If you haven’t read “Disrupt You!” by Jay Samit, I would highly recommend it. Samit is highly regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on disruption and innovation. Samit held senior management roles at EMI, Sony, and Universal Studios and pioneered breakthrough advancements in mobile video, internet advertising, and ecommerce. He helped grow pre-IPO companies such as Linkedin, and his list of partners and associates reads like a who’s who list of innovators, including Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs, Reid Hoffman, David Geffen, Richard Branson, and Paul Allen.
In his book, Samit describes one of his “unconventional” ideas that helped him land a dream job. He was determined to get an executive Hollywood position but knew that he would only get a basic entry-level job, at best. It was before the days of LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter when classified “help wanted” ads were published in the weekly newspaper. The best jobs were never broadcasted; For those elite positions, you needed to be ‘in the in.’
Samit had an epiphany. He composed an ad for the job he wanted and took out a classified ad in the Hollywood Reporter promoting his fictitious job at his fictional company. His goal was two-fold. His objective was to use an unconventional route to get him the “market research” he needed. First, he gathered data from the dozens of job applicants who applied and presented their resumes. He used the job descriptions and experiences provided to him to tweak his own resume, focusing on the essential skills that Hollywood executives would demand.
Secondly, he recognized that every resume he received came from somebody who had ‘one foot out the door’ at their existing company. This gave him an immediate database of companies that he knew would very soon have an opening and what role they would be seeking. The resumes also had management references that gave him access to names and numbers he would otherwise never have.
Indeed it wasn’t long before Samit landed his dream job. I read his book months ago and loved that story but I wanted to highlight it now for two reasons. First, if anyone knows of such creative job seekers, please send them my way. We are looking to expand our company with innovative employees, and I certainly would love to work with such ambitious talent.
Second, in the highly competitive real estate market we are experiencing now, it takes unconventional wisdom to help aspiring home buyers and home sellers gain a competitive advantage. Over the past few weeks, I have been fortunate enough to help several clients creatively negotiate a successful outcome on complex deals they were negotiating. The market will only continue to become more challenging, so I encourage everyone to seek guidance and support from market experts to help them win deals!
Special shout out and birthday wishes to David Ashendorf, Yoni Chambre, Dovi Elias, Sarah Feit, Peter Globus, Marc Herskowitz, Adam Hoenig, Danny Kaplan, Jacqui Kimmel, Dovid and Yehuda Lisker, Aron Mestel, Tova Milgrom, Naftali Nunberg, Bleema Posner, Noam Spinowitz, and Avi Zimmerman
Shmuel Shayowitz (NMLS#19871) is President and Chief Lending Officer at Approved Funding, a privately held local mortgage banker and direct lender. Approved Funding is a mortgage company offering competitive interest rates as well as specialty niche programs on all types of Residential and Commercial properties. Shmuel has over 20 years of industry experience, including licenses and certifications as a certified mortgage underwriter, residential review appraiser, licensed real estate agent, and direct FHA specialized underwriter. He can be reached via email at [email protected].
