If you are starting your career, you need to read these two books
The two books that helped me break into and do well in startup marketing
Last week, I invited early-career folks looking to break into marketing for a session on how to get their first jobs. I realised later that people one or two years into their careers had joined as well.
Almost 150 folks signed up, and around 60 turned up for the session on Sunday.
For me the session was validation for something I had been thinking about for a while, something I’ll come back to at the end of this dispatch.
As I prepared for the session, I realised that though I had read a lot of books in my career, most of them useful, only a couple really stood out as must-reads for freshers and early-career people. I have written about these books before, but in another context. I had to write about them again.
So here you go:
Charlie Hoehn’s Recession Proof Graduate
If you are in college, you have to read this book before you ride up to the job interview. It’s just 80 pages, and can be easily read through in a couple of hours. But the value in it is worth no less than gold.
What Hoehn is essentially saying is that before you apply for a role, do free work that showcases how perfect you will be for it. And more often than not, you will stand out, and get the job.
It has been a huge influence on my career, and even as an experienced professional, I still use its lessons. Here’s the pdf, if you are feeling cheap. But I recommend you buy the Kindle edition.
Cal Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You
If you are 2-3 years in your career, you have to read this twice as soon as you can. There are two lessons from this book that remain top of mind for me: One, it’s going to take time for you to get good at your job, so have patience and keep working at it; Two, once you get good at your job, you will enjoy it more, and get even better at it.
This happened to me as I stuck to marketing. And the one regret I probably have is not reading this book earlier and misreading my own learning curve as ineptitude.
So please read these two books before you start making any major career decisions.
IMPORTANT: A note for regular readers and subscribers
I’ve been thinking hard about the newsletter as it nears its 4th anniversary. Mostly about what it is, who it is for, and what it represents.
And for the first time in a while, I think I have an answer.
What is the CMO Journal then?
It is a weekly newsletter on how to be a better marketer.
Who is it for?
It is for anyone who wants to get better at marketing - professionals, executives, founders, and even just people interested in marketing. But there will always be a focus on content that is foundational as well as tactical.
When can you expect new dispatches?
This is the biggest change. The CMO Journal is going back to a weekly schedule, with new essays every Monday evening IST. Even this essay was supposed to arrive in your inboxes this Monday, but I had not prepped the thumbnail. :)
Why should you read this newsletter?
Because it’s coming straight from a marketer who’s now on his third 0 to 1 journey.
I now have almost 14 years in startup marketing, and including my stint at Accel, understand this specific path very well. I’m writing this newsletter to understand and learn, and hope you will too.
Will it go paid?
I don’t know, but definitely not now, and not anytime soon either. It is an attempt to pay-it-forward, after all, and I’d love to keep it that way. Would love to hear what you think of this too, at sairamkrishnan@outlook.com.
That’s all. Thank you for subscribing and reading. :)
And if you haven’t yet joined in, you can subscribe here.
So what you can expect in March
In line with the focus on freshers and early-career folks, this month’s essays will revolve around topics important to them.
So here are the next 3 essays.
1. Why content is still the easiest way to break into content marketing (and how to)
2. Five things no one tells you about building a career
3. You have health insurance and life insurance, but do you have career insurance?
If you think these topics would be useful for your friends and colleagues who are freshers or just entering marketing, ask them to subscribe!
One last thing. I’ve been toying with the idea of a quarter-long mentorship programme for early-career marketing professionals in startups. A few readers and friends have been encouraging me to create a program, but I have been reticent, mostly because of the time investment.
But the session last Sunday made it clear that there is a need for something of this kind.
So if you are interested, and would like to know more, please email me at sairamkrishnan@outlook.com. Would love to discuss this.