you’ve taken, and the results you’ve produced. Stories matter more than bullet points. 👉🏿 Expand your community After meaningful conversations, ask who else they recommend you speak with. One introduction often leads to another. 👉🏿 Prioritise relationships over transactions People remember how you made them feel, not just what you said. Build trust, not just contacts. The lesson is simple: your next opportunity is more likely to come through connection than competition. How are you building meaningful professional relationships this year? Comment below 👇🏿 Join my ‘Consultant Mindset’ newsletter here 👉🏿 ⁠https://lnkd.in/eHyiwsmj #CareerGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #NetworkingStrategies

Let’s face it—traditional job hunting can feel… soul-crushing. But there are creative ways to find opportunities that don’t involve endlessly applying to cold job posts. Here are a few approaches that actually work (and make you stand out): 🎯 Make a “reverse job post” – Instead of applying, post what you’re looking for and what you bring to the table. Let the right roles find you. 🎙️ Be loud about your skills – Share a short case study, a portfolio sample, or even a “day in the life” reel. Show > tell. 📬 Cold DM, warm approach – Reach out to people in roles you admire. Not to ask for a job—but to ask for insight. Jobs often follow. 🛠️ Build something – A tiny project, a landing page, a Notion doc, a demo. Creating is the new resume. 📢 Use niche communities – Reddit, Slack groups, industry Discords, newsletters—these are job goldmines most people overlook. 🎨 Brand yourself creatively – Resume as a website? LinkedIn as a story series? Use your platform to spark curiosity. 💬 Tell people you’re looking—but give them the right words – Make it easy for others to advocate for you. Be specific about role, industry, and value. 👀 Follow funding rounds – New funding = new hiring. Track who just raised and reach out before they post jobs. 🪄 Treat job hunting like marketing – You’re not “begging.” You’re offering value. So position yourself like a solution. Sometimes, the best opportunities come from showing up where others aren’t looking. Which of these have you tried—or want to try next? #JobSearchTips #CareerGrowth #HiddenJobs #PersonalBranding #CreativeCareers #NetworkingTips

If you're job hunting and struggling, you're likely waiting for opportunities that will never be posted publicly. You need to shift your focus from applying to creating value. Here are three high-impact strategies to bypass the system and create your own role: 1️⃣ The Value Drop: Create Your Own Opportunity Stop waiting for a job description. Action: Find three admired companies. Identify one specific problem they face. Draft a brief, 3-point plan addressing that problem and send it directly to a relevant manager. This demonstrates immediate, undeniable value, compelling them to talk to you... even if they weren't hiring. 2️⃣ Quantify Everything: Results Over Duties Hiring managers only care about results, not duties. If you can't measure your impact, your claims mean nothing. Action: Rewrite your resume, changing every duty into a measurable accomplishment. Instead of "Managed social media," use: "Increased LinkedIn engagement by 40% in six months, leading to 15 new leads." Concrete metrics give them confidence that you can deliver results for their company. 3️⃣ The Advice-First Ask: Build Advocates Networking requests that ask for a job are instantly rejected. Ask for advice, not employment. Action: Request a 15-minute chat with someone in your dream role to ask about their career trajectory and advice. End by saying you'll circle back in a few months to update them on your progress. This low-pressure approach builds a genuine connection, turning them into a potential future advocate. Which move are you committing to today: The Value Drop, Quantifying, or Advice-First? Let me know! 👇

This one simple line changed everything for me! “You have to create opportunities for yourself” This is something I strongly believe in. I went from pharmacy tech to landing product management internships without a tech degree. Not because I had the perfect resume. Not because I got “lucky.” But because I got strategic. My degree was in healthcare. I was working long shifts in a pharmacy, counting pills and printing labels. Most people saw that job and thought, “That’s not tech.” But I saw it differently. I wanted more. More creativity. More ownership. More room to grow. So I built my own opportunities. Here’s what helped me break in 👇 1️⃣ I started a podcast. I didn’t have connections so I made an excuse to talk to people doing what I wanted to do. I invited PMs to chat about their work. I asked questions. I listened. That podcast became my education and my network. 2️⃣ I networked the right way. No long messages. No vague asks. I sent cold DMs that showed I’d done my research and asked for 15 minutes of their time. Some of those convos turned into referrals without actually asking for one. One turned into a mentor. 3️⃣ I studied job descriptions like textbooks. I found the gaps in my experience and built mini-projects to fill them. No one asked me to. I just knew I had to show - not tell - what I could do. Those internships changed my entire trajectory. They taught me how to bet on myself even when I didn’t fit the mold. 🎯 Real talk: • You don’t need permission to start • You don’t need the “perfect” background • You just need to show up and stay consistent What’s one unconventional move that helped you break into your next chapter?

Your next big career move… Is already hiding in your current role. Most professionals wait for the perfect opportunity to grow. A promotion.
A leadership opening.
A big, obvious project with high visibility. But the truth is—career-changing opportunities are rarely handed to you. They’re often hidden in plain sight, disguised as: → A stretch project no one else wants
→ A company initiative that needs fresh leadership
→ A cross-functional effort that lacks clear ownership The trick? Stop waiting for the "perfect" opportunity. Start spotting the hidden ones. Here’s how to find them in your current role: 1️⃣ Look at what the company cares about right now.
What’s the leadership team actually focused on? What goals keep coming up in meetings? → Align yourself with those priorities, and position yourself as invaluable. 2️⃣ Identify the gaps.
Where is your team struggling? What projects are falling behind? What skill sets are missing? → People who solve real problems (without being asked) get noticed fast. 3️⃣ Ask yourself: What skills do I want to build?
What’s something you would really like to be skilled at? What’s something you need for your next ideal step? → Your job should be working for you, too. If you want to grow in leadership, strategy, or visibility, seek out opportunities that let you practice those skills—inside your current role. 4️⃣ Pitch yourself strategically.
Don't just ask for “more responsibility.” Show how your initiative benefits both you and the company. Position it as a win-win: → “I noticed X is a priority this quarter—would you be open to me leading a solution for that?” ✨ The best career opportunities aren’t assigned. They’re created. What’s one hidden opportunity in your role you could take advantage of right now?

The secret to standing out isn’t being the best—it’s being different. You don’t need to compete with others on their terms; instead, build a unique combination of skills that only you can bring to the table. This is how you carve a path that’s uniquely yours. This is the advice I shared with young people who feel the pressure to be the “best.” Comparing yourself with others can be an exhausting downward spiral. Your uniqueness is your superpower. Rewrite the rules to work for you. When you’re starting out, carve out a niche. The more narrow it is, the easier it is to stand out and excel. Once you gain a foothold, you can broaden your skillset and expand your impact. Think of it as building a “skills stack.” The idea is simple but powerful: instead of trying to master one area, combine complementary skills from different domains. Each skill you acquire becomes a multiplier for the others. You don’t need to be the best at any single skill—being good at a unique combination is enough to make you stand out. Early in my career, I specialized as an economist. But over time, I recognized that solving complex problems required a multifaceted approach. So, I adapted: blending economics with history, financial markets with psychology, and finance with storytelling. This interdisciplinary approach allowed me to create my own game. Following my own path made work feel like a journey, not a competition. It kept me from getting lost in the trap of comparison. Start small: Choose a skill you’re curious about and think about how it could enhance what you already know. Over time, your stack will grow, making you uniquely equipped for opportunities no one else can match. The world doesn’t need more copies. It needs you, as you are. How are you building your own skills stack? And what advice would you give to those striving to be the best?

“We regret to inform you…”—I read those words 130 times before everything changed. Rejection forces clarity. After those 130 job rejections applying to jobs, I realized each “no” was actually guiding me toward my own path. Here’s what I learned on the journey to launching my own ghostwriting agency: 1/ Writing publicly builds visibility. I started posting on LinkedIn, not about me, but about motorsport trends, challenges, and solutions. This made professionals notice me for my ideas, not just my resume; I showed them how I think. Ironically, I now do this for sponsors and executives who want to build their own presence. 2/ Consistency matters more than perfection. My first few posts weren’t perfect, but I just showed up daily and built momentum. Over time, consistency refined my voice and grew an engaged network. Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every single time. 3/ Focus on what you control. Rejections taught me to stop seeking approval and start creating my own opportunities. Writing gave me a platform which evolved into a business: a ghostwriting agency serving the motorsport industry. 4/ Rejections aren’t personal. Each “no” gave me ideas & nudged me toward a better fit. I realized it wasn’t a rejection but a redirection toward something more aligned with my skills. 5/ Build your own ladder. I stopped waiting for someone else to open the door and built my own. By sharing my expertise, opportunities started coming to me instead of me chasing them. Clarity came from rejection, action, and persistence. Instead of waiting to be hired, I became the person hiring others. Sometimes, the right career isn’t found; it’s created.