What An Over-30 Boy Band Can Teach You About Job Search
4 Ways to Show You’re Different (Without More Than Just Another Resume)
Welcome to issue #154 of The Introverted Networker. Each week, I share my best networking advice to change the way you feel about networking. If you like this issue, share it with a friend.
Last week, I met with a group of executives who are in career transition.
They’ve been laid off, actively job searching, and doing all the right things: applying, networking, interviewing.
And still, they’re frustrated.
They’ve been in the game long enough to know how this is supposed to work, but now they’re stuck in what feels like an endless loop: apply, wait, get ghosted, repeat.
They all said the same thing in different ways:
“I just didn’t network before I needed to.”
“I feel invisible.”
“I’m doing everything I know how to do and still nothing’s happening.”
The traditional job search is exhausting.
You can only spend so many hours tweaking your resume and writing cover letters before your energy hits empty.
But here’s the good news: there’s more you can do.
Not instead of applying but alongside it.
Not instead of reaching out to old colleagues but in addition to it.
You can create your own spotlight.
Even if it’s small.
Even if it’s just a flicker to start.
Let me explain what I mean.
This issue takes about 6 minutes to read…
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Enter: D-Town: Denver’s #1 Over-30 Boy Band
I went to a show the other night called D-Town: Denver’s #1 Over-30 Boy Band.
Image from their Insta page, linked above.
If you’re a fan of boy bands, you should totally check them out.
It’s a group of working actors, guys in their 30s, who decided to create something for themselves instead of waiting for someone to cast them.
They wrote the show.
They choreographed the dances.
They sing boy band hits with just the right amount of dad-joke energy.
It’s funny. It’s good. And more importantly: it stands out.
There’s no market for over-30 boy bands. No job listings. No open calls.
So they made their own thing.
And you know what happened?
A promoter saw them. Invited them back. And might even help them land more gigs, as part of D-Town or as individuals.
They didn’t wait for the opportunity.
They built it.
And that’s the shift I want to talk about today.
Make Your Own Spotlight
If you’re job searching, especially at the executive level, it’s easy to feel like all the power is in someone else’s hands.
But it’s not.
You can still take small, visible actions that make people notice how you think, how you work, and how you lead.
You can give them something real to react to beyond your resume.
Here are four ways to start building your own spotlight, depending on your comfort level and capacity:
1. Comment publicly on LinkedIn posts from people in your industry
It’s low-risk and high-value.
Find posts from leaders or peers in your field and leave thoughtful comments.
Not just “Great post!” but real, specific insights that show how you think.
Your name will show up.
People will read what you wrote.
Some will click your profile.
You’ll start building visibility without needing to send a single DM.
Follow Craig Davis (The King of LinkedIn Comments) if you need help getting started with this.
2. Write your own short LinkedIn posts
Leaving comments?
Take the next step.
Turn a comment or thought into a quick post.
Take a comment that got likes and comments and expand on it.
Share something you’ve learned in your career.
Talk about a challenge you’ve faced and how you worked through it.
Let people see your thinking.
You don’t need to be an influencer.
You just need to be you.
3. Start a lightweight project that shows your thinking
Want to take it to the next level?
No problem. Start something simple:
Interview 10 people in your industry and share what you learned. This will also give them a reason to answer your DM or email.
Create a “Top 20 Trends” list using AI and your research. This will give you a reason to reach out to people in DMs or emails: To share this research with them.
Write a newsletter to summarize your POV on a big topic. This could be a LinkedIn newsletter or something you post on Substack.
I know someone who is looking for a job as a head of instructional design.
She created an awesome job tracking tool and is giving it away. It not only shows her design abilities, but shows what kind of ambition and drive she has.
Build something that shows these things to future employers.
You’re not just building content.
You’re building credibility.
4. Offer help like a consultant
If you’re up for it, take the biggest leap: start solving problems for clients.
That could mean doing a project for a former co-worker.
Or, stepping in to help a company finish a project that has been dragging on.
Or, publicly telling people they can hire you to solve a problem for which you’re an expert.
This is the highest level of effort, but it also shows the most about you.
You may not want to become a consultant forever, but doing it during your job search could boost your credibility, as well as your bank account.
And yes, I'm doing it, too
I’m not in a job search, but I’m doing my version of this every day.
I’m building my business by showing how I think, how I work, and who I am.
Through my LinkedIn newsletter about employee Retention and Rewards.
Through client work.
Through projects that may or may not lead anywhere.
It’s all part of the same idea:
Don’t wait for someone to see who you are.
Show them who you are.
If you’re reading this in the middle of a tough job search, I want you to know two things:
You are not alone.
You are not powerless.
Try one small thing this week to create your own spotlight.
The job will come.
But you can make yourself more visible in the meantime.
You’ve got this.
Best Things I Found Online This Week:
In the theme of this week’s newsletter, Nick Kossovan asks if you are answering the employer’s question, “So What?”
What’s your biggest networking challenge? My LinkedIn followers weigh in. Turns out most people think “It Feels Awkward.”
Austin Belcak shows how to use James Altucher’s 10 Idea Strategy when you’re trying to connect with people on LinkedIn.