The following was written by Derek Magill, Marketing Director at Praxis. 

I spoke this past weekend at LibertyCon in Prague to students from all over Europe about how they can start building their career now instead of waiting until they graduate.

The main points were:

1. Your college degree will not guarantee you a job. You need real skills and experiences.
2. When employers say they require college degrees, they really mean they require people who can create more value than they take out in salary. Once you realize this, it’s your job to show them that.
3. The best way to show an employer you’re valuable is not a resume and not a college course list — you need a value proposition. You need to identify what you can work on for the company that will add value and present that to them.

The question and answer period ended with dozens of people still raising their hands and so I wanted to put together a list of resources for talk attendees as well as students within the ESFL/SFL network who are interested in learning more.

Whether you want to work at a startup, a traditional corporation, as a freelancer, or at a non profit organization, you’ll find something here for you.

Pursuing an Alternative to College

• Praxis (This is my company. If you’re interested in sidestepping all the nonsense you have to go through to build a career, are entrepreneurial minded and intellectually curious, this could be a great option for you. We’ll teach you how to take your love of liberty and translate that into a profitable career. Past participants have written books, launched podcasts, and of course, created great jobs for themselves.)
• Should I drop out of college to travel the world?
• What are the top reasons today that people should consider an alternative to college?
• How skipping college gave me a huge head start on my life

How to Get a Job or Build a Career

• How to Create Your Own Job at a Company this Week
• How Diana Got a Job at Praxis: Case Study
• You Don’t Need a Resume — You Need a Value Proposition
• How to Get a Job Even if You Don’t Have a Degree
• Case Study: How to Do the Job Before You Get the Job

Recommended Books

• The Education of Millionaires by Michael Ellsberg
• The End of Jobs by Taylor Pearson
• The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
• Better than College by Blake Boles
• The End of School by Zak Slayback
• I Was Blind but Now I See by James Altucher
• Zero to One by Peter Thiel
• Choose Yourself by James Altucher

I’m also currently in the process of writing a book that will cover in depth a ton of stuff that is not in the above resources. If you’re interested in getting on the pre-launch list which will include a bunch of extra stuff as well, here’s a link to sign up.

Lastly, I love connecting with people to help them work through their career goals and how to achieve them. You can schedule a call here to talk further!