Guest blogger: Tips for new type of job search

When I was graduating from Stockholm School of Economics in 2006, I was panicking. I was afraid to become unemployed, even though according to statistics 97% of the students were already employed before completing their master’s thesis. I had a few job interviews in London but, in retrospect, I am grateful that I did not get those jobs.

I was very stressed and applied to many positions. I tried to differentiate myself from other applicants with a personal story or some trivia related to the company. When I applied to a venture capital fund in Stockholm, I decided to be honest. I wrote in the cover letter that I was an ice hockey fan who had used their last student financial aid to travel from Stockholm to Helsinki in the hope that Finland would win a gold medal at the Turin Olympics. I ended up standing disappointed at the Market Square in -15 degrees temperature when the team arrived at two am wearing silver medals. The employer was impressed by the humorous story, and I got an interview.

After the interview, I got a homework assignment. All I knew was that the assignment would be sent to me at midnight on Sunday and the answer had to be submitted before 9 am. The point was to show that I was not afraid of long days. However, the cash flow assignment came already in the afternoon, and I submitted the response after midnight.

I got the job. The job posting had stated that the position requires five years of work experience. I asked how I managed to get the job. I will never forget the answer. “We didn’t really require the work experience; we wanted a person who dared to be a little obscene and determined and take risks.”

Dare to ask

I have established several companies and worked in the start-up world since 2012. As an entrepreneur, I have learned to ask and often, somewhat surprisingly, get what I want. When I noticed that the world opens up, if you dare to ask, my whole outlook on life changed. Everything seemed possible.

I have collected significant funding, hired Real Madrid's former media director, worked with top Spanish teams, and stopped Super Bowl winner Martellus Bennett in the middle of New York to tell him about my idea.

Because most people dare not ask, those who dare, win. This also applies to job search. In this world, the brave win. But always remember that courage is not the lack of fear, but the ability to act despite fear. I have always been afraid to ask, too, but afterwards I have always been very proud of myself. And so will you, if you dare be brave.

Get to know the company and tell them what you can offer

As I had worked as an entrepreneur for a long time, the lack of colleagues and work done almost entirely alone started to feel boring. I had not yet come up with a new start-up idea, so I launched my job search.

In summer 2023, I was in Switzerland making a documentary on the Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the meaning of life. I decided to send a message to an old friend who was an investor and sat on the board of several companies. I asked if they knew any interesting companies. My friend sent me the name of four companies. I started studying them on a sunny terrace in the mountains. One of the companies was in the aviation industry, and it aroused my interest. The company was growing, it had a few large customers, and a suitably small number of personnel. The problem was that they were not looking for new employees at the time. I sent an email to the CEO, briefly told them about myself and asked if I could buy them lunch. The CEO said yes, and during lunch I asked them what kind of problems they had. I received valuable information and became even more interested in the company. I had to get in.

I asked my network if they knew anyone in the aviation industry. I received the contact details of a person working in aviation financing. In a Teams meeting, they opened up the laws of the aviation industry and shared a lot of other interesting information.

I had the necessary background information. The next step was to consider how to make an offer the company wouldn’t be able to resist. At this point, it should be pointed out that smart companies create a job for good applicants or lightly reorganise the organisation in order to recruit the applicant. Competition for the best experts is fierce, and when a competent person emerges, it is worth hiring them. It should also be noted that companies often only start looking for employees when the need is urgent. When you are proactive, you may anticipate a need and be able to offer your competence even before the company has a vacancy.

At this stage, I knew that the company would like to build a strategy that focuses marketing on carefully selected customers. The strategy is natural in a company like QOCO that sells software to other companies online. I also familiarised myself with the websites, read articles, and watched webinars. I found a lot of room for improvement in the marketing, and I also wanted to renew the visual identity of the brand.

I prepared a ten-page presentation. I wanted to show, in concrete terms, what the improvements would look like and how easy it would be to make the visual identity more professional. Instead of explaining them what the new identity could look like, I showed them. I called my cameraman and agreed with them to make a brief sample video. In the video, I opened up the challenges of the company, offered solutions, and gave an example of what the company’s content could look like. I did everything with a slight humorous touch.

When I received the final version from the cameraman, I sent the presentation and the video link to the company by email. It took less than 10 minutes for the phone to ring. They wanted me to modernise marketing in the company.

I worked at QOCO from January 2024 to June 2025. During that time, I got to experience amazing things. I went to the Airbus factory in Toulouse, and to the Dubai, Barcelona, and Munich aviation fairs, worked with the world's largest aviation brands, and learned a lot about the industry, which many people do not know much about. I could have stayed longer, but responsibility and freedom called. Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur.

Stand out

The social media strengthens a positive image of other people in our minds. Many people think that everyone else is better, and when you go competing against them, you have no chance.

In addition, almost everyone suffers from the imposter syndrome to an extent. I have been in the working life for more than 20 years, and I have yet to meet a person who would be perfectly comfortable with themselves and their competence. Achiever people never see what they have achieved, but only what they do not yet know or have not yet achieved.

When you, as a job seeker, have a negative attitude to job search and your personal competence, you do not necessarily invest properly in an individual application, but send a fairly general application that is only slightly modified. This is a lukewarm package that will not stand out. But the more people fall into that, the easier it is to stand out.

Focus on a few companies

Job searches often go like this. You send 10–20 applications, write a generic CV and cover text, and wait for a call or an email.

If you provide value, you are immediately in a different category. Select two or three companies you want to work for and focus on them. Conduct an analysis of the current state of the companies. Explore company websites and watch videos to understand what the company does. What is its value proposition, and does it sell products or services to another company or directly to consumers?

You should also check LinkedIn to see if someone you know is working for the company. If so, ask if you could talk to them. I have received similar contacts and talked about the company and its culture in a 10–15-minute phone call. Smart people are happy to help others.

You can also use ChatGPT to compile basic data. Remember, however, that everyone else can find the same information. What matters is what you do with it.

Don't explain what you can do, show it

Job search is not about waiting. It's about creating value.

If you want to stand out from the other applicants, do not describe your skills, but prove them in practice. Show how you create added value for the company.

Do you want to do sales? Create an ideal customer profile and contact messages for the company.

Do you want to do marketing? Draft a better landing page, perform a search engine optimization analysis, or outline a concise marketing strategy.

Do you want to work in customer service? Explore the company’s support channels and suggest improvements.

Do you want to do visual design? Prepare an example of a new view.

Do you want to become a software developer? Find an open company project and show how to make it even better.

When the work is complete, send the application to the right person. If the company has an open recruitment process ongoing, send the material to the designated address. You can also add personality and call HR or the recruiting person to let them know that you have made an analysis and suggested improvements and attached them to your application.

Even if you don't get the job, you will still learn a lot. This approach requires time and courage, but do not worry, as the experience is in any case very valuable.

Tomi Kaukinen

More information

• Documentary: Visiting the Nietzsche-Haus - How to become what you are? (youtube.com)
• Licence to fail (licenceto.fail, in Finnish)