Wanna play me? A job searcher’s guide

“I caught you a delicious bass. Wanna play me?”

In my efforts to find work as a copywriter at Headspace, I wrote a blog post entitled “Headspace, meet your new Senior Copywriter” and posted it on LinkedIn. The post received a lot of positive response, so I thought I’d take a little time to explore why I think it got the reaction it did.

What Augustus MayWho taught me about marketing

I had the joy of getting to spend 3 years of my life as an interactive actor at Universal Studios. (I can’t seem to find my pictures from that time but I did get the chance to play Mayor Augustus MayWho in Universal Orlando’s Grinchmas Celebration—see representative picture of Jeffrey Tambor in the role.)

Every day offered up a great lesson in investing trust without any expectation in return. It could start with something as simple as me winking at a guest walking through the park. Okay, they waved back at me. I’ll return the smile and raise the ante–a flourishing bow, perhaps. Ooh, they’re bowing back! Okay, they want to play!

Of course, not every smile resulted in playtime. Sometimes you received nothing in return. But it was okay–you tipped your hat and moved on. But when you found someone who wanted to engage, those were your golden moments. Some of my best memories from that time were performances for just one person. That was the good stuff.

So, here’s how I approached marketing like Augustus MayWho.

Step 1: Identify who you want to build a relationship with.

At its simplest, I see marketing as nothing more than an invitation to play. As a job seeker, I’m just marketing myself. To paraphrase the great Napoleon Dynamite, my LinkedIn post was my way of saying, “Wanna play me?” (Boyohboy, that scene kills me EVERY time!) But I digress. I’ve had some success writing about mental health and I’ve really enjoyed it. So, when I saw the Headspace Copywriter posting, I knew it could be a good fit for me. To stand out, I needed an in with the hiring manager, the recruiter, and anyone else I could get.

Step 2:  Identify what could make their life better.

In addition to the extensive video library, Headspace also creates a lot of great blogs. Of course, there aren’t always resources to turn every piece of content into a video. If I were the hiring manager, I would love to have a ready-made script for one of those blogs. What’s more, I’d like a writer who would show a lot of care in the final product.

What about the recruiter? Well, they get tons of resumes. They’d probably love to see a side-by-side comparison of the job description and the candidate’s skills.

Which other Headspacer needs their life to be easier? The social media manager, right? And their life is easier when people interact with their content. What’s more, in my particular profession, the hiring manager is going to be pretty jazzed about any sort of social buzz, too, so that’s just gravy.

Step 3: Perpetrate a not-so-random act of content kindness.

I have a lot of expertise in writing for video (a skill Headspace was looking for) so I wrote the script and provided a job description breakdown with plenty of links to relevant work I’ve done.

I want to point out here that I’m punching my weight. I don’t have PR experience, so I didn’t write them a press release. I’m not a mental health professional, so I didn’t try to wow them with my mental health knowledge. But I think I have a sweet spot for video, so I leaned into that.

Step 4: Hold up your boom box.

I could have just thrown the script and the breakdown into my cover letter and called it good. But that would leave out the social media manager. So, I posted it to my blog and shared the post on Linkedin. 

Step 5: Relieve yourself of any expectations.

If you make a grand gesture, it’s natural to want your efforts to be appreciated. You might even think that you are owed some recognition. But if you go in with this mindset, you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment.

As of this writing, I’ve done the “Headspace” treatment for 14 other companies. Each time, it’s required several hours of my day. Of those companies, 10 didn’t respond in any way (beyond a confirmation email or a form rejection letter). Not even a thumbs-up on Linkedin. But this has reminded me of what I think is the most important thing a job searcher should remember: there are thousands of reasons why you won’t get that interview or that job and a LOT of those reasons will have nothing to with you or your skillset. And guess what else? You just may not be someone else’s cup of tea. Take a deep breath, read that last sentence again, and let those expectations go.

Step 6: Revel in ANY result you get.

I was fortunate enough to get a little traction on the Headspace post. When I got followed, I followed back. When someone responded with a comment, I answered right away. And I didn’t engage just because it’s social media best practices or whatever but because I genuinely enjoy interacting with people. This is the good stuff–it’s the embodiment of what social media should be. I support your thing, you support my thing. We delight in the success the other enjoys. This is the essence of all creative work, right? Making cool stuff together. When I find people that want to play, I know I’ll be in the right place.

Because the play is the thing.

The Lengths I Go To is my (hopefully) limited-series blog wherein I share the different ways I try to stand out during my job search. Rather not see more content like this? Hire me and I promise I’ll stop!