WORKWEEK

For the past few years, finding a job in fintech was as hard as shooting fish in a barrel. Companies were flush with VC cash, the focus on growth at all costs meant that companies were expanding headcount aggressively, and because the talent was highly competitive, salaries were through the roof. 

Back in my day, this wasn’t the case. Far from it in fact. Finding a fintech job was a pretty difficult process that required knowing folks in the ecosystem or having an insane pedigree. For me as an ex-journalist, it was really hard to find a product role (even though good journalists and product managers have a lot in common—deep market understanding, communication ability, a capacity to deeply understand user needs.) 

That’s what the original purpose of Fintech Today was—the goal was to demonstrate my knowledge and share my opinions on fintech companies in an effort to hopefully get a product role that I was excited about. 

Here’s why I think content creation can help you get your dream job:

• Demonstrate Your Expertise:
  Creating content (whether it’s writing blog posts, starting a newsletter, hosting a podcast, creating a YouTube channel, etc) can help you demonstrate your knowledge of an industry and its products. If you’re looking for a job in the fintech space, for example, you can write about the latest news and trends in the industry, review the products of competitors, and share your thoughts on where the industry is headed.
• Share Your Opinion:
  Content creation is a great way to share your opinion on a particular industry and its products. By voicing your opinions, you’re showing potential employers that you understand the industry and its nuances, and you can offer valuable insights. It also helps you standout—way too much content is devoted to appeasing sponsors and covering the ecosystem as a whole, and there’s not enough content out there that makes an opinion and backs it up with numbers, research, or qualitative data. …
• Build A Network:
  Creating content is a great way to build a network in an industry. As you publish articles or videos, you’ll start to build relationships with industry leaders, potential employers, and others in the space. This can help you find out about job openings before they’re posted, or have someone vouch for you at an interview.
  Also—don’t be shy to promote yourself in your content either. Otherwise, how will people know whether you’re looking for a job or not? A lot of newsletter creators put at the top of their piece that they’re looking for sponsors; if I were looking for a gig, I would put that front and center, along with contact info or even a resume. That way, companies that want to reach out already have context on your background and what you’re looking for in your next role. 

Build An Audience:
This is arguably the most valuable part of creating content on the Internet—the ability to easy and quickly build a loyal audience. For companies, that’s becoming more and more critical. It’s only a benefit for a potential employee to have a following and audience, and could give you an edge when applying for a job.
Hope that was useful! What do you think? What other ways do you think creating content can help you get your dream job?
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Creating content is an incredibly valuable way to demonstrate your expertise, share your opinion, build a network, and gain an audience. All of these activities combined can help you stand out from the competition and give you an edge when applying for jobs. The key is to be consistent, be creative, and create content that resonates with potential employers and folks in the ecosystem.