One of the things I love to do is show you what’s going on “behind the curtain” — the truth that nobody will tell you.

In the past, we’ve covered “unspeakable truths” with money, dating, business, and careers.

For example, how many of us have heard our boss say, “Sorry, times are tough right now, so this year I can’t give you a raise?”

Do you know what’s really happening in the back room?

While that same manager is telling his employees there’s “no money,” he’s taking his actual budget, doling out pitiful 3% cost-of-living increases to most of the team like Scrooge McDuck…and then taking the lion’s share and giving it to ONE or TWO top performers who get giant, colossal raises.

I’m talking about $10,000…$25,000…$40,000 raises.

Don’t be this guy

Nobody will tell you this. Career “experts” will tell you to be lucky you have a job (funny, ever notice they’ve never gotten a top-tier job? Maybe they don’t understand how the game really works…). Other employees will just wring their hands and say, “Gee, I hope I can get a raise next year.” And behind the scenes, top performers are getting massive raises, more responsibility, and flexible schedules.

This is totally different than what most people talk about.

The OLD 9-5 was about security. You study hard, take the job you get, and praise the lord that you found a job to provide for your family.

Your parents (and mine) grew up in that system. That’s why they don’t understand when people say, “This job isn’t rewarding.”

The NEW 9-5 is about wanting to do something…

• CHALLENGING: I want to do something that pushes me, not calculate Excel numbers for the next 40 years
• FLEXIBLE: I want the flexibility to work from home without feeling guilty. Or to work early in the morning if I want to take off early. If I’m getting my job done, why not?
• REWARDING: I expect to work hard, but if I do an extraordinary job, I expect to be compensated

We don’t have to settle for a mind-numbing job where we count down the hours until we get to leave…then come back tomorrow and do it again.

Another unspeakable truth: These companies are desperate to find the right people, and they’ll pay with money, perks, and unbelievable freedom.

For example, 100% of my team is remote. They can work from anywhere. They can go to yoga in the middle of the day, or pick their kids up from school. One of them took her family and moved to Paris for a year with my full support

(By the way, I’d do anything to find the right people for my company.)

This is TOTALLY different than what people think of when it comes to jobs:

• “Ho hum, I hate my job, the only way to be successful is to start a business” (not true)
• “I don’t have the right degree/experience to get a really good job” (ignorant)
• “If I just stay here and do a good job, my boss will recognize me” (delusional)

I’m telling you this because I’ve been on both sides of the hiring table: As an applicant and as someone who’s hired dozens and dozens of people.

I’m also telling you this because 97% of us have a job, and it’s one of the most powerful areas to focus on to live a Rich Life. Just think about it — you spend 8 hours a day at your job. Shouldn’t it be helping you grow instead of something you sigh about?

Since 2015 is the year of MORE, I’m going to show you how to use your career to do it:

More freedom. More fun. More responsibility and challenges. And yes, more money.

Doesn’t matter if you’ve been a job hopper, or you don’t have the “right” experience, or you don’t even know what your Dream Job is! I can help.

This week, I’m going show you exactly how to discover what your Dream Job is — and then how to get it.

Click below, because on Monday March 23, I’m holding a one-night only, live presentation:

Beyond 9-5: How to Build a Career You Love

This presentation won’t be recorded. You have to be there to learn:

• How to find your Dream Job — even if it’s in a different industry or different state
• How to craft the perfect resume (including how I did it to get jobs at Google, Intuit, and a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund)
• A word-for-word script to negotiate salary and any perk you can imagine (you can use this today at your current job — even if your boss has objections like “it’s not in the budget” or “we don’t do that here”)

Click here to attend Beyond 9-5: How to Build a Career You Love.

P.S. Speaking of hiring, we’re hiring for a critical role on the IWT Leadership Team: The Director of Online Acquisition and Growth. If you know CPA, LTV, B2C, and A/B testing, we’d like to talk. Competitive pay, 100% remote, and work with the best in the world on helping millions to lead a Rich Life. Please apply here.

The NEW 9-5 + unspeakable truths is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Why are our parents and friends always on our case about getting a “stable” job, getting married, and buying a house?

Why are they always crinkling their noses in disgust when they hear us trying something new?

“Oh, what is this Paleo thing?? So you have to skip eating rice FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE??”

In a recent interview, my friend Michael Ellsberg and I were talking about why a lot of our parents and friends took the traditional road to life. Sometimes, even though they’re unhappy, they push us to make the same decisions they did!

It’s weird because the very same people who harangue you about all the things you “need” to do are often the SAME people who are buried in mortgage debt whose idea of fun is 2.5 beers every single weekend, same as last weekend.

They serve as yet another crystal ball into our mediocre future.

In our interview, Michael said something I’ll never forget:

“Our parents want safety for us, not excellence.”

Safety, not excellence. In other words, they want us to take that safe job, live in that safe place, and make those safe choices because they’re worried about the RISK of us ending up homeless or (gasp) unhappy.

(Americans love to complain about being unhappy, then do everything possible to become predictably unhappy.)

What our parents ignore is the potential for EXCELLENCE.

To be excellent, you have to make unconventional choices. Sometimes, choices that seem risky.

But here’s the counterintuitive truth:

If you get a few amazing pillars of your Tripod of Stability — like your job, relationships, and house — you can afford to take massive risks in your life.

Let me show you what I mean.

By the way, real talk: NOBODY talks about this because it’s not the sexy narrative of throwing it all to the wind and becoming an entrepreneur.

My goal isn’t to sell you bullshit narratives. It’s to show you how you can deliberately, methodically, and successfully create a Rich Life.

A Dream Job can be the BEST support system for doing exactly that.

For example, what if your Dream Job paid you $20,000 more? (I can show you how.)

What if you could switch industries? No problem.

What if you could build the skills to eventually start your own business — while your job PAYS YOU to learn?

Your Dream Job will give you:

An enviable income. We’re willing to work — as long as we know we’ll be compensated handsomely for our time. (Btw, you can use your savings to “fuel” your business or whatever you want.)

Free training. A great job offers you the ability to build your skills (and pays you to do it!)

Amazing connections. People say, “It’s all about who you know.” YES! This is exactly how you meet amazing people. Not by reading some stupid subreddit on dodgeball. I’ll show you how.

When people ask me, “Ramit, should I get a Dream Job or start a business?”

The answer is simple: Yes and yes.

Be realistic. The fact is the vast majority of us will have a job throughout our lives.

Most of us have never learned how to find a Dream Job. We just took what was in front of us.

Over the next week, we’re going to talk about how to create a career that gives you MORE freedom, not less — freedom to make more money, to take more risks, and to craft the life you want.

Not just a job you trudge to every day or something you say, “Yeah, it’s a job” when asked about it.

SOMETHING YOU LOVE. You spend enough hours there. You SHOULD love it. I’ll show you how.

For today, I want you to meet Andrea. Andrea leveraged her Dream Job to get a $10,000 bonus, extra courses and training and then used those wins to take time off and go travelling (knowing she could go back to her career when she came back).

On Friday, we’ll dig into how you can use your Dream Job — in ANY industry — to craft your dream life.

P.S. I also recorded a bunch of new videos to show you other stories — of getting Dream Jobs with little experience, of switching industries, of getting $5,000 – $25,000 raises. They’re all on the videos page.

Why do your parents push you to be mediocre? is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

I LOVE the email responses to this week’s post about why our parents push us to be mediocre.

We’re talking about finding our Dream Job, and the feedback revealed something really interesting.

Remember, our job is where we spend 8+ hours a day. If we can find a Dream Job that challenges us, teaches us great skills, surrounds us with amazing people, and pays us what we deserve…THAT gives us a huge amount of freedom in our lives.

Notice this: When we think about our careers, it’s so easy to point to the EXTERNAL factors holding us back: Our parents’ expectations, our lack of the right credentials, the job market…

But guess what? Most of the time, it’s our INTERNAL barriers that actually hold us back. It’s us saying, “I don’t have enough experience to get that job”…without ever applying for the job!

It’s us saying, “I don’t even know what my Dream Job is” (sigh, emo look, push bangs out of eyes)…without ever taking the time to learn how to discover what your Dream Job really is.

In fact, if I gave you the perfect job today, and even introduced you to the hiring manager, would you know how to get the job? Would you even apply?

To me, this is actually a GOOD THING.

It means that we can ignore the EXTERNAL and instead take CONTROL of our careers — the place where we spend 8+ hours a day!

In other words, most of the challenges in finding a Dream Job are OURS to master — not the external job market, not our lack of credentials. It’s internal, something we can master and control.

And one of the most powerful things I ever learned was turning a weakness into a strength.

For example, if you’ve ever worried about not knowing what your real Dream Job is, I look at that as a PLUS. Awesome — I get the blue-sky chance to explore a ton of industries and see what I love? Amazing.

Another example: If you’ve ever worried about being a job hopper, or not having the required 10 years’ experience…there are ways to get past both of those. I know because I’ve done it (beating out Stanford MBA students for an internship — I’ll tell you about that below).

Today, I want to show you an example of turning weaknesses into strengths from one of my friends, Julie.

A few years ago, she was terrified she’d never find her Dream Job.

She’d made some decisions that made her think of herself as a failure, like quitting law school. But she had high-expectation parents (Asian) and knew she wanted to do something meaningful…

…she just wasn’t sure what.

She took my advice. Just a few months later, she was able to land a 6-figure job with a great company — while still in her mid-twenties.

Listen to Julie explain how she stopped worrying about the EXTERNAL and took control of her career to find a Dream Job.

From resignation to control.

From delaying it until “some day” to taking action TODAY.

I LOVE IT!!!

What you can do for your Dream Job (which I can help you identify) and the narrative you craft is much more important than the bullet points on your resume.

Let me show you proof. Look at some of the IWT employees I hired. They are world-class at what they do — but their background has very little to do with why I hired them.

IWT world-class employees and their backgrounds

• A customer service rep worked in the hotel industry for 5 years
• A social media expert who majored in French and Anthropology
• A content manager who studied film and was a certified home inspector
• A customer retention specialist with a Bachelor’s in Music
• A food coach (yes we have a full-time food coach on staff) with an MS in Accounting

What does this tell you?

Even with your background — even if you’re a job hopper, live in podunkville, or don’t have the perfect experience — you can find your Dream Job.

I’m going to show you how.

This Monday, I’ll tell you the exact words you can use to make it happen, live.

Even if your boss has objections like:

• “We don’t have the budget for that”
• “We’ve never allowed employees to work from home before”
• “Nobody gets paid that much in this department”
• Or even if you decide you want to switch entire industries

So sign up now for Monday’s free presentation: Beyond 9-5: How to Build a Career You Love

Time: 9pm EST / 6pm PST (search for my time zone)
Date: Monday, March 23

This live event will not be recorded, so click the link to sign up.

P.S. In this presentation, I’ll also show you how to discover great companies you didn’t know existed — and how to beat out people with 10+ years’ more experience than you. It’s free to attend. Get in here.

Using judo techniques to find your Dream Job is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Tonight, I’m giving a live presentation on finding your Dream Job. I noticed you haven’t signed up yet, so before you decide, let’s try to put these 3 pieces together.

Data point #1: “45% of Americans say now’s a good time to find quality job, highest since May 2007.”

Data point #2: Look at this article on unemployment stories. The stories are heartbreaking. Then look at the first comment, where a hiring manager says they’ve had open positions for 2 years but cannot find ANYONE qualified enough to apply. (Other commenters don’t believe it at all. How can this be?? You’re not looking hard enough. Etc.) What is going on here?

Data point #3: A 29-year-old writes a depressing article about the difficulty of finding a job…but he is doing it all wrong.

I was never one of those people who wanted to focus on all the things WRONG with the world. I believe that there are tons of opportunities — if you take the right approach, work hard, and yes, with a little luck.

One of the most powerful ways to live a Rich Life is to get a Dream Job, a core part of your Tripod of Stability.

But this doesn’t just happen by accident. You don’t just get a Dream job dropped into your lap. IT TAKES PROACTIVE WORK.

Guy 1: Dreams about getting paid more, getting a prestigious job with tons of perks, being able to take his friends out for rounds of drinks without worrying if he can afford it. Does nothing about it except dreaming. 10 years later, doing the same work without much of a promotion. Thinks “that’s just the way it is.”

Guy 2: Dreams about getting paid more, is unapologetic about wanting to advance in his career. Decides to learn how the game is played at the highest levels. Stops with the negative self-talk (“It’s all about who you know, not what you know” + “I could never get that job because I don’t have the right experience”) and decides to master the SKILL of finding a Dream Job. 6 months later, gets his Dream Job, gets a $7,800 raise, and is on track for another promotion in 12 months.

Which one will you be?

How to find your Dream Job
It’s easy to fantasize about what we want and hope one day the stars align and our Dream Job falls into our lap. But beware of being Guy #1, the dreamer.

Tonight, at a special one-time only LIVE presentation, I’m going to teach you a better strategy for finding your Dream Job. Here’s what we’ll cover:

1) Go beyond the grueling 9-5 to find a job you LOVE
Forget scouring job boards and firing hundreds of resumes into the “Black Hole of Doom.” That strategy just doesn’t work. And it’s not what top employers want you to do. See that second article above — hiring managers are desperate to find people like you, but you have to approach them in the right way.

And this works. Even if you lack experience, didn’t go to the “right school,” or have no idea what your Dream Job is.

2) Get the pay, perks, and respect you deserve
Most people just take whatever salary and perks their company offers. They miss out on tens of thousands of dollars a year, weeks of vacation, and even the chance to work from home because they don’t know how to ask for more.

I’m going to teach you how to get every penny, benefit, and perk you deserve. Including word-for-word scripts.

The presentation is tonight, Monday 3/23, at 9pm Eastern (6pm Pacific).

Sign up here.

See you tonight!

No recordings, no lovey dovey messages, no kumbaya. Just the truth about what works.

P.S. Btw, want to see how well this works? Meet Candace, a Dream Job student who used my material to change industries and get a 25% raise.

Tonight — How to find your Dream Job webcast at 9pm is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

I’m always surprised when I hear that people on Reddit and YouTube don’t hate me.

They usually hate anyone who sells anything (“what a scam!!”) or anyone who talks about earning more vs. cutting back on the grains of rice in your dinner (“frugality is everything!”)

However, the one area where everybody loves IWT is my negotiation material. I swear to god, just look at these comments. I always tell you, we aim to make our free material better than anyone else’s paid stuff, and apparently it’s working. FINALLY!

But the Asian/Indian in me notices the one thing that could be better  — while these videos and posts have awesome material, they’re a little tough to find because they aren’t all in one place.

So we decided to make it MUCH easier for you to find our free material on getting a raise and boosting your income.

Today, we’re releasing a massive new Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise — as IWT’s gift to you.

Forget about scrimping and cutting back on $3 purchases. Let the frugalistas debate the best way to make your own vinegar and baking soda.

You can use the free material in this guide to get a multi-thousand-dollar raise…and boost every paycheck for life.

Let others worry about how they’re going to call Comcast and try to cancel one channel to save $2.42/year. (Sorry…I just can’t help it.)

When you get a raise, you’ll have the freedom to do what you love NOW — travel, spend extravagantly on things you love, pay off debt, save for the future, and buy drinks for friends.

And again, my team spent hundreds of hours to make this available — totally free to you. It’s a huge thank you for reading and following along for 10+ years.

By the way, look at the math. A one-time salary increase of $5,000, properly invested, adds up to over $1,300,000 by the time you retire.

This is the BIGGEST WIN most of us will ever get.

There’s just one problem: Nobody tells us how to get a raise, and most advice out there is terrible.

I’ve written a ton about how to negotiate your salary and posted a bunch of videos on my YouTube channel…

But I want you to have everything you need in one place — from some of my best systems and strategies to case studies and negotiation sessions I’ve never released to the public.

I created this in-depth guide because I’m sick of the completely worthless tips that masquerade as legitimate negotiation advice:

• “Be confident”
• “Look for a win-win solution”
• “Be sure to sit up straight!” omfg

ENOUGH! Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty, word-for-word specifics on how you can actually get your boss to WANT to pay you more.

Here’s what you’ll learn from my Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary:

1. Exactly how to get a raise or crush a salary negotiation (even if you’re inexperienced, nervous, or in a stagnant industry)
2. The impolite secret your boss doesn’t want you to know
3. Word-for-word scripts that multiply your success
4. The trick to dodging raise-killing boobytraps, including “Shut-you-down” phrases like “Maybe next year” and “The timing just isn’t right”
5. How to ooze confidence and instantly connect with your boss
6. A natural way to explain an employment gap in just 3 sentences — without sharing personal information or hurting chances of negotiating a great salary
7. How to stop being shy
8. In-depth negotiation case study: How Karen got a $10,000 raise when she was making $13/hour
9. An almost-automatic approach to set yourself up for raise after raise
10. The secret technique that makes bosses say “Yes!” to raises…even if they’ve said no before

“But Ramit,” you might say, “if this is free, why are you writing such a long blog post? It seems like you’re selling something. Otherwise, why would you spend so much time writing such a long post for something free?”

THE ANSWER IS THAT I FUCKING LOVE WRITING AND TELLING JOKES. WHERE ELSE DO I GET TO WRITE FRUGALISTA JOKES TO SO MANY PEOPLE AT ONCE?

Exactly. Now quit asking questions and enjoy this material. And just do what I say. When you get a raise, even using my free material, you’re happy, I’m happy, your disapproving parents are happy — everyone is happy.
Now stop reading this post and go check out the guide.

I’ve included everything from word-for-word scripts to my favorite negotiation teardowns and detailed case studies.

You’ll see actual students negotiate — and pinpoint where they go RIGHT and WRONG.

And you’ll know exactly what to say to get the salary you deserve.

Here for the first time — the Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary.

It’s all free. And it’s all yours. My gift to you.

New — my definitive guide to getting a raise and boosting your income is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

How would you plan your day if you had the flexibility of working from home?

Working from home lets my employee spend more time with her kids

A work-from-home job gives you FREEDOM. You could spend mornings at the gym, or with your kids. Afternoons meeting friends for lunch, or running errands when there’s no crowds, etc.

Compare to a 9-5 job where you…

• Spend your first waking hours cursing other drivers during your awful commute
• Come home late every day with barely enough energy to do anything besides watch TV
• Miss out on your kid’s school plays, Halloween parties, and field trips

It’s a no-brainer: working from home can make you MUCH happier.

So what are your options?

Search Craigslist for “work from home” jobs…where you’ll mostly find sales positions. (What if you HATE selling over the phone?)

Nobody wants these jobs

I promise there’s hope. A work-from-home job doesn’t mean you have to sink into the career abyss — it IS possible to work from home doing something you enjoy.

How to work from home

There are a couple ways to earn money from home:

1. Find a company that lets you work remotely
2. Earn money on your own

Finding a remote job with a great company is possible…but researching a place that’s the right fit, applying, interviewing, and waiting to hear back can take MONTHS.

On the other hand, you can earn money on your own by freelancing.

Why start with freelancing?

That’s easy:

• You already have skills for making money — even if you don’t realize it yet
• You get to do something you love
• You get to choose how much you work (during the summer if you want to spend more weekdays at the beach, you can work less)

Yeah, that sounds good, but if you’re like most people, your first reaction is doubt.

• “I don’t have any skills that will make me money”
• “I need all my ‘ducks in a row’ before I start”
• “I don’t want to put all this time into something…only to have it fail”
• “I have absolutely no idea how to get started”

There’s good news: you CAN freelance and make money from home. Even if you’re not technical…or don’t want to take a sales job.

Let me show you what I mean.

3 successful people who have work from home jobs

Meet Bill — the dad of 2 young kids — who made $40,000 in 90 days

Bill made $40,000 in 3 months freelancing from home

Who: Bill S.
What: Business coach and web designer
Background: Bill missed out on a job he thought he was a shoo-in for. He had 2 kids and a wife to support (and a mortgage). His first thought was, “crap, I really need to do something.” He decided to give freelancing a try.
Results: $40,000 in 90 days

“I closed just under $40,000 in about 90 days…it felt great…It was a new direction, afforded us a lot more freedom.” -Bill

I put together a special page to show you how Bill was able to freelance successfully.

Click here for the step-by-step system Bill used to find his first profitable idea and work from home.

Meet Kirin, who overcame crippling self-doubt to make $1,000/month

Kirin learned to make $1,000+/month teaching cello from home.

Who: Kirin M.
What: Cello music teacher
Background: Shortly after Kirin graduated music school she moved to NYC — and she had no idea how to make ends meet. After she found a system to identify her profitable skills, she realized she could make money teaching cello. Within a few months, Kirin was making money working from home.
Results: $1,000+/month

“I feel confident that in the next year or so I’ll have transitioned this into my full-time career.” -Kirin

I want to show you how you can take an idea and make money — whether you’re a web developer, musician (like Kirin), or something else.

Click here to access to my Idea Generator Tool and start making money from home.

Meet Marc, the consultant who went from barely scraping by…to making $114,236

Marc made $114,236 (so far) working from home.

Who: Marc A.
What: Marketing Consultant
Background: Marc was sick of being at the bottom of the barrel — so he decided to focus on freelancing. When he learned how to select the right market, he was able to charge premium prices. Now, Marc is making a living doing something he loves.
Results: $114,236

“I don’t even look on job boards anymore, I’m starting to get clients on referral.” -Marc

I want to show you how Marc was able to start working from home to make $114,236.

Click here and I’ll show you the “Briefcase” Technique. You can use this strategy to charge top prices in freelancing.

* * *

Today, I showed you 3 of my students who have successful work-from-home jobs…

• Bill, the father of 2 who made $40,000 in 90 days
• Kirin, the cello instructor who overcame self-doubt and and earns $1,000+/month
• Marc, the marketing consultant who went from barely scraping by to making $114,236

If they can do it, so can you.

Click here and I’ll show you how to go from “I don’t have an idea” (or, “I have too many ideas”) to making $1,000+ each month working from home.

Work from home jobs is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

You’ve heard me say it before. A Rich Life is about more than just money.

This month on the IWT blog, we covered how to travel more, painlessly save money, stay motivated, select the perfect TV show to watch, and raise your prices — all part of a Rich Life.

May was a busy month for IWT so today, I’m going to highlight some of the best posts in case you missed out.

Post of the month

Travel around the world (the math to actually make it happen)

With summer right around the corner and vacation on a lot of your minds, I asked “What’s your dream vacation?” Then, I did the math to show you exactly what it would take for you to have your a dream vacation (with examples) this year. This can be applied to ANY goal — check out the 150+ comments for examples of dreams becoming a reality.

On the personal front, here’s what I’ve been up to lately

I took a class on making Mad Men Cocktails:

Let’s just say I have a new respect for bartenders, and the drinks were awesome. Speaking of drinks, I got to meet up with Steve Kamb, the founder of NerdFitness, for a couple rounds in NYC.

And earlier this month, I wished a very special Happy Mother’s Day to my mom. After raising my siblings and me AND teaching elementary students, my mom will finally retire as a teacher this year. She’s earned it. And I’m thankful every day for what she’s taught me.

Just like my mom is proud of me, I’m proud of YOU, my students. A couple of of my Zero To Launch graduates, Felicia and Bushra were both recently featured in Business Insider here and here. Nicely done!

Happening on the blog

My “must-see” on TV list
I shared 5 of my favorite TV shows & movies. What? You’re surprised Millionaire Matchmaker made it on my list? Don’t judge — some of yours were equally as trashy.

How to make money online (w/ step-by-step instructions)
This free step-by-step guide on how to create a successful online business and make money online is the single, best free resource on the topic of online business I’ve put together so far.

How to work from home
Working from home is a dream many of us have — and it’s more realistic than you think. I show you exactly how to find an at-home job that makes real money (no MLM scams or sales jobs needed).

3 counterintuitive secrets about earning more
One of the first things we ask ourselves when we want earn more money is, “What would anyone pay me for?” Find simple ideas that can generate over $50,000/year and find clients that WANT to pay you.

How to charge for something you love to do
Yes, business is work. But it should also be FUN. If it’s not, then what’s the point? Learn how to find premium clients even in “low-paying” fields in this 90-minute interview with photographer Chase Jarvis.

How to motivate yourself
Most of the stuff motivational “experts” teach you is total BS. I dig into the truth behind how motivation actually works. Then, we go into the tactics that’ll help you get — and STAY — motivated so you can accomplish your goals.

Save $1,000 Challenge
This month, 10,000+ people signed up to take the Save $1,000 in a Week Challenge. It’s closed now, but if you sign up, I’ll let you know next time it opens up.

Many people saved hundreds of dollars in just the first few hours.

She saved almost $700 on the first day!

You can see all the success stories of people who paid themselves an extra grand (or more) this month on the Facebook event page or hashtag #save1000 on Twitter.

From the IWT Facebook Community

A sad lesson in winning
Find out the brutal truth little Ramit learned after winning the spelling bee.

The debate got a little heated
50+ commenters answered when I asked how best to respond to a question I get almost daily from readers.

How did things go for you this month? Brag about your biggest wins in the comments below.

May was awesome, but we have even more exciting things coming your way in June, including a new, HUGE way we’ll be giving back to the community — like nothing we’ve ever done before.

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The news from IWT: May 2015 is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

How many times have you heard one of these phrases:

• “You should just be happy with what you have”
• “There’s people that have it worse that you”
• “Count your blessings!”

Problem solved, right?

Actually, trite advice like this doesn’t make us happy. Instead we just feel guilty about wanting to be happier. Like somehow wanting more means that we don’t appreciate what we have.

I’m here to tell you that it’s ok to want more!

Being unhappy in one area of our life can permeate everything else.

The good news is, we can improve our happiness. We’re not going to “manifest” happiness or write lists of the good things in our lives.

Instead, we’re going to focus on mastering the “Big 3” of happiness. Focusing on one (or all) of these can drastically improve our outlook and overall happiness.

1. Our psychology
2. Our careers
3. Our relationships

PSYCHOLOGY: Use your negative emotions as “tells”

We’re usually happy when our actions are aligned with are values. In other words, when what we do lines up with what we want?

But what if we don’t know what we want?

Surprisingly, looking at our negative emotions can can uncover what will make us truly happy. Here’s two emotions that can become “tells” for happiness:

1. Jealousy. When we deeply envy someone, it’s often an indication that something’s missing in our own lives. I’m not talking about the mild jealousy of people making more money. I mean the deep envy that eats us up inside. Think about what you’re jealous of. Is it their job? The fact that they travel? Listening to jealousy can help you prioritize changes that will make you happy.
2. Guilt. When we feel guilty, it’s often because our actions clash with our values. One way to recognize guilt is through our “white lies.” Have you ever met someone and lied about your job, your hobbies, or something else? These seemingly meaningless fibs indicate that there’s something in our life that we wish were different.

My friend Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home shared how to use these negative emotions to take action in your life:

(For even more of this exclusive interview with Gretchen Rubin, click here)

After we recognize these emotions, we have two real options:

1. Admit that we want something else, and change our behavior

OR

2. Rationalize, rationalize, rationalize

Which do you think we do? Check out these common rationalizations:

• “I’ll think about this later”
• “I’m just not that type of person who” (is fit, is upbeat and positive, starts a business, goes back to grad school, works from home on Fridays, etc)
• “I’ll probably be just as unhappy doing X”

The fact is, it’s easier to rationalize — and change nothing — than to try something different. But if we really want to be happy, we have to make a change.

A challenge for you: For the next 24 hours, notice any white lies you tell and anybody you feel envious of. Write them down.

It’s uncomfortable to do this at first. But, eventually, if we can stop telling these lies to ourselves over time — by doing what we REALLY want to do — we’ll be much closer to true happiness. It starts with an awareness of what we’re lying about before we can make that change. Then we start adding the things we really want into life.

CAREERS: Find work you love

How many times have you come home from work and just “vegged out.”

For a lot of us, we spend hours every evening either trying to “decompress” from a long day. Or be waste them venting and complaining.

We know that this isn’t contributing to our happiness, but what can we do?

If you can find a Dream Job that challenges you, teaches you great skills, and surrounds you with amazing people, the impact on every area of your life would be huge.

Think about it: You spend 8+ hours a day at work. Maybe more time than you spend at home.

A Dream Job doesn’t have to be something reserved for a lucky few. You can have a rewarding and fulfilling career — even if you don’t know what that looks like yet.

Common career advice is to “find your passion.” How do you do that? What if you don’t know what your passion is? What if you have many “passions”?

In this short video, I’ll show you why asking about passion is the wrong question, and what to do instead:

A challenge for you: If you’re not completely happy with the work you do, I’d like you to find one person who already has a job that you think you’d love and email them (using this script). Ask them out to coffee. Find out if this field is something you actually want to pursue.

You’ll see very quickly that people really do WANT TO HELP YOU — if you approach them in the right way. And it’s a lot fun to learn from them and an easy way to put yourself on the fast track for success, especially if it’s something you want to do long-term.

RELATIONSHIPS: Meet and spend time with the RIGHT people for you

One of the worst feelings is waiting around on a Friday night, hoping someone will text you with something to do.

I did this for years. It was especially disheartening when I moved to New York City — a city with an awesome nightlife and tons of things to do.

Yet where was I? Sitting in my room watching Netflix instead of out having fun.

I finally realized I needed to be proactive about my relationships if I was going to be in control of my own happiness and have amazing friends.

We all need to be spending time with RIGHT people, who challenge us to try new things and who we can have fun with.

Otherwise we’ll feel bored and stuck doing the same old things year after year.

But where do we find them? And what do you actually say when you meet them?

To help you get the most out of your relationships, I put together a free conversation guide, filled with word-for-word scripts you can try out. This will help you to meet new people, make lasting friends, and have more fun in your relationships. That’s a great formula for lasting happiness.

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P.S. IWT is now on Pinterest! It’s the go-to place for everything that can contribute toward your Rich Life. If you want our favorite links around travel, food, fitness, business, or even our favorite life hacks, check out the IWT Pinterest board here.

How to be happy is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Every time you walk into an interview, there’s an invisible game being played around you.

Do you know what it is?

You’re sitting across from the hiring manager. They ask “Do you have any questions for me?”

Based on your response — before the interview even ends — hiring managers instantly know which candidates will be wildly successful and get the job, and which ones to nix and instantly disqualify.

(And yes, this includes you, too.)

By knowing the RIGHT questions to ask during your interview, you position yourself as an exceptional candidate. You’re taking the extra step that 99% of other people never do, which is to actually consider how you should interview the hiring manager.

Most people either say “nah, no questions — thank you though…” or they blurt out the first question that pops into their mind (“What is the salary range for this job?”)

I’m going to show you the difference between GOOD and BAD interview questions to ask. We’ll start with the bad questions so you know what to avoid. Then I’ll give you the word-for-word scripts for good questions that will drastically improve your chances of landing the job

BAD QUESTION #1: “What’s the salary for this position?”

This question is a total turn off. Interviewers hate being asked about compensation or benefits up front.

Top performers do their research and know what a position should pay before even walking into the room.

Also this information is only applicable to people that are hired — not someone just interviewing for the job. So there’s no point in talking about salary at this stage. It’s like a guy asking a girl to marry him…on the first date.

Sure, salary is important. But it’s better to spend the time upfront focusing on the tasks you’ll perform, responsibilities you’ll have, and how you can make a strong contribution to the team.

BAD QUESTION #2: “What does your company do?”

If a quick Google search can answer your question better and faster than the interviewer, DO NOT ask it.

It instantly communicates three things: (1) “I don’t care.” (2) “I did zero research.” (3) “I might just do the same if I get hired.”

The interview is won before you walk into the room. If you’re unprepared, you’ll never get the job.

BAD QUESTION #3: Asking NO questions

Counterintuitively, not asking ANY questions can be worse than asking bad questions. If you remain silent and robotically only answer the questions you’re asked, your resume will be tossed into the “Do Not Hire” pile right away.

Interviews are supposed to be a two-way street. If you don’t engage with the interviewer in a meaningful way — by asking them questions — you won’t be memorable when you walk out the door.

As frustrating as this can be, hiring managers are people, too. And people hire people they like and get along with. So if you don’t make a connection, there’s no chance you’ll get a call back.

But there’s more to interviewing than just knowing what to avoid. You also need to know makes a great question so you can stand out.

Great questions to ask (that show you deserve the job)

Let’s breakdown the actual questions you can use to blow away the competition, get the job, and get paid what you deserve (no questions asked).

First, I’ll give you the word-for-word questions to ask, then we’ll dive into why each question works.

Good question #1

“From my conversations with NAME, I know some of the biggest challenges with this job are X, Y, and Z. What are some of the approaches you’ve used in the past to tackle them and what did you like or not like about them?”

Why this works: It’s obvious this applicant came to play and that they’re very familiar with the position’s demands. Instead of coming in sounding like a total newbie to the role, this question sounds polished, researched, and crisp.

This type of question signals to the interviewer that you’re someone they can bring in, and, on day one, you’ll get to work immediately. Rather than being someone who needs their hand held and to be trained for hours on end.

This makes the decision a no-brainer for the hiring manager, which is exactly what you want. They don’t want to waste resources on a candidates that can MAYBE do the job. They want someone that knows what they’re doing to come in and get things done.

Good question #2

“I read online that you recently won the award for ‘Top X Places to Work.’ What are some of the ways the company continues to set the bar in the industry?”

Why this works: Notice what just happened in that question. If you ask it, you’re pulling out research you’ve done and showing that you’re up-to-speed on recent developments.

Rather than coming across as a random person who’s maybe (kind of) interested in the role, you’re showing that you’re following along with the company’s achievements and are genuinely curious about what’s ahead.

This is vastly different than most people’s approach. Most people barely understand the requirements of a job, much less know what’s going on with the company at large.

Good question #3

“What metrics are most important to you when measuring the success of a candidate?”

Why this works: When you ask this question, the interviewer is basically giving you all the ammunition you need to seal the deal on a job offer.

When they tell you the metrics they’ll be looking for, they’re also telling you EXACTLY what they want in a new hire.

If you want to be a successful applicant, you can then position your skillset as a perfect fit for the role and the success they described.

Great interviewing in action: Watch a live interview Q&A teardown

Knowing how to craft the perfect questions — and what questions to never ask — is a great start to becoming a world-class interviewer.

But actually being able to ask these questions (and answer the interviewer’s questions) live and  under pressure is a whole other ballgame.

Interviewing requires practice, but it also helps to see live interviews in action. That way nothing catches us off guard.

Sign up below to watch as I do a live interview teardown with real interview questions and answers.

I’ll show you what’s working, what needs improvement, and give you hidden insights that you could never catch on your own.

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Questions to never ask your interviewer — and what you should ask instead is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Congratulations! It took a lot of work and preparation, but you landed the interview and separated yourself from the others by…

• Using a warm connection to earn a few minutes of time.
• Showing all the telltale signs of being a perfect candidate.
• Crafting VIP marketing materials and resumes that were so good this company felt compelled to invite you.

Now the game REALLY begins. Why?

Because the job interview is where you win or lose the offer.

Even the world’s best resume and cover letter won’t save you if you commit common, critical mistakes. The REAL way to win an interview is by taking just a few extra steps before it even starts so you can craft the perfect answers, display high levels of competence, and get the job every time.

Bonus: Keep reading to get my “3 Biggest Interviewing Mistakes” videos sent straight to your inbox. Get access to the FREE video series now.

Here are three of my best interview tips to get you started.

Interview Tip #1: Hack the interviewer’s state of mind

To prepare for your interview, think about what the interviewer is looking for.

Most candidates, however, only think about themselves — they get so wrapped up in their own thoughts, concerns, and abilities (aka “the I, I, I syndrome”) and forget what the interviewer actually wants in the perfect candidate.

Instead of focusing on ourselves, take a minute to ask yourself:

• What’s their state of mind?
• What are they looking for?
• What does the ideal candidate look like and say in their eyes?

Then, dig deeper and control the conversation by using three tricks to hack into the interviewer’s mind.

Interview Mind Hack #1: Interviewers have jobs, too

“Well duh,” you might say. “How is THAT important?”

Because they want to get back to work!

Interviewers don’t want to waste their day talking to boring candidates; they want to check the box that says, “Hired,” and get back to work to finish their own projects.

By understanding this reality, you can transform the entire feel of the conversation.

• Instead of seeing it as an interrogation, you’ll sound like a friend who’s just asking if you can help
• Instead of putting them on a pedestal, you’ll see them as a future colleague
• Instead of spending the entire time talking, you’ll turn the interview into a dialogue and mix in some questions

Remember: they’re looking to hire someone and really want you to succeed because it’s in their best interest.

Interview Mind Hack #2: It’s not just your skills

What do potential employers really want when they bring you in for an interview?

I’ll give you a hint: It’s not “experience.”

If they were looking for the most experienced person, they could simply read resumes and test people.

But interviews don’t ONLY assess your skills: They also gauge your behavior.

Understanding this gives you a huge advantage because you can prepare by considering the following things:

• What are the behaviors and personality traits that this position requires? For example: salespeople are friendly and personable
• What type of language would someone in this role understand and use? For example: do you know what Ruby on Rails means? SEO? ROI?
• What nonverbal cues do I want to send before I even walk into the room?  For example: How does someone in this position dress? Suit? Dress? Polos?

When used correctly, you can use these cues to instantly and subtly signal to the interviewer that you are a high-value candidate and vastly improve your chances of receiving an offer every time.

Interview Mind Hack #3: Do your homework

Finally, do research on your interviewer on sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Google.

The goal is NOT to stalk them or memorize everything they’ve ever done. Instead, it’s to learn:

• Their background (What schools did they go to? What clubs have they been a part of?)
• Their position with the company (Are they in a new role? Were they recently promoted?)
• Common interests you both share (Are they into volunteer work, sports, hobbies, etc?)

With these details, you can spark deeper discussions and stand out by subtly bringing them up during the interview — you’ll position yourself as someone who goes the extra mile, who’s proactive, and who cares. What’s the result?

A great job offer.

Once you’ve taken these steps to go deep into your interviewer’s mind, it’s time for final interview preparations and practicing how to answer tough interview questions.

Interview Tip #2: The 3 step method to give the “perfect response” (to even toughest interview questions)

Use these three steps to always give a great answer to any interview question:

“Perfect Response” Step 1: Find the question behind the question

Let’s take a cue from the world of dating and analyze this common question:

“Does this make me look fat?”

 
How would you answer a question like this? What is she really asking?

This is not just about the fit on a pair of jeans. She’s asking, “Do I feel secure with the way I look? Do you still love me?”

As you can see, the question goes far deeper than it appears on the surface. This same principle is true in interviews.

When someone asks you, “Can you tell me a little about yourself?” it seems simple and very straightforward, but the reality is, “tell me about yourself” has dozens of questions behind the question.

A great way to uncover these hidden questions is to think:

• What is their concern?
• What other information does this question give them?
• Are they testing to see if I’m familiar with the job’s responsibilities?
• Do they just want to see how I handle vague questions?

Always take time to pause and think about what they want. If you jump into answering their question or trying to sound good, you can miss what’s really being asked.

Always look for the question behind the question

 
Tip on how to use this in your interview: Come up with a list of 10 potential interview questions. Run them through the criteria above to uncover the hidden meaning behind what the interviewer could really be asking. Make sure to write this down before moving on.

“Perfect Response” Step 2: Find the plain English answer

If we try too hard to sound smart and professional, we end up sounding like idiots: “Yes, the occupation filled me with immense joy as I interacted with my supervisor on a day-to-day basis to execute the financial…”

HUH?

A better strategy is to first translate what we’re trying to say into to a plain English answer. Then, if our response is compelling, we can polish the exact language to make the answer interview-worthy.

Imagine the interviewer asks “Why do you want this job?”

Before blurting out something about how you really “love their corporate values” or how you’re “so passionate” about the job, come up with a plain English response.

Here are some real reasons you might want to work at Company X:

• The company does great work.
• There a lot of smart people here.
• I think I can do a good job.

So here’s what your answer might look like in plain English:

“I want to work here because the company does great work, there are a lot of smart people, and I think I can do a good job.”

Tip on how to use this in your interview: With the 10 questions you deconstructed earlier, come up with your plain English responses to them. Be sure to also address the question behind the question.

At this point, we’re not concerned about structure and sounding great. We just want to get a response on the page.

That plain English answer is already better than most. Now, take it to the next level by using the third and final step.

“Perfect Response” Step 3: Polish to perfection.

The way to polish your plain English response to perfection is to add a compelling story.

A story, when told well, is the easiest way to decommoditize an answer and elevate yourself in the eyes of the interviewer.

Here’s how to do it:

• Start with a broad opening
  Set the stage with some high-level background to let the interviewer know what you’re going to talk about before diving into the details.

  For example: “I want to work at ACME Company for three key reasons. First, you’re doing amazing, life-changing work in the field of x. Second, I’m confident I can make a huge contribution, given my experience in y. And third, you have some of the smartest people in the world working for you. That really excites me from an intellectual perspective.”

• Then, get really specific
  Now, transition into a short story with only the relevant details.

  For example: “Working with the smartest people is a big deal for me. You’ll notice that I have a history of actively seeking out and working with the top people in my field, such as John Smith and Jane Doe, who really pushed me to accomplish z.”

• Highlight the important takeaways
  Lastly, get broad again and highlight the key takeaways.

  For example: “The bottom line, I thrive in environments filled with smart, ambitious people, and that’s why I’d love to be a part of the ACME team.”

Notice how different this is from what most people say in interviews: It’s crisp and concise with no fluff and packed with details that are engaging and impressive.

Filter your responses to common interview questions through this step-by-step system and you’ll give the perfect answer every time.

Interview Tip #3: Avoid these deadly interview mistakes

You’ve got the interview, you’ve done your research, and you have your amazing answers — you’re almost there.

Don’t blow the whole thing by committing one of the three biggest interviewing mistakes.

You could do everything above correctly and still get a NO if you make an error that lands you into the “Do Not Hire” pile.

To make sure that doesn’t happen, I put together more interview tips in my three free videos on “The 3 Biggest Interviewing Mistakes” for you. Avoiding these costly blunders is how you set yourself apart from other candidates and get the job of your dreams.

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3 tips to dominate your job interview and give the perfect answers is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Do you know what’s better than memorizing a long list of interview questions you might be asked?

Answer: Learning how to craft the perfect interview response to any question. That way no matter what you’re asked, you’re never caught off-guard.

Today, I’m going to show you a framework that guarantees you always give a compelling response to ANY interview question. Then I’ll show you how to apply this framework to the top three toughest questions so you know exactly how to respond.

How to craft the perfect response (no matter what the question is)

Storytelling is the secret to interviewing. Stories give your answers a structure that guarantees a great response.

If you’re not telling stories and creating a narrative for yourself, there’s nothing memorable that makes you stand out from the thousands of other applicants for the job.

But how do you tell a captivating story? How do you build rapport with the hiring manager while still letting your personality shine through? What do you do if you’re quiet and cerebral? What if you hate talking about yourself?

You can actually learn how to tell great stories. It’s a skill that I’ve shown thousands of people how to do.

In fact, I brought one of my students into my studio for a session to help her learn this skill (with just a few hours of practice).

Watch carefully as I show her how to improve her answers by adding a personal story to her response:

Key things you’ll learn:

• The one thing hiring managers LOVE hearing in your responses (0:51)
• Real before and after questions and answers  — how to make your answers more powerful with just a few tweaks (1:10)
• Why your personality is more important than your technical skills (3:29)

Now, let’s look at this storytelling framework in action with real interview questions and answers.

The 3 toughest interview questions and how to answer them

Question #1: “Can you tell me about your work history?”

What average candidates say: “Ummm, well I started working at A Company doing some basic marketing and customer relations stuff. Then I worked at B Company as a product marketing manager. I was passionate and liked the corporate values there. Now, I’m at C Company, and I’m doing social media marketing for them.”

What’s wrong with this response? Other than being really poorly worded, it doesn’t create a story at all. It’s more like reading facts off of a page. In fact, it’s insulting to the hiring manager because they ALREADY know these things — they have your resume in front of them, which covers all of that.

Here’s a better response:

“If you look at my work experience, there are 3 things that stand out.

First, I have experience with many areas of marketing, including social media, product marketing, and customer relationship management.

Second, I’ve always been fascinated by the analytical side of marketing, which is why I chose to study this in college. My recent social media campaign experience has really allowed that passion to flourish.

Finally, I’ve always wanted to take my skills to a larger stage, which is why I moved from A Company, which was a startup, to B Company, which is more established. Now, I’m excited to be here talking with you today because of those transitions and how they fit so nicely with your needs around this position.”

Why this works: Rather than walking the hiring manager through your resume chronologically, you’re highlighting the key strengths of your background and creating a story, showing growth. If you’ve done your pre-interview homework, you’ll know what aspects are most important from your background to highlight.

(In the above example, we highlighted the analytical side of marketing because that’s what the hiring manager was looking for.)

Question #2: “What’s your biggest weakness?”

What average candidates say: “My biggest weakness is definitely that I work WAY too hard, and I struggle with perfectionism.”

What’s wrong with this response? It’s too negative. And the one potential positive — that they’re a perfectionist — is just glossed over. This response is plain boring, and it’s close to the same thing that 99% of people will say.

Here’s a better response:

“That’s a great question, and it’s something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. What I’ve found is that the majority of my career was spent working for one industry. In many ways, that can limit my perspective.

But, of course, I’ve worked in a variety of departments and been in a several different positions. In fact, I was promoted faster than anyone else to lead up new projects. But I’m ready to take what I’ve learned from this one industry to a different culture and new industry, and that’s why I’m here today.”

Why this works: Candidates typically hate this question because it’s a virtual minefield of traps and potential ways to misspeak.

If you’re too candid with your answer, you risk revealing too much. But if your answer is total BS, that’s just setting you up for even bigger failures later on because you won’t live up to the hype.

This is where the storytelling comes into play. You want to show a transformation or journey here.
The whole point of even telling them something negative about yourself is to spin it into a positive. You do this by either showing them that you’ve learned something really valuable from this negative trait or that this negative thing has helped you grow in some way.

Question #3: “Have you ever faced a challenge when working with a coworker?”

What average candidates say: “You know, once I did have a pretty big a disagreement with one of my coworkers. In the end, though, we worked things out.”

What’s wrong with this response? It’s okay if you guessed everything. Not only does it make the person look like they don’t get along with people at work, but also it makes it seem like they didn’t really learn anything in the process.

Here’s a better response:

“I once came across a situation when I had some new ideas for a project. My previous employer had been working on this for months. One of my team leaders really liked the ideas I had, but my immediate boss kept shooting them down. I didn’t know how to proceed at first and it was a little frustrating. But I decided to look deeper into the situation to see what was actually causing the problem. I realized it was because my plans would impact my boss’s work in a negative way. I reached out to him directly, apologized for the oversight, and promised to keep him in the loop in the future. We haven’t had an issue since.”

Why this works: This answer shows that the candidate was in control of the situation the entire time.

Also, it’s really important to notice how the story unfolds and how the specific problem was addressed. Hiring managers want to see the details, and the more specific you can get with what you learned, the more memorable you’ll be when it comes time for a callback.

Live interview teardowns

Knowing how to craft the perfect answer is one thing, but actually giving it live under pressure is a whole other ballgame.

It requires both practice and seeing live interviews in action. Seeing the mistakes others make and the great answers they give will help you in your own preparation. So you’ll have a better chance of blowing hiring managers away in your interviews.

Enter your email below and you’ll get access to a free video where I coach one of my students on how to answer real interview questions.

You’ll see exactly what works, what needs improvement, and get hidden insights for how to crush your interviews — using interview techniques I used to land top job offers from Google, Intuit, Bain Capital, and more.

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How to craft perfect answers to any interview question is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Alright, you’re finished with the interview.

You might think the offer is out of your hands at this point. But there is one crucial step left: the thank you email.

In this article, I’ll show you how to write the perfect thank you email, as well as handle common thank you email questions that pop-up.

Why thank you emails work (and why it’s crucial)

Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes. You just finished interviewing dozens of candidates.

Most people you immediately nixed because they did nothing to stand out. Now you’re left with two potential candidates. Each one is qualified so you’re not sure who to go with.

Before the day ends you get an email from one of the candidates. He thanks you for your time and reaffirms his interest in the position. The other candidate hasn’t said a thing.

Who suddenly has the edge…with a single, short email?

Sending a thank you email to the person who interviewed you isn’t just a nice gesture. It shows you’re a professional and helps them feel more confident about hiring you. This one email can make you the clear favorite over those who don’t take this extra step.

If you DON’T send a thank you email, the hiring manager:

• May assume you don’t want the job
• May think you’re disorganized and forgot to follow up
• May just forget about you

Sending that email is a no-brainer.

If you’re not sure exactly what to say, below are templates and word-for-word scripts you can use for sending a thank you email after the interview. You’ll also see scripts for what to say if you don’t hear back, along with advice on when to send these emails out.

Sending a personalized thank you email (with word-for-word scripts you can use)

If you didn’t have the hiring manager’s contact information before the interview, they’ll most likely give it to you before you leave. Use that and send your thank you email directly to the person who interviewed you.

Here’s exactly what to say in your thank you email:

Three important things to note here:

1. There’s nothing fancy about this. A long follow-up email will make the hiring manager’s eyes glaze over. And may even make you look desperate.
2. You want to be very specific. When you say “I especially enjoyed talking about [XYZ]” be sure to go into specific details of what you talked about. Details will help make you memorable and help you make a strong, lasting impression.
3. Send the thank you email as quickly as possible. I recommend sending the thank you email within 2 hours of the interview if you can. Not only does this show you’re excited about the job, it’ll be easier to write the email with the details fresh in your mind.

Advanced tip: Really advanced people have these emails ready to go (using the cut and paste template from above) before they even go to the interview. That way they can go to their drafts folder, fill in some information, and hit send the moment they get home.

What if you don’t know who to email?

Sometimes you’ll leave the interview without any contact information. In that case, you can send an email to the main contact (this could be a secretary, HR rep, or whoever helped you set the interview up) and say:

You should have no trouble getting their contact info this way. Some people might think this is a little weird or strange to do. But employers LOVE it. This shows you’re proactive and excited about the job.

What to do when you don’t hear back

If you don’t hear back from them immediately, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, that’s expected.

It takes time to hire someone. There’s more going on behind the scenes than most people realize. So wait a few days and if you still haven’t heard back, send a gentle follow-up to nudge them along.

Here’s the exact script you’ll want to use:

Notice how this email is short and gets right to the point. It uses a light touch but lets them know you’re still interested.

(NOTE: Do not try to make the person feel guilty for not getting back to you. Not only does that not work, it can do more harm than good. Follow the script above and keep the communication positive.)

If you still don’t hear anything you can send a final follow-up email one week later. To do this, reply to the previous email you sent and say:

At this point, if they’re interested, they’ll get back to you — guaranteed.

If you don’t hear back it’s safe to assume they’ve gone with someone else. Which is a sign that your interview did not go as well as it could have.

But don’t worry, I have plenty of material and proven techniques you can use to make sure you crush your next interview.

In fact, the free video below will help you interview better than 99% of the people out there.

In this free video you’ll learn:

• How to instantly signal to the hiring manager that you deserve the job
• What to say if you get a tough interview question (including word-for-word scripts)
• How to be seen as a top candidate — even if you don’t have tons of experience

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How to send the perfect thank you email after your interview is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Q: How do most people choose a career?

A: They don’t. They stumble into a job after college, take whatever they can get, then follow one of the few paths available from that random job.

No wonder most people are frustrated in their careers.

Of course, if you ask for advice on how to choose a new or better career, you don’t get much help:

• “Follow your passions!”
• “Network with people.”
• “You’re lucky to have ANY job in this economy — so just take what you can get.”

There is a better way. My Dream Job system lets you explore all your interests to see what you really like, then it helps you find career paths built on those interests.

Sound like a pipe dream? For the people who take the random approach, it definitely is.

But for the thousands of people I’ve helped do this over the last 10 years, it’s a reality.

Here’s how you can get the same results and find the career that’s right for you in just a few simple steps.

Window shop your way to a dream career

Try this: Google “Which career is right for me?” and you’ll probably get results like this:

Do you really think there is a magical test that can tell you exactly what career you should have? Three clicks and then, “Oh, I’m supposed to be an orchestra conductor!” Gimme a break.

The smarter approach is to explore ALL the careers you’re interested in, test each to see if you’d really enjoy doing them, and move on to other jobs if they’re not a good fit.

It’s kind of like window shopping at a mall. When you’re window shopping, a shirt or pair of jeans may catch your attention. You might even try them on, but you wouldn’t just pick any random thing off the rack and say “I guess I’ll wear this for the next 10 years.”

That would be insane!

Instead, you go through these steps:

1. Get curious to know more (Try it on, feel the fabric, look at different colors, etc.)
2. Research other options and read reviews online (Find other brands and look at Amazon reviews)
3. Talk with your friends to see if you should buy this or not (“What do you think of this?”)

Then, AFTER you’ve gone through all these steps, you would make a decision and feel confident in your choice.

Maybe you wouldn’t go through all of those steps for a pair of jeans. But you would for a car or major appliance. The bigger the decision, the more “window shopping” you need to do.

See how this relates to choosing a career?

Turns out, it follows a very similar process:

1. Get curious about potential jobs (whatever interests you or grabs your attention)
2. Do deep research to see if you’re really interested in this (to make sure it’s something you’d enjoy)
3. Talk to people who have worked in that field to get their advice and insights

This totally reframes the way most people search for a career. It also becomes a lot more FUN.

If you find that you love a career, great. If you don’t, you have a process in place to find what you do truly love.

This is how you turn the vague and confusing question of “What should I do with my life?” into a system that guarantees you do what you love. So let’s dive right in.

Step 1: Find your (potential) Dream Job using the Cloud Technique

One of the most daunting parts of choosing a career is picking just ONE job…that you’re supposed to do for the rest of your life.

• “What if I decide that I hate doing X? Can I ever do something else?”
• “What if I want to change careers in a few years? What do I do then?”
• “What if I like to do LOTS of things and can’t decide where to focus?”

All of these “what ifs” make it tough to say yes to any career. You can skip past these doubts with this technique I’ve taught to thousands of my students. Just start by listing ALL the careers and job titles you might be interested in.

Anything you want to explore, just write it down.

• Think copywriting sounds fun? Add it to your list.
• You can imagine yourself as a marketing director? List it out.
• Know someone that does inside sales and what they do sounds cool? Put it on the page.
• Toyed with the idea of being a baker? Nothing is too left field. Write it down.

I call this the Cloud Technique because your options are as open as the sky.

This lets you say “Yes” to EVERYTHING you’re curious about instead of constantly saying “No, I can’t do that because…”

Where should your ideas come from? Here are a few career brainstorming tips:

1. List any careers or job titles that caught your attention in the past.
2. Go to LinkedIn or another job listing site and read job descriptions. If anything catches your eye or seems like it’d be fun to do, add that to your list of potential ideas.
3. Think about the skills you already have or ones you’d like to develop. Then, search for jobs that involve those skills. For example, do you really like design and being creative? See what jobs require those skills by searching online. Put these options on your list of potential careers as well.

I’ll show you how to filter these ideas down in the next few steps. For now, it’s best to have a big list of potential careers to choose from. You can move on and start to refine your list once you have at least 10 job titles written down.

Step 2: How to know if a job is really right for you

Once you’ve tentatively selected a few job titles, it’s time to do some deep research. This is where you go from “Hmm…sounds interesting” to truly understanding what the job is about.

Remember: you don’t have to become 100% knowledgeable about these roles… just yet. You just want to learn as much as you need to see if a job is right for you.

Let’s use the job title of “engineer” as an example of what you’ll want to look for.

The first thing, you’ll want to do is get a bird’s eye view of the job:

• What do engineers actually do?
• What are the different types of engineers out there (petroleum, electrical, civil…)?
• What kinds of companies do they work for?

You can find this info with a quick search through Wikipedia or Googling “introduction to [INSERT JOB].”

As you tackle those broad and sweeping questions, you may start to eliminate some options you originally listed. And that’s okay. In fact, that’s expected. Just because something sounds interesting in theory, doesn’t always mean it will be.

You actually want to narrow things down in this stage. If at any point, you run out of job titles on your list, simply go back to step one (with your new insights on what you want from a job) and start again.

Once you have a basic high-level understanding of the positions, you can dive deeper into the nitty-gritty details:

• What does this job pay?
• What type of educational experience is required?
• What’s the trajectory?
• What does the job look like on a day to day basis?
• How many hours per week do they work?
• Is there travel involved?
• What makes a great engineer vs. simply a good one? Is it strategic vision? Creative ideas? Quantitative skills?
• What blogs / books / websites do they read regularly in order to stay “in the know?”

The whole time you’re going through this process, ask yourself “Could I see myself doing this?” and “Is this something that still interests me?”

This process helps you discover what it is you truly enjoy. Once you’ve narrowed your list down again, you’re ready to hear from people who actually work in these roles. That’s how you guarantee this is the right career choice.

Step 3: Get the “inside” scoop on the job you choose

The key to learning what a career is really like is conducting informational interviews.

You may have heard about informational interviews before, but few people actually take this critical step. Three things you need to know:

1. An informational interview is an opportunity to meet someone you’re curious about and learn from them. So if you’re curious what a Product Manager or engineer really does and want inside tips about the job, this is how you find that out.
2. THIS IS NOT WEIRD. What’s weird is a bunch of people mindlessly submitting resumes to jobs they don’t know anything about and then wondering why they don’t do what they love.
3. People want to meet with smart people who are curious in the same things. That means you, if you send a great email, have insightful questions, and are interesting. (I’ve provided the emails scripts for reaching out to people and how to prepare for these meetings here)

During your interview, you can ask any lingering questions you had from the previous step (you can also find some ideas here). It’s not unusual to learn years of hidden insights in one interview. You’ll also start building relationships with people in that career field.

*  *  *

This is the best way to choose a career:

• Find potential careers with the Cloud Technique
• Research to find if the job is right for you
• Verify your findings and get the inside scoop with informational interviews

Almost every time my students have followed this process they’re the first ones to get a job offers when positions open up. It’s because they’ve shown interest and have taken the initiative to meet top-performers in the field.

Avoid these 7 career mistakes

What do you do once you’ve found the ideal career for you? In their excitement to apply, many job seekers end up killing their chances with by committing one of the Top 7 Career Mistakes.

You could do everything above correctly and still wind up with a job you HATE — or no job at all — if you commit one of these common mistakes.

To make sure that doesn’t happen, I put together a free video to show you which mistakes to avoid. Plus, tips for how you can stay on the fast-track to career success.

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How to choose a career that you’ll love is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Interviewing is hard.

One of the few ways to make it even harder is to make it a phone interview. In person, you can read and respond to all of the interviewer’s physical cues, but on the phone you’re often left to guess if they’re engaged in what you have to say or busy checking their inbox while you ramble on.

Unfortunately, many application processes begin with a phone interview.

I used to hate phone interviews…at least until I learned a few simple tips that turned this typically uncomfortable conversation into a job offer — or a follow-up, face-to-face interview — every time.

You already know the obvious, easy tricks:

• Stand up — you’ll sound more confident and energetic
• Smile — people really can hear if you’re smiling
• Use your notes — treat the interview like an open book test

These quick wins will quickly uplevel your phone interview game, but today I want to go deeper and give you three techniques for truly mastering phone interviews.

Hack the interviewer’s mind

Want to know the secret to acing every phone interview? Here’s a hint: it has nothing to do with what school you went to, your resume, or being a smooth-talker.

The #1 factor in your success is how you prepare for the interview. I call this front-loading the work because you do most of the work BEFORE the interview even starts. That way when it comes time to talk to the recruiter, you could answer the questions in your sleep.

One of the best ways you can front-load the work is to hack the interviewer’s state of mind. No, this doesn’t mean you have to be psychic. But it does mean you’ll do some deep research.

Here are a few hacks to get started:

PHONE INTERVIEW HACK #1

Realize interviewers have jobs, too

“Well duh,” you might say. “How is THAT important?”

Because they want to get back to work!

Interviewers don’t want to waste their day talking to boring candidates on the phone; they want to check the box that says “Hired” and get back to work to their jobs.

By understanding this reality, you can transform the entire feel of the conversation.

• Instead of seeing it as an interrogation, you’ll feel like the interviewers is a friend who’s just asking if you can help
• Instead of putting them on a pedestal, you’ll see them as a future colleague
• Instead of spending the entire time talking, you’ll turn the phone interview into a dialog and mix in some questions

Remember: They’re looking to hire someone and want you to succeed because it’s in their best interest.

PHONE INTERVIEW HACK #2

Don’t just focus on your skills

What do potential employers want to hear from a phone interview? I’ll give you a hint: It’s not rambling on and on about your work experience.

They want to quickly gauge your personality and skill set. Understanding their POV lets you focus your preparation around their needs:

• What are the behaviors and personality traits that this position requires? For example: Engineers are very analytical and pay attention to details. How can you show this?

• What type of language would someone in this role understand and use? For example: Do you know what Ruby on Rails means? SEO? ROI?

• What cues do I want to send before I even get on the phone? For example: Sending a calendar invite and list of questions for the call?

When used correctly, you can use these cues to instantly and subtly signal to the interviewer that you are a high-value candidate and vastly improve your chances of receiving an offer every time.

PHONE INTERVIEW HACK #3

Do your homework

Finally, do research on your interviewer on sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google.

The goal is NOT to stalk them or memorize everything they’ve ever done. It’s to learn:

• Their background (What schools did they go to? What clubs have they been a part of?)
• Their position with the company (Are they in a new role? Were they recently promoted?)
• Common interests you both share (Are they into volunteer work, sports, hobbies, etc?)
  

With these details, you can spark deeper discussions and stand out by asking better questions during the call. This positions you as someone who’s proactive and cares.

Once you’ve taken these steps, it’s time to practice answering the tough questions you might get.

How to craft perfect answers to tough interview questions

Hiring managers love tough interview questions:

• “Tell me about one of your weaknesses.”
• “Tell me about your work history.”
• “Tell me about a challenge you faced with one of your coworkers.”

These questions are so common because they’re designed to stump and derail most candidates. Luckily with a little preparation, you can craft perfect answers to these and other tough interview questions.

The secret is storytelling. Nobody wants to hear you read off your resume or stumble through a BS answer like “My biggest weakness is I try too hard.”

Let me show you the difference a story can make. I brought one of my students into my studio for a session to help her learn this skill (with just a few hours of practice). Watch as I show her how to improve her answers by adding a personal story to her response:

Key things you’ll learn:

• The one thing hiring managers LOVE hearing in your responses (0:51)
• Real before and after questions and answers  — how to make your answers more powerful with just a few tweaks (1:10)
• Why your personality is more important than your technical skills (3:29)

For more examples of story-based answers to tough interview questions, check out this article I wrote.

Avoid the 3 biggest interviewing mistakes

Now you know how to prepare for a phone interview and tackle any hardball questions that get thrown at you. You could do everything above correctly and still get a NO if you make one of these common interviewing mistakes during the call.

To make sure that doesn’t happen, I recorded a series of videos: “The 3 Biggest Interviewing Mistakes.” Sign up below to get the whole series for free.

Avoiding these costly blunders is how you set yourself apart from other candidates and land the job of your dreams.

if (typeof IWT == 'undefined') { if (typeof $ != 'undefined') { $.getScript("/inc/iwtcore.js", function(){ }); }; }

How to nail any phone interview is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

What if you lost your job today and needed a new job in a week? Could you do it?

What if you just wanted some advice for a tough career decision? Is there someone you could ask?

Or what if you wanted to make a big career change, like switching industries? Is there anyone you could call for help?

The secret to solving all of these challenges is the same: informational interviews. Today, I’ll show you how to conduct excellent info interviews, including the exact questions you’ll want to ask.

At a high-level, here’s how an informational interview works:

1. You find someone doing the job you’re interested in
2. Invite them out to coffee or ask them to chat over the phone
3. Ask key questions about the job and gather insider information
4. Then, use what you learned to make an informed decision about your career

It sounds so simple, but it can have a profound effect on how you get a job. Rather than guessing and checking, this is how you guarantee a job is right for you — before committing to do it for the rest of your life.

Info interviews are even more powerful if you’re proactive:

Most people just keep wishing for a different job. Or worse, they just aimlessly apply to new jobs and take the first offer they get…even if it’s down the wrong career path. With informational interviews, you can build a network of professional friends BEFORE you need them, so when you need advice or a new job, you already have people you can turn to for help.

Let me show you how to master this powerful job search tool.

How to set up and virtually guarantee an interview’s success

Most people cringe at the word “interview.” It conjures up images of being put on the spot and asked tough questions.

While that is how a lot of job interviews go, that’s not how informational interviews work.

In fact, with informational interviews, you barely have to say a word. That’s one of the reasons why I love them so much. There’s no pressure to talk a lot or have all the answers, and they’re tough to screw up.

All you have to do is reach out to the person you want to meet with a concise email. (Here are word-for-word email scripts you can use to set up a meeting.)

During the interview, there are a couple of key pointers to make the meeting a success:

1. ASK INSIGHTFUL QUESTIONS — Don’t waste someone’s time with questions you could easily answer with Google. It’s disrespectful and hurts your chances of making a connection with the person.

For example:

Good question: “I noticed you did XYZ. It’s interesting because [INSERT NAME OF VIP] took a different approach and did ABC. What was your thinking behind that decision?”

Bad question: “I’m so unhappy at my job. I think I’d like to do what you’re doing. What does someone in your position do again?”

In this video, I put together a few more examples of insightful questions to keep the conversation going:

2. SPEND 90% OF THE INTERVIEW LISTENING — Yes, most of the time, they’ll be talking — NOT you. Only interject with insightful comments every once in a while to show that you’ve done your homework.

Remember, you’re learning from them, and the best way to do that is to LISTEN. As for the other 10% of the time, you should spend that telling them what you’re working on and asking for specific advice. This approach is often so effective that the person you’re meeting with will introduce you to even more people.

Alright, now that you’ve set up the interview, you’ve done your research, and you have your amazing questions to ask — you’re almost there.

Don’t blow the whole thing by making one of these mistakes.

Avoid these four interview mistakes

Imagine you’re the CEO of a local tech company. Your schedule is packed. Tons of people are vying for your attention every day.

Suddenly, some random stranger emails you asking to meet for coffee. Their email is really good (using the above script). You can tell the person has done their research. And since they seem sincere and interested, you decide to take a chance and say “yes” to their invite.

You block off 30 min of your already crammed schedule to meet them.

When you get together, you exchange pleasantries…then the chat quickly derails. The person you’re meeting with starts rambling, talking all about himself, and not asking you insightful questions. You sit there watching the clock thinking, “what a waste of time.”

Believe it or not this happens a lot.

People spend so much time trying to get the informational interview, then blow it when they meet the person in real life.

Here’s a DO and DON’T guide for the four most common informational interview mistakes to avoid.

1. ASKING QUESTIONS THAT DON’T MATTER

Don’t: Ask them for something that you probably could read on their company blog. It’s like asking me for financial advice. I already answered those questions. Just go read my site or book.

Do: Ask questions that are open-ended and get the person talking. For example, if they are the CEO of a startup, ask them what they’ve learned from previous start-ups that are making a difference in the success of their current start-up. Make your time with them count.

2. RAMBLING AND GETTING SIDETRACKED

Don’t: Bore them with insignificant details like what type of food your cat likes or where you go for sushi.

Do: Keep things short and to the point. The people you’re interviewing are busy and are doing you a favor. Be courteous and stay on point. Know how much time they have to give and honor that.

3. LET YOUR EGO GET IN THE WAY 

Don’t: Don’t talk about yourself too much (remember the 90/10 rule?). The point of the interview isn’t to prove your brilliance; it’s to learn from them.

Do: Ask them about their interests, their history, their plans. Make it ALL about them.

4. NEVER FOLLOW UP

Don’t: Suck them for helpful information and then disappear. This is rude and will make them not want to help you in the future.

Do: Send a written thank you note to express your gratitude. Then use my Closing the Loop Technique to follow up with them on how you’re using what you learned from them. Showing that you’re taking action on their advice is the best “Thank you!” you can give.

Finally, build your confidence

Following these informational interview tips will help you stand out from everyone else. But there’s just one piece left for a successful informational interview: confidence.

It’s tough to be confident when you’re meeting someone you don’t know, especially a VIP who knows much more about a subject than you — and when there’s so much on the line.

I have a simple technique to help you build unshakable confidence in yourself. This free video will help you walk into any meeting or interview confident that things will go exactly as you planned.

if (typeof IWT == 'undefined') { if (typeof $ != 'undefined') { $.getScript("/inc/iwtcore.js", function(){ }); }; }

Informational interview questions that create a lasting impression is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

OK, let’s pretend you’re at a conference. There’s a table with tea and coffee over here. Everyone is wearing nametags. You recognize someone across the room, and as you’re walking towards him, you run into a small group.

Someone says, “Oh, meet (your name).”

What’s the first question you’ll probably get asked?

“What do you do?”

AHHH GOD THIS QUESTION.

“What do you do?” is the bane of my existence for so many reasons:

• People lean on it as a conversational crutch. The next time you meet someone, try not to use this question. How long can you go?
• If you’re hitting on someone at a bar, never ask this question. They’ve been asked it 5,000 times that night and now you’re like everyone else. (I have a lot of other dating suggestions but maybe another time.)

Most importantly, we get asked it literally thousands of times in our lifetime…but we never really stop to think about what our answer means to the people around us.

I get it. It seems “weird” to even imagine plotting a perfect response to a question we get every day. So pre-rehearsed, Ramit! I like to be authentic!

I like a lot of things. I also like to understand the way the world really works, and the way you answer “What do you do?” can completely change people’s impression of you.

How do you answer it?

I’ll tell you what I do. For example, I’ve written about how I tested “I’m a writer” versus “I’m an author.” Different answers got very, very different results.

I also asked a bunch of people how they introduce themselves. See what they say here. Notice how a lot of people try to be cute instead of answering the damn question. “I help people conquer their fears to find their dreams to — ZzZzzz.”

There’s a small window of opportunity to totally shape people’s impressions of you.

If you answer correctly, they step back, raise their eyebrows, and say, “Wow!”

Instant respect.

On the other hand, if you give a boring answer, like “I work at an insurance brokerage” or  “I’m a marketing manager”…”I do a lot with Excel”…or “I like yoga”…they’ll nod quietly and say “Oh, that’s cool…Well, I’m going to get some celery…bye!”

See ya.

These intangibles — the way you look, the clothes you wear, the way you introduce yourself — matter. As much as you want someone to look inside your soul, peel away the layers of your millennial angst, and give you instant respect…nobody cares. Human beings are influenced by the intangibles.

And if you can change the way people perceive you, while being totally authentic, wouldn’t you want to?

What would it mean to be able to walk up and confidently answer that question with an amazing answer? To get the same kind of “oohs” and “aahs” that people get when they mention that they work at a great company, like Google or McKinsey?

What if you had an awesome job to talk about and amazing coworkers? A job that — when you brought it up — secretly made ALL your friends jealous?

“Oh yeah…I have to tell you about something cool that just happened. My boss just put me in charge of this project, and he decided to fly me across the country to meet someone so I could hit the ground running.”

(Not a hypothetical. I’m flying an IWT team member to NYC in 3 weeks to do exactly that.)

Think about the way you introduce yourself. If you’re bored, you’ll be boring.

If you love what you do, and you communicate that, people gravitate towards excitement.

I want to talk more about this.

• I’ve blocked off the next couple weeks to talk more about “what you do” and — if you want to — how you can change that.  
• And next Monday — that’s 9/21 — I’m going to give a live, online talk about finding your dream job. (Click here and I’ll send you an invite to that talk.)

But first, I want to hear how you’d respond.

Would it be a boring response, like “I’m a marketing manager?”

Or would it be something else?

And if you had your Dream Job, how would you respond?

Let me know in the comments below. I read every response.

Ahh god this question is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

There’s a reason I asked you how you answer “What do you do?”

A few weeks ago, I was interviewing someone in my NYC studio. After the interview was done, he asked our director what he could do to improve.

The director told him, “You were great, but there was a moment where Ramit asked you, ‘What’s an example of a failure you had in your business?’ and you didn’t have an answer.”

“You’re going to get that question over and over. So you better have a great response.”

Think about that. In life, there are a few things that you’re always going to encounter.

• What should I eat?
• What am I doing with my money?
• Where do I live?
• What’s my job?

Guys, just get it right. If you only get these things right, you’ll be 100x ahead of other people. I call these your Tripod of Stability because they’re the most important areas to focus on.

Similarly, there are a few questions you’re going to get for the rest of your life. The most common one?

“What do you do?”

Just get the answer right. Practice it. Test it. Polish your answer like a gem until it sparkles.

It’s not weird to do this. You’ll know when you get it right because people respond positively. They want to know more about you. They’re fascinated.

You’re doing them a FAVOR by being interesting in a world of drab answers. It’s a service to them.

Keep it fun. For example, I’ve dressed up for an event and been asked by some random girl what I do. I smiled. “I’m a garbage man.” She laughed and accused me of lying. I said, “What? A man can’t do sanitation in the day, then put on a nice suit at night?” She loved it.

One of our readers wrote in and said he’s not a wedding photographer…he’s a “professional wedding photographer.” That one word makes all the difference in how people perceive him.

If you’re a marketing coordinator, you already know how fast people’s eyes glaze over. Out of service to them, what if you tried describing yourself like this: “You know when you subscribe to US Weekly or The New Yorker? I work on their ads to make sure everything flows smoothly.”

If you’re a life coach…sorry. Just give up now.

The important thing is to get the Big Wins in life right. Just do it. And the way you introduce yourself — and what you do for your job — is one of the most important.

Oh, and one more thing.

You can optimize, tweak, and test your introduction all day long…

Or you can actually find a Dream Job. The one that pays you what you deserve. The one where you work with a boss who trusts you, gives you responsibilities that challenge you, and pushes you to do more. The one you’re proud to talk about — where you leap out of bed every morning because you can’t wait to start work with your co-workers. (Remember, a $5,000 raise in your 20s is worth over $1mm over your lifetime.)

I can show you how to find your dream job, even if you don’t know what it is yet. And I’m teaching a live class — free — next week.

See you then.

Some people get this wrong. You shouldn’t is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

If you came across your dream job, would your resume be good enough to get you an interview?

If you hesitated for a moment there, the answer is no.

Sorry. Tough, but true. If you send a mediocre resume — even a “good” resume — off, you’ll never to hear a peep from anyone. Welcome to the Resume Black Hole of Doom.

I want to save you from this disaster. If you’re like me, you’re tired of listening to the same old advice about resumes. That’s why I want to pull back the veil and show you how top job candidates get their world-class resumes to stand out to hiring managers. (Hint: it’s not about their job experience.)

I’ll also show you a specific resume that secured me job offers from Google and other companies and analyze exactly why I constructed it the way I did.

Don’t obsess over the dumb stuff

My first advice is to stop obsessing over the meaningless physical details of your resume. Things like paper size, color and font. People always obsess over this stuff.

Why?

Because it’s simple. Most people prefer quick-and-easy tips that don’t work over more challenging changes that do.

You can adjust the formatting on your resume, switch from a serif to sans serif font, and add some color. It may make you feel like you accomplished anything, but it won’t impress the hiring manager.

If you want to do that, you need to think about how you sell yourself.

Be a truffle, not salt

Imagine you’re a hiring manager. You put out a job description for a Project Manager and get 250+ resumes in 48 hours. What do you do?

You run through those resumes as fast as you can. That’s why Hiring Managers give a resume, on average, less than 10 seconds of attention before moving on to the next one. This is why it’s so critical to understand how to stand out.

Take salt. Salt is a commodity, meaning you don’t care which brand of salt you get. They’re all the same to you. As a result, the price of commodity salt is extremely low.

Now picture a truffle. They are very rare, impossible to grow, and dug out by specially trained dogs and pigs. Just a tiny bit of one can truly transform your dish. As a result, truffles are very expensive.

You want to be a truffle, not salt.

Let’s look at how to do that on your resume.

Don’t bore them with facts, have a narrative

Your resume should not be a list of facts. That’s not memorable enough to catch the Hiring Manager’s attention in 10 seconds.

Instead, craft a narrative. Ask yourself, “After someone reads my resume for 10 seconds, what is the one thing they should remember about me?”

If you just list your education and job history, what will they remember? But if you call out key courses you studied or professional accomplishments, you’re getting closer to being memorable. “Oh, that’s the candidate who started that e-commerce website for tweens.”

(If you are interested in how I crafted the narrative my resume, scroll down to the video at the end of this post.)

Cut the fat and leave the filet mignon

Along with a good narrative, the second most important part of crafting a world-class resume is cutting the fat.

Every word must earn its place on the page. If it’s not adding to and improving your narrative, cut it. If it is, ask if there is another word or phrase that would do a better job.

As CEO of IWT, I’ve hired dozens of people. That means I’ve reviewed thousands of resumes. Most of them were 1-2 pages and 50-60% of the words should have been deleted. How can you be remarkable to a Hiring Manager when they have to wade through filler on your resume to figure out who you are?

When I see a bloated resume like this, I assume that they don’t know how to write a resume (not a good sign) or they don’t have anything better to share.

Don’t do this. Make every word count. It’s better to have a shorter and more meaningful resume then a long one filled with garbage.

The resume that secured me a job offers from Google

The last thing I want to share with you is the exact resume that secured me job offers from Google and other top companies.

In this video, I walk you through each section and explain exactly why I constructed it the way I did. Check it out:

5 Resumes That Won Top Job Opportunities

Now that you have seen the way I crafted my resume and why, I want to show you more street-tested, job-winning resumes. If you follow these examples, the odds of your resume opening the door to interviews at your dream companies will skyrocket.

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Why my resume got me a job offer at Google is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

You want a career you love, right?

One that’s interesting, challenging, financially rewarding, and that makes all of your friends say, “Damn, how did you land that job?”

Everyone wants that kind of a career, but most people settle for a string of jobs.

Why does this happen?

Today I want to introduce you to two common but rarely discussed “traps” that kill most career hopes so you can get past them and choose a career that’s right for you.

Trap #1 – Following your passion

Commencement speakers, career “experts,” and parents throw around “follow your passion” advice all the time. It’s no wonder people believe that if you’re not following your passion, you’re somehow getting it wrong.

But what are you supposed to do if you don’t know what your passion is?

Are you supposed to just sit around and think your way into it? Take some career quiz that’ll spit out a list of jobs you should be passionate about?

Kill me now.

I get so mad when I read most of the career advice out there because it’s unspecific at best, and blatantly wrong at worst. (Don’t believe me, check out the worst career advice ever.)

All of us want to find work we love to do, and then get paid for it, but our passion isn’t just going to fall from the sky – we have to pursue it.

In this video, I explain my take on passion. Pay close attention to 2:22 where I explain where most people go wrong when thinking about passion and how you can take a different approach.

You’ll be much better off if you spend time getting good at something. Once that happens, it’s likely the passion will follow.

Okay, now that you’ve let go of the need to figure out what your passion is, it’s time to take a look at some of the thoughts that might be getting in your way.

Trap #2 – Thinking you need specific credentials to have a career you love

Over the past 11 years I’ve taught hundreds of thousands of people how to save money, earn money, and automate their finances. And I’m not a Certified Financial Planner or CPA.

I’ve also helped thousands of people who lack the “right” credentials and experience find their Dream Job, and I’ve never taken a career counseling or career coaching class in my life.

Yes, sometimes credentials do matter. If you want to be a cardiothoracic surgeon, then you better get some initials next to your name, but there are plenty of people who’ve reached the top of their field without racking up a list of traditional credentials and experiences.

So, what separates those who move forward despite their supposed lack of credentials and those who just cross their fingers and hope the perfect career lands in their lap?

Mindset.

When it comes to going after something that feels a little bit out of reach, our invisible scripts hold us back.

Take choosing a career. You’ll often hear people give up before they even start with lines like:

• “I didn’t go to an Ivy League school so I’ll never get an interview at the company I want to work for.”
• “I work really hard so I should be given more opportunities. It shouldn’t be so hard to get noticed.”
• “I don’t know the right people.”
• “I don’t have the right credentials so I’ll never get a job in my field of choice.”

Sound familiar?

Invisible scripts keep you stuck and prevent you from having a career you love. That’s why the smartest people relentlessly identify and dismantle their invisible scripts. Others let their scripts control them.

Here’s one easy way to start liberating yourself from your scripts: Pretend you’re already perfect.

Pretend you already have the “right” credentials and the “right” experiences for the career path you’d like to pursue.

If this were the case, how would you approach your job search differently?

• “I’d ask for a meeting with a top performer.”
• “I’d network more aggressively.”
• “I’d apply for the job I really want and tell them exactly how I’d change the company in that role.”

No, you may not be perfect, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do all of the things mentioned above. It’s funny how clear people get on the best steps to take when they get rid of the barriers and just pretend they’re already perfect.

When you act as if you’re already perfect, you stop focusing on what you think you’re missing and start moving toward the career you want.

Choosing a career you’ll love

Now that you’ve avoided the 2 key traps that kill most careers, it’s time to actually choose your career — and I have a special bonus for you today that’ll make it really easy for you.

Sign up below and get instant access to my 46-minute video, The 80/20 Guide to Finding Your Dream Job. I go in depth on how to find your dream job and share detailed strategies, mindsets, and stories about how to short-circuit the process that so many people waste time on.

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2 Common Traps to Avoid When Choosing a Career is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Have you ever written an important email, and then…crickets?

For days, you nervously check your inbox. You listen for email notifications. You end up wondering:

• “Did I do something wrong?”
• “Did I say something offensive?”
• “Do they just not like me?”

You’re not alone. I get asked all the time about email etiquette. A well-written, well-timed email can make a professional relationship…and a bad one can break it. Unfortunately, a lot of the advice out there is outdated (or ridiculous — for example, whether you sign off “Best” or “Regards” has zero impact on how your email is received).

I used to be terrible at getting people to respond to my emails. Now that I’m on the receiving end of 1,000+ emails per day, I can see what I was doing wrong.

Over the years, I’ve developed and tested email strategies that have helped me and thousands of my students get interviews and land clients.

Today, I’m going to show you two common email mistakes and tell you exactly how to avoid making them. After reading this article, you’ll know how to write emails that get replies and signal your professionalism to everyone you email.

Email etiquette mistake #1: Being boring

A lot of people get hung up on the minutiae when it comes to email, so let me clear up something. Great email is about:

1. Understanding the other person’s needs and wants
2. Respecting those needs and wants

And no one wants to be bored.

One of my course graduates, Selena Soo, received this email after hosting a webinar for over 700 people:

What’s wrong with this?

At first, this seems like a good email. It’s enthusiastic, it’s complimentary, and it offers Selena help.

The problem? It’s completely generic. This person has guaranteed they’ll be instantly forgotten.

You don’t have to be generic or boring. Three small tweaks can make even your simplest emails worth reading:

1. Introduce yourself. What’s interesting about you? You have to make the recipient want to get to know you.
2. Say what you do. Prove that this person needs to get to know you. The person above didn’t say HOW she could help Selena. Attaching or linking to samples of your work backs up what you claim your skills are.
3. Offer a next step (a “call to action”). If your reader is anticipating days of emailing back-and-forth, they’ll put responding to you on their back burner (if they ever respond). Let them know how to get in touch with you and what time commitment you’re available for.

If I were a marketing consultant writing to Selena, here’s what I’d say:

Hi Selena,

I’m a marketing consultant who works with online entrepreneurs to reach broader audiences and make more sales. I’ve helped PERSON increase their email list by [X%] in three months, increasing revenue by [Y%].

I got a lot out of your webinar the other day, especially [include something specific that you got out of the webinar].

I have some ideas on how your brand could be marketed to a broader audience. Here [LINK] you can read testimonials from people whose audiences I’ve helped increase.

I’d love to chat over Skype (~15 minutes) about possibly working together. I’m free weekdays 1-6pm ET, and my Skype ID is [your Skype ID]. When’s a good time for you?

-[Your name]

The odds of Selena responding to that email are dramatically higher.

Email etiquette mistake #2: Going on and on and on…

Imagine you receive hundreds of emails a day. Or that you’re a hiring manager who starts every day with 50+ new applicant emails. And the vast majority of them are pages long.

Who are you going to remember? The person who embedded 10 different questions in a wall of text or the person who respected your time enough to keep it brief and to the point?

How to keep it brief:

The next time you sit down to write an email, answer these three questions:

1. What do I want to get out of this email? Define a goal and stick to it. This will help you keep it short.
2. How can I make myself stand out in a sea of hundreds of other emails? Hint: humor’s tough, especially when you’re writing to a stranger. Go for detail instead (“I’m an ESL tutor specializing in teaching Vietnamese students.”)
3. Can I write this email in a maximum of five sentences? The shorter your email, the more likely it’ll be read. Tip: come back to your email draft after a day or two. With fresh eyes, you’ll see the fluff you need to cut.

Doing this will instantly improve your emails and get you more replies.

This applies to any email: trying to reach an influential person, submitting your resume to a hiring manager, or emailing your boss to set up a meeting.

I won’t make you trudge through some of the long emails I get every day, but take a look again at the sample I wrote above. It’s concise, informative, and friendly. You shouldn’t need to spend 300 words convincing someone to pay attention to you — show your professionalism by respecting your email recipient’s time.

One thing to notice about these two mistakes: Neither of them are about tactics. If you Google “email etiquette,” you’ll find thousands of articles focusing on tiny, inconsequential things like whether to sign your email “Best” or “Regards.”

While everyone else distracts themselves with tactics, the pros are studying strategy.

Miniscule tactical tips don’t matter nearly as much as the “experts” would have you think they do. Big wins get you bigger gains every time.

Get big wins with word-for-word email scripts you can start using now

When I was first learning how to write better emails, I wanted specific, word-for-word scripts I knew would work.

So I’ve put together a gift for you.

For the first time ever, I’m sharing this excerpt from my book 50 Proven Email Scripts for free. I’ve personally tested all these scripts, and they’re proven to get results.

No need to worry about what to say—it’s all been tested and perfected for you.

These scripts have worked for thousands of my students—people like you who know the importance of email and want to get it right. These scripts cover:

1. How to set up an informational interview.
2. How to ask for recommendations for people to talk to.
3. How to cold email a stranger for advice.
4. How to write a pitch for a consulting gig or a job interview.
5. How to reach out to others in your company to get to know them.

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Email Etiquette: How to Get Responses to Your Important Emails is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.