Create Your Own Job
Turn the work you love into evidence before asking for permission
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 93%
When Kemp was unsure whether to follow his parents into acting or music, his mother asked him to forget those labels and name what he loved doing. His answer was chatting about football with friends. She then reframed that activity as a possible job and challenged him to make his own material so people could see he could do it. Kemp used money from his gym job to buy a camera, filmed projects for others, made videos on weekends, and eventually moved from filming into presenting. The reusable mechanism is to identify an energising activity, express it as a concrete output, make the smallest credible version without waiting for institutional access, and use the resulting proof to approach opportunities. Feedback and further samples strengthen the evidence until an employer or collaborator no longer has to rely on an unsupported promise.
Origin
Kemp traces the method to a conversation with his mother while he was weighing acting, music, and other paths. She asked what he loved, then told him to make work that showed he could turn football conversation into a job. Extracted from The Diary of a CEO.
Core principles
- 01Start with the activity you genuinely enjoy rather than an inherited job label
- 02A self-created sample can exist before an employer grants access
- 03Showing ability is stronger than asking someone to imagine it
- 04Available tools and small audiences are enough to begin creating evidence
How to run it
- 1
Remove inherited labels
Temporarily set aside the careers other people followed or expect and focus on the activity itself.
Pro tip Answer with something you enjoy doing, not a prestigious title.
Watch out Copying a familiar career can conceal what actually sustains your interest.
- 2
Name the loved activity
Identify a specific activity that gives energy and that you would willingly practise with other people or alone.
Pro tip Use a verb-led description such as explaining football rather than presenter.
- 3
Shape a demonstrable output
Convert the activity into a sample a potential audience, employer, or collaborator can directly evaluate.
Pro tip Keep the first format small enough to finish with current resources.
Watch out A plan or claim is not a substitute for a finished sample.
- 4
Make it with what is available
Use accessible equipment, friends, or self-publishing channels to produce the first credible version.
Pro tip Let paid side work fund only the minimum equipment the sample needs.
Watch out Do not wait for premium equipment before learning whether the output works.
- 5
Show and improve
Put the work in front of relevant people, learn from the response, and make stronger versions.
Pro tip Seek feedback on the work rather than general reassurance about the ambition.
- 6
Ask with evidence
Approach the next opportunity by showing what you have already made and how it maps to the work required.
Pro tip Make it easy for the decision-maker to compare your sample with the existing output.
Watch out An opportunity still has to be earned; self-creation does not guarantee selection.
In the wild
While working at a gym, Kemp bought a DSLR and filmed material for friends, rappers, and his own YouTube channel. A Football Daily idea led first to filming, then to appearing in the video because it was quicker and cheaper, and eventually to more presenting work.
→ Self-produced creative evidence opened a route into presenting that Kemp had not originally planned.
Common mistakes
Starting with a borrowed identity
Kemp became clearer only after his mother asked him to set aside acting and music paths associated with his parents.
Asking before showing
Without a sample, the other person has little evidence that the proposed work can be done.
Waiting for institutional access
Kemp's mother challenged the assumption that a major broadcaster had to grant the first chance to practise.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for people whose desired work can be demonstrated through a small self-produced sample.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for regulated roles that require formal qualifications or for work samples that would breach consent, safety, or copyright.
From the transcript
“what do you like love doing like what makes you happy”
“why can't you just make your own stuff”
“you just have to show people that you can do that”
From the episode
Roman Kemp: Why Communication Is More Important Than Ever