What are you bringing to the table?

I recently went to Glacier National Park with my brother-in-law and some buddies from college.

Trips like this provide plenty of time for introspection.

You aren’t going to accidentally hike a mountain.

You aren’t going to accidentally stand on top of a glacier or stick your head in the nearby lake.

You have to plan and put in the work to get to the mountaintop. You have to assume some risk and be prepared for it. Bear spray. Water. Snacks.

You also have to condition yourself physically to consistently do 30,000+ steps each day.

Not to mention all of the elevation change.

Wanting to get there is one thing. Preparing yourself and actually doing the work is another.

The same applies to your career.

But when you want someone to hire you or trust you with more, there’s another question worth asking.

What does that work help them accomplish?

Somebody emailed me recently, and it’s not the first time I’ve heard this question.

They said they’d submitted a bunch of job applications and hadn’t heard back.

What should they do now?

I’m not knocking that person. It’s frustrating to put yourself out there and get nothing but silence.

But before sending yet another application, think about it from their side.

What have you shown them that you can help with?

If submitting the application is the entirety of the effort you’re putting forth, you’re sitting in the same boat as every other person doing the exact same thing.

You’ve checked that box.

Now you’re waiting.

I want to propose an alternate path.

Get specific about what you want.

The company you want to work for, the team you want to join, and the type of project you want to work on.

Look at what they’re trying to accomplish.

Where could you help them accomplish that?

Your work should demonstrate your ability to provide value for someone else, ideally for that company, that team, or that person you’re trying to impress.

If it doesn’t show you can provide value, and better yet, value beyond the minimum requirements, think about how you can provide that value and demonstrate it.

Go build that custom project.

Go create that finished thing.

Explain the problem you’ve noticed, why you approached it the way you did, and how it could help them or their business.

Don’t sit around and wait.

Present the thing that someone can now look at.

Present that idea they can respond to, and give them a reason to have that conversation with you.

That’s much better than “Oh yes, I’ll look into that.” Or “Have you ever considered this?”

Or “Yeah, it would be cool if we did this.”

Actually go do something.

You can demonstrate that value and couple it with reaching out to five or 10 potential clients, teammates, or people at companies you’d love to join.

Ask for their opinion on the actual work.

Learn about what they’re doing.

That’s going to create a rich environment for you to build human connections and become top of mind for the people making those decisions.

You don’t start by asking for an interview.

You get on their radar by being interested and useful.

Make it easy to try working with you on something small.

Then, when you get that opportunity, keep going.

Getting hired doesn’t end the need to create value.

You could be asked to update the designs for onboarding in a new app.

You could make those changes, hand over the screens, and consider the job done.

But maybe while you’re working, you notice that people have to enter the same information twice.

There might be another solution beyond what’s been asked of you.

So you also create an alternative and bring it to the team with your reasoning.

You’ve completed the request, but you’ve also brought up a new idea that could create value for the team, for the business, for the user.

And that’s something worth discussing.

That kind of thing doesn’t happen when you only check a box.

The same thing happens when you spot a recurring problem and come up with a solution for it.

Or you take something off your manager’s plate and carry it all the way through, instead of stopping short or failing to follow up.

If you aren’t doing that, there’s no way for someone to see how they could trust you with more.

Not every idea will get incorporated, but it’s worth pursuing.

It’s worth the pursuit of value creation.

Yes, it takes more effort.

Sometimes it might mean working on something early, working on something late, or spending part of your weekend or free time pursuing that new idea.

But if you follow through on value creation and bring a good attitude while you do it, that will get noticed way more than just simply checking a box.

Make it easy for someone to root for you.

Make it easy for someone to work with you.

There are plenty of boxes that need checking.

Don’t let a simple obstacle stop your pursuit.

Find an answer.

Make a recommendation and keep moving.

Have a sense of urgency without waiting for everything to be perfect.

Whether you’re trying to get the job or already doing it, help other people get what they want.

If you can help other people get what they want, it’ll be a lot easier for you to get what you want.

You don’t get to the mountaintop by checking the first box and waiting.

You have to keep moving.

So look at what’s on your plate this week.

What could you solve, improve, or bring to the table beyond what’s expected?

Start there.