Finding Your “Thing” in the Job Search
“This above all: to thine own self be true.”
The job search is rarely easy. It’s frustrating, uncertain, and often feels like you’re just another résumé in a pile. Over the past several months, I went through dozens of applications, interviews, and rejections. I tracked the process along the way — 58 first-round interviews, 42 rejections, 10 withdrawals, and finally, one offer I was excited to accept.
What I learned from this experience is simple, but not easy: the best way to stand out is to find your “thing” and share it.
Why Subject-Matter Expertise Isn’t Enough
A lot of people give the advice: “develop subject-matter expertise.” And while that’s good advice, it’s only half the story.
Being an expert in something is valuable, but expertise alone won’t set you apart in a competitive market. What matters just as much is your ability to show your passion in a way that others can feel it.
Passion + Expression = Resonance
Here’s what I mean:
Find your niche. What’s the thing you can’t help but nerd out on? It could be startup CPG brands because you love finding new products at Pop Up Grocer. It could be fintech infrastructure. For me, it’s benchmarking and watching herd mentality in markets. Whatever it is, it should be something that energizes you.
Create something around it. That passion has to exist outside your head. Make a chart, write a memo, record a short video, draft a blog post, or even share a one-pager with someone after an interview. It doesn’t have to be polished or public — but it has to be tangible.
Make it accessible. Think about how someone else will consume it. Can they understand your passion in a few minutes? Does it feel thoughtful, educational, or useful to them?
That combination — passion + expression — is what resonates in interviews and conversations. It’s what makes people remember you, far more than listing skills on a résumé.
Betting on Yourself
One thing I’ve struggled with—and I think a lot of people do—is betting on myself.
I’ve been investing for most of my life, and when it comes to traditional investments, I find it pretty easy: you assess the risks, make a decision, and more or less things play out as expected. But when it comes to building something for myself—launching a project, chasing a big idea, or seeing it through to fruition—it feels completely different.
I don’t have decades of experience iterating on my own projects the way I do with investments. Realizing that helped me understand why building for myself felt so much harder, even though I’ve always thought of myself as a jack of all trades.
The advice I’d give graduating seniors—or anyone starting out—is this: find ways to create small iterations where you’re building for yourself. Treat your career like practice reps. The more times you put something out there, the more comfortable you’ll get with betting on yourself.
And if you catch yourself making excuses, be honest—most excuses aren’t real blockers. They’re usually just gaps in skill or confidence, and both can be worked through.
Why This Works
It forces you to go deeper. To create something sharable, you have to really understand the topic. That process alone sharpens your thinking.
It gives you a portfolio. Instead of just talking about what you know, you can show it.
It signals authenticity. Passion is contagious when it’s real. Even if your work doesn’t “take off,” people can sense the energy behind it.
It builds resilience. The more practice reps you get betting on yourself, the less daunting it feels over time.
A Note on the Market
The reality is that the market is tough. For example, New York added fewer than 1,000 private-sector jobs in the first half of 2025. If you’re feeling discouraged, you’re not alone₁.
But here’s the upside: when you build from genuine curiosity and practice betting on yourself, you create momentum that’s hard to ignore. Even if you’re ahead of the curve and people don’t “get it” right away, you’re building skills, confidence, and visibility that compound over time.
Closing Thought
So if you’re in the middle of the grind, remember this:
Find your thing, and put it into the world.
Bet on yourself, even in small reps.
Not because it will guarantee you a job. But because it will give you a voice, a portfolio, and an energy that resonates far more than another line on a résumé. And when the right opportunity comes along, that’s what opens doors.
Would you like me to also weave your job-search chart into this blog (as a concrete example of you “building for yourself”), or keep it more evergreen and text-based?
Sources:
1) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/nyregion/nyc-jobs.html
