Book Club: "Show your Work" by Austin Kleon
The main principle of this book, is that if you don’t put something online for the world to see, then it might as well not exist.
Kleon advocates doing what I’ve been attempting with this blog. Create a presence online so that others can not only get a feel for you personally, but also learn something from the content you produce. Professionally, this is much more powerful than a resume.
When I’m trying to work with someone, instead of sending a templated list of places I’ve worked I just point the person to my blog. Within 5 minutes of reading, they’ll know not only if I’m qualified for the position but also if they’ll like me!
Recruiting traditionally is made so inefficient, partially because it’s so difficult for a hiring team to determine if they’ll even enjoy the candidate on a personal level.
I haven’t posted on this blog in a few weeks, a reader and friend of mine sent me a joking email asking “Have stopped reading and learning?” This made me laugh because it so perfectly illustrates the point of this book! The truth is I’ve been rewriting an iPhone app, building trading software, reading three books and taking 2 classes to finish my Computer Science degree!
However, since I have not shared any of that with the world (via this blog), I might as well be watching season after season of The Gilmore Girls during the day.
I highly recommend reading this book. If you do not have an online ‘presence’ where curious parties can view your life’s work it will inspire you. If you do already, it will motivate you to keep learning, and keep posting.
You can grab the book here