6 Brutal Truths About Your Career - Career Advice To Act Like A Free Agent

6 Brutal Truths About Your Career - Career Advice To Act Like A Free Agent. In your career, there are some hard lessons to learn. In this video, I discuss what lessons I've learned in corporate America, and how you can position yourself to be a true free agent.

0:00 - into
1:19 - the corporate power dynamic
4:57 - nobody cares but you
5:46 - being too loyal
7:05 - coworkers are not your friends
8:10 - you're replaceable
9:43 - the most qualified doesn't matter
11:14 - numbers on a spreadsheet
12:39 - act like a free agent

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Are you struggling with your job search? Applying for job after job and not getting any interviews? Perhaps you’ve got a few interviews but always seem to get passed over for the job? Or maybe you’re not satisfied with your current career and want a change. Well, you’ve come to the right place.

As a corporate recruiter with over 20 years of experience hiring thousands of employees at all levels into major corporations, I’m going to spill the beans on how to get noticed by recruiters, start getting more interviews, navigate through each step of the hiring process, and ultimately land the dream job you deserve.

But that’s not all - I firmly believe that to truly experience career success, you need to think bigger. Multiple streams of income and budgeting are crucial to forming a layoff-free lifestyle and helping you achieve your goals.

If these are things you’re struggling with, that’s what I specialize in. I’ve got a website called A Life After Layoff. It’s loaded with tips and tricks for getting noticed, interviewed, and hired by your dream company. Make sure you check it out!

I’ve got weekly videos coming at you, so make sure to subscribe. You won’t want to miss a post. Join me as we explore these things, all from an insider’s perspective!
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Royalty-Free Music from Bensound

[jackcarraway]

I'm not a slave auctioning myself to an employer; I'm a mercenary who charges for my time and is always looking for the best deal.

[bmc]

Ive used the “you’re replaceable” mentality when taking time off. If things can’t run without me, I definitely don’t make enough money.

[psp]

Found out a lot of this the hard way. Stayed with a company for six years made “friends”. Got laid off and never heard a peep from anyone.

[Sentry]

A 7th truth: don't work hard and don't be an overachiever. Hard work isn't rewarded with promotions and raises; it's rewarded with more work. You have to actively manage your perception at work so others think you are working hard while also being strategic about which projects to give your full effort. If you don't do this, management will expect 110% from you while the slackers do a third of the work and get paid the same.

(EDIT): The only time you should be an overachiever and work hard is if you plan to leave shortly thereafter for a better job. Take on all of the hardest projects to get the bragging rights for your resume then bounce after a year or two. You'll be overworked and underpaid but it's temporary. If you market yourself correctly you will be highly rewarded with substantial pay increases after you job hop. Never accept management's offer to retain you.

[jondotcom]

This is great advice. My biggest career mistake was assuming management cares about your career. 20+ years in tech

[tomking]

I don't come here for career advice - I come here to be reminded of why I need to start my own business

Thanks!

[NC-oyhq]

I can honestly say, one company I quit did go under. But it wasn’t just me quitting. It was most the “good” people quitting close to the same time. I was just one of the first. And it’s a good feeling. They were evil.

[kenya]

I totally agree with you. We all have to act like free agents. Corporate America does not have any loyalty to the employees that uphold the company.

[ronjcharity]

The free agent mindset is the way to go. Set goals, educate and keep eye open for better job. Or turn side business into a full time job.

[cmdr]

My first employer broke me. Family owned company. I knew the families of my coworkers. I spent thousands of hours in shitty locations, long hours ect. Things got tough and I was let go. Then owner made sure he was nowhere to be found. I was willing to give everything to them. The other bad one was leaving my last employer. Watched our corporate office give up on us and the oil field. Stopped replacing ppl that left, froze wages and stopped marketing. Just ran us into the ground while bleeding us dry. Loved that company and it was sick what they did. 15 years of work thrown away. Look out for your four walls. No one else is going to.

[TacoTacoYum]

I've had over 40 jobs.... that coworker's arent your friend/see how many of them reach out after 3, 4, or 5 months after employment ends... nailed it, bro

[ALCRAN]

Every once in a while I need a good schalaquing from Brian. The grounded honesty that the corporates won't tell you, and your family may be too nice to say.

[mmgilman]

Numbers on a Spreadsheet: This is one of my favorites. What's funny is the millions of dollars spent by large companies on employee goal setting, sit-downs, yearly reviews, career development etc. In the end, it doesn't mean a thing. My wife had her yearly review with her manager on Thursday and got the standard 3% merit raise. On Friday they laid her off and her manager didn't find out until that morning. The higher-level spreadsheet people did their thing regardless of manager input or feedback.

[marcbe]

I work in Healthcare. Recently I got tired of seeing a coworker get paid significantly more then myself due to them having more education, yet they did the bare minimum and left work for others. They eventually left, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth with the company. I requested off 7 PTO days for the rest of the year between June-August. The manager denied 2 of them due to staffing. I immediately found a travel job, which pays better and I got all my days off. Suffice to day, I'll be much happier and have a life outside of work.

[manolokonosko]

I hope a lot of young people who are just beginning to join the workforce watch this and your other videos. For too long corporations have been bullshitting workers into think that they "matter". HR matters. The CEOS matter. Top managers "matter", but the people who do the real work are a dime a dozen. The moment you find a better job or opportunity, jump ship, even if they beg you to stay. They'll beg you long enough for your opportunity to sail away, and before you know it, your ass will be on the street when the next round of layoffs come. I hope young people will learn not to get into debt, and be a hell of a lot more demanding of a job, because it is consuming your life.

[shuki]

To your credit, you've been saying this all along. You were not the typical Youtuber glossing over the bad things and risks while times were great.

[JaesonL]

The last point about “numbers on a spreadsheet” is very true. When I was laid off back in November ‘22, I tried everything to remain with the company. Offered to take a lower salary, move to a different department. All they did was offer an additional month of cobra coverage given my family was going through a very serious medical emergency at the time and required the same level of health coverage for several more months.

In the exit interview it felt cold and heartless. Just going through the motions. Especially with them all knowing what challenges we as a family were facing health-wise.

Finding your videos though, I have taken control of my career and search, becoming the CEO of my career. Appreciate the occasional “kick in the ass” videos to remind us where we need to be. Keep up the great work!

[rubenc.]

“You’re just a line on a spreadsheet” omg that is so true 💯 I work in FP&A and we do this all the time when doing budgeting.

[seanmysel]

Here's what being a free agent feels like: last Tuesday my boss at one of my gigs pulls me on a call, he's barely able to keep from going into a "Weep-A-Thon" and says, 'we need to cut your hours drastically... I know you've been great annd.." I cut him off and said, "Awesome when does that start?" He was floored. Thing is I have a bigger income from another job, I have an ecom store that's flourishing and already doubles what I made at that gig plus I sell paid media training as well. First time I ever get to exercise that power and I felt like a gangster.

[loveandjoy]

He’s not wrong. I worked at a company that promoted us as “family”. I really believed it. When restructuring happened and we merged with another company my boss didn’t even fight to keep me on her team. She literally said my position wasn’t needed. So they got someone with less education and a cheaper pay scale to do something similar. Then they moved me to a team where I literally didn’t know anyone. About 6 months later they had to hire someone with my same educational level and resurrect my old position on my old team because customers were complaining that my old team was in chaos. 🤷🏽‍♀️. Now I’m with a team I don’t know and don’t like and someone is in my position with my old team that I really liked. It made me realize. I’m not valued by this company and I’m easily replaced. So I act accordingly. I’m saving money like crazy and I got a side hustle to stack cash. They won’t blindside me again