The one where Pikachu takes Wall Street

Volunteering is catapult for your career.

Here’s how volunteering got me on the Times Square Jumbotron 👇

In 2016, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my career.

I knew I wanted to dive into tech.

• But I didn't know how.

• I didn’t know much about tech, or the opportunities available

• I didn’t know how to code

So I decided to take the approach of “Tony Starking” the tech industry.

I made a list of all of the most interesting upcoming tech events in the area.

• I determined which ones were big, exciting, motivational, educational.

• What topics each of them covered and what I was interested in learning about

It was my opportunity to be a sponge.

Hyperlearning - absorbing knowledge as quickly as possible.

Becoming an expert at the current events in tech, even if I wasn’t the most knowledgeable about many industry topics.

But enough to be dangerous.

"Wow! Techweek sounds awesome!"

I thought to myself.

But I missed the one in Toronto by a month.

The next one was in New York City.

"Aah crap... money..." 😰

- I'd need to get a flight or bus ticket $$$

- The event costs money $$$

- Accommodation in NYC is expensive $$$

- Everything else in NYC is expensive too $$$

💸💸💸

I was between jobs. I didn't have money to burn.

Here's what I did:

1. Achievement #1: I reached out to the event and asked if it was possible to volunteer.

   ⭐ They said yes!!!

2. Achievement #2: Saved by booking a cheap bus ticket for only $50

3. Achievement #3: Found a friend in NYC who offered to let me crash on their couch for a week.

It was all lined up!

So I left and went down there, and made it my mission to talk to every one of the volunteers I could.

I was the only volunteer who showed up to EVERY SINGLE EVENT.

The question I kept getting:
"You came all the way from Toronto to volunteer for this?"

Yes. I did.

The organizers started to notice me.

I offered to do every single one of the crappy jobs.

I became the go-to indispensable person for every event.

They quickly realized they could rely on me to get shit done.

On the last day, the head organizer said:

"Hey Izzy, do you want to do something crazy tomorrow at 8am?

We can't tell you what it is yet, but if you say yes, there's no backing out. You won't regret it.”

"I'm in."

I showed up at the address at 8am.

They handed me a giant Pikachu costume to wear.

And they told me what I was about to do…

WHAT?!?!

Later that day, they asked me to attend the VIP event for all the sponsors, and important people, which was held in the penthouse suite at One World Trade.

"Holy moly. How is this happening?"

The lesson here wasn't about how this was the peak moment of my life and that everything else since has been dull and meaningless (kidding).

LESSON:
Volunteering is the biggest and most accessible career hack anyone can access for FREE.

BENEFITS:

→ Get into amazing conferences for free

→ Learn all the latest industry insights

→ Connect with key stakeholders in the industry

→ Build a strong relationship with the hyperconnected event organizers

The last one is the true cherry on top.

Next steps for you.

1. Make a list.

2. Volunteer.

3. Do it now.