With the end of the year now upon us, I’d like to use this opportunity to thank you for supporting my work (thank you!) and to recap the lessons we learned together this year.
So, without further ado…
MY TOP UNSPOKEN RULE OF 2025
Relationships are your most important form of career capital.
People hire people they know, promote people they trust, and open doors for people they remember.
My biggest piece of career advice for 2025?
Bring the right people into your life. Then, keep those relationships warm.
Here are just a few examples:
- Ken Frazier became CEO of Merck because he built and maintained relationships with numerous mentors and sponsors, including Merck’s former CEO.
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg got hired despite gender discrimination because her mentor and law school professor fought for her.
- Jan Koum kept building WhatsApp because his friend from Yahoo encouraged him to stick with it and even joined the team.
Even Nobel Prize winners are most likely to be part of the Nobel laureates’ “family tree” as former apprentices, colleagues, or collaborators.
The pattern?
Behind every person’s success was someone who made an introduction, gave them a shot, or advocated for them when they weren’t in the room.
So, if you're wondering what to invest in this 2026, invest in relationships:
• Stay in touch with former managers and colleagues
• Be helpful to people, even when it doesn’t seem like there's anything in it for you
• Be the person others remember positively when opportunities arise
Why? Because people hire people they know, promote people they trust, and open doors for people they remember.
What else did we learn together this year?
25 of my top career tactics of 2025
To take with you into 2026.
Stories and strategies:
1. How to derisk big career moves (Edition #89)
- Lessons from Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty
2. How to build your dream in pieces (Edition #93)
- Lessons from Andy Weir’s “The Martian”
3. How to be remembered (Edition #94)
- Lessons from Oscar winners
4. How to make the most of those you know (Edition #97)
- Lessons from Keanu Reeves
5. How to show people what you’re capable of (Edition #98)
- Lessons from Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison
6. How to reframe the problem (Edition #99)
- Lessons from NVIDIA’s Jonah Alben
7. Know what matters to those who matter (Edition #102)
- Lessons from the Tata Nano car
8. How to shape your professional story (Edition #104)
- Lessons from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
9. How to leave people remembering you fondly (Edition #106)
- Lessons from Hollywood director Ava DuVernay
10. Why you should let your goals change (Edition #112)
- Lessons from Reshma Saujani’s Girls Who Code
11. How to step up and show your potential (Edition #114)
- Lessons from Kat Cole’s rise from Hooters waitress to president
12. How to find solutions that others missed (Edition #117)
- Lessons from autistic researcher Temple Grandin
13. How to pivot after rejection (Edition #119)
- Lessons from Morris Chang’s TSMC
14. How to disarm others (Edition #120)
- Lessons from Charlie Mullin’s Pimlico Plumbers
15. How to build better habits (Edition #122)
- 1 mental hack that high achievers use
16. How to reality check your dream job (Edition #126)
- Lessons from K-pop idols
17. How to start a side hustle (Edition #127)
- Lessons from Salman Khan’s Khan Academy
18. How to let failure redirect you (Edition #129)
- Lessons from music legend Max Martin
Career questions from subscribers:
19. How to overcome self-doubt during the job hunt (AMA #16)
- A subscriber asks about dealing with a layoff
20. How to ace your job interview (AMA #17)
- A subscriber asks about how to get past interviews
21. How to make a career pivot (AMA #24)
- A subscriber asks about making a mid career change
22. How to network effectively on LinkedIn (AMA #32)
- A subscriber asks about the unspoken rules of cold outreach
23. How to fix a burnt bridge (AMA #35)
- A subscriber asks about handling a rescinded offer
24. How to find work in the face of ageism (AMA #38)
- A subscriber asks about competing against cheaper talent
25. How to make a place for yourself in the age of AI (AMA #39)
- A subscriber asks about generalists versus technicalists
See you next Tuesday for our next story and unspoken rule,
Gorick
WHAT I’M READING
Here are 3 articles that I found interesting recently (no paywalls, although it may depend on your cookies):
- “Don't fall for the myth that no one hires during the holidays” (Business Insider)
- “The Screen That Ate Your Child’s Education” (New York Times)
- “Tech is not the sexy job it used to be” (Fast Company)
MORE OF MY WORK
Every newsletter is free and a fraction of my work. Here are 3 of my paid offerings that may interest you:
1. Keynote speaking: If your organization is looking for speakers for your internship program, new hire orientation, new student orientation, manager training, all-hands meetings, recruiting season, year-end performance evaluation season, or something else, let's chat!
2. How to Say It: Flashcards that teach you to know what to say in every high-stakes professional setting via hundreds of fill-in-the-blank scripts (just like the examples above). Free shipping on all orders over $40.
3. The Unspoken Rules: My Wall Street Journal Bestseller that Arianna Huffington calls “a blueprint for anyone starting their career, entering a new role, or wanting to get unstuck.” Used by top companies and MBA programs.
4. Soft skills crash course: Hard skills get you hired, but a lack of soft skills gets you fired. Equip your interns and early career talent with the essential behaviors of high performers in just 3.5 hours.
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