The Briefcase Technique 2.0, with Ramit Sethi

[@rahulanandiam]

I've used the briefcase technique a number of times - and it WORKS. And not just job interviews or freelance jobs (where it definitely works) - I have used it for end-of-year reviews, upselling clients. I've found the key to be ASTONISHING PREPARATION - though, the rest of it is great too!

[@healthykrissy212]

I did something similar to this at my internship. They asked me in the interview are you comfortable with photoshop and social media ads. I told them absolutely let me show you something! Pulled out my iPad and gave her a slideshow of my projects I've worked on. She loved it! Hired me on the spot.

[@healthykrissy212]

mikatu mhmmmm..... I get what your saying but in an interview if someone asked you if you know Microsoft office would you show them examples of that? Probably not. That's the mindset I had when she asked me that question. I was the only intern with a portfolio.

[@prasannakatre4040]

I have to thank ramit for a dream job I got at one of the fastest growing enterprise saas startup. I used this exact technique to land it. Case study, Problem in the marketing strategy and hypothesis associated with it and how I am going to solve it. Blew everyone's mind in the interview and they literally created a position for me :)

[@tumblingrosesstudio]

This works SO WELL in getting raises and asking for title advancements- used it for YEARS, ended up making over $250k. Now I use it in sales. Bext discovery I ever made

[@TubeeoDOTcom]

It is staggering how closed minded some people are..here is a guy who is incredibly successful sharing a fantastic skill for FREE , and some people are so small minded that they bag him (really bagging themselves)...if you can't see how this can help you somewhere down the track...please step back and think again...there are literally hundreds of opportunities to use this in almost all of our lives.

[@nikdelweno1]

with great briefcases comes great responsibility

[@Bluejanis]

I think you're using youre technique in the video on us! At 0:54 you are using your preparation to convince us. Not bad!

[@ReformationDesigns]

Thanks for the work you guys do. I know a number of folks, myself included, who have landed large clients with this technique.

[@mutajrjr1970]

The job i got at my company came from the fact that i did know the complexity and potential solutions of the company.....Thats why i got the job and why I'm successful. If you dont want a successful company more power to ya.

[@BlackSwanTactical]

In 2011, I interviewed for a Linux Sys Admin position at Orbitz in Chicago and I did 2 things. In a prior interview for Excelon, Illinois largest energy supplier, I was asked to dev PERL code to manage users and groups on 1000's of Unix/Linux systems, so I brought those code samples(~15 pages). Then for Orbitz, I WROTE a (~55 page doc) on Linux system performance measurement/tuning, which is what the job was. Tuning Linux systems. And, between the resume, apps, and doc... I DID NOT GET THE JOB.

[@unleashthedog]

As a supervisor, after leaving my post, I advised one of the best employees that was due a raise, I suggested her pretty much the same. I told her: if you go in the meeting with things written on paper instead of just discussing, you will be more successful, they will be framed into talking about THAT

[@rumples584]

Imagine you have the proposal and you hand it to them to look over it... would you want it back at the end of this meeting or does that look bad? In this scenario, they would not have committed to what you want but seem generally positive. The trade off is you want them to like you but i wouldn't want to just hand over my work for nothing tangible. It would've been a good point to address in the video.

[@lshave24]

@Panglos I suppose in my brevity I made it quite easy to jump to conclusions. The point is, arrogance is a turn off. The first half of Rami's technique (do your homework and figure out what kind of problems your potential employer is facing) is brilliant. Coming to the interview with "the answers" is arrogant (unless of course the job is as a salesperson).

[@setnaffa]

Read "Don't Send A Resume"... And reconsider...

[@tessyakede7084]

Who else still watches old videos

[@alexh.lamarche9633]

I understand the idea, but I believe this concept is easier to apply for people whom intend to work with a company that it's product is for the public, easily available or the ITs. But for a private company that produce raw material (mining industry), the first and second transformation industry, etc. it is more difficult to apply this method, and one will have to go through an extensive research about the company in question to produce such a document

[@JasonfromMinnesota]

+Aleks H. Lamarche you need to make friends with current employees and learn about problems and projects within you will need to infiltrate the place even if it means being a client of the business

[@Roamstrong]

lol. Make friends in the company. Use your network. Dive deep. Difficult simply means less people will be prepared for the job - meaning you have an even greater shot at success if you're capable.

[@archieedwards2535]

correct me if i'm wrong, but is this not essentially saying "all you have to do to ace an interview is... know exactly how to solve all of their business problems!" pretty sure thats easier said than done. feels like the focus on the briefcase is a little misleading when you consider that. its also kind of common sense

[@lakhbirsingh4403]

yes! this is common sense. But you know, these days common sense is not that common anymore :P

[@Roamstrong]

"Everybody" knows, but not everybody does. Think about fitness: it seems that most outcomes are pretty rudimentary (eat less, move more), yet people still paralyzes themselves in thought. "Oooh, what the hell am I gonna do? I'm gaining this WEIGHT, how do I burn it off? There's just no way, no matter what!" Bullshit, you know exactly why you're struggling; you ignore what works and pander to what doesn't work because it's more convenient, ignoring the work that goes into it. People simply don't put in the effort to act, so heuristics - like calling preparing and presenting a proposal literally from a briefcase, then calling it the Briefcase Technique - help people to act. That's the value.

[@AJBats]

"I'm going to show you this technique, but before I do let me show you some of the results my readers have gotten.." Anyone else notice he uses the briefcase technique on us before showing us the briefcase technique?

[@packleader1215]

The game changes when they see the numbers. Facts tell, stories sell!

[@georgeyu3622]

Hi, what if the interview is done online over video?

[@AcharyaChanakya108]

Create a slide deck, present using screenshare or email it to interviewers beforehand. I have used both approaches, and they both work depending on context.

[@LTF85199]

Brilliant, thanks

[@tillus7101]

Why the reupload?

[@PrabaPrakash]

Startups, This will work for sure, Indian startups are really ready for this type of person, It worked for me. but I can't be sure about MNC in India.

[@studyeye]

What's the difference between the briefcase technique 2.0 and the original briefcase technique? Why does he have the exact same video uploaded, but calling the technique something different/

[@MrApplewine]

New commentary before and after. 2.0 of the video, not the technique.

[@MrTobyck]

I'd wager that Orbitz may have taken your document detailing "how I'm going to do what you're going to pay me to do, or, how your existing employees can do it without you paying me anything" and taken advantage of that free information.

[@anonymousmouseman]

There's a difference between highlighting a solution to a problem and executing on that solution though. Just because I understand that something is a problem and can recognize the value of a potential solution, doesn't mean I know how to execute on that solution in the right way. There's a reason content marketing is so big right now - show them you're an expert, provide free content, eventually folks who recognize your expertise and their own inability to replicate will pay you (and because of the 'thought leader' status you've created for yourself you can charge a premium and recoup the cost of developing all that content in the first place).

[@dasunit07]

ive worked for a few public companies since i graduated college last june. i like the approach here in bringing some written prep material that focuses on identifying and improving aspect(s) of the company you are interviewing with but like Lee Shaver said, nowadays companies don't disclose a lot of private issues or warrants that could be useful for this type of technique due to client data protection violations. Frankly, i see it as caucky and very very risky approach

[@lshave24]

@hdgamevideos1 Touché. The flip side of my comment is that I do appreciate candidates (and have hired several) who have done their homework and ask probative questions. This shows someone who knows how to dive into a problem.

[@Panglos]

@lshave24 Fair enough. It depends on who is jumping to conclusions. 2:22 is key. It appeared that you had made the assumption that Rami was advocating presenting solutions based upon only a superficial knowledge of the customer's problems, and so had jumped to an erroneous conclusion. Where I was wrong was in my assertion that even an erroneous presentation would be well-received. Having now seen all of the video, it's clear that Rami does not present a scenario in which that would be true.

[@KeyEveris]

If I had to guess at anything, I'd say it was the amount of pages. If you're going to hire somebody do you want to read 55 pages they hand you? No. This video shows 5 pages, a nice, small, simple, easy to read quickly, number.

[@setnaffa]

Executive Summary... Other details memorized... Kind of a combination of Fox and Company and McKinsey...

[@Hardymum11]

Unless you have someone on the inside who will tell you exactly what their problems and needs are, how are you going to get all this information?

[@Stephoceaneee]

Hi Ramit, how would I use this technique applying for a full-time job in sales?

[@ramitsethi]

You tell me. I gave you the framework here. How would you apply it?

[@odoosrilanka9883]

wow awesome method.

[@danieljohnsonxyz]

This is called preparation .

[@TIGERZY2K]

If the employers of the firm are of orthodox mindset, how could briefcase technique work under such situations since there could be chances of rejecting the innovative ideas and solutions.

[@Roamstrong]

People don't often disagree with themselves. So take the words right out of their mouths and use them in the proposal...

[@Anuojat]

Id imagine people/hiring managers that scoff at you and say "this has nothing to do with the interwiev what are you doing? We dont have time for somethign arbitary that you think you want to show us." Arent worth your time or good company to work for?

[@41DiRkNoWiTzKi41]

+ramitsethi How could you do this when applying for a job as a physiotherapist? Any ideas?

[@lutaayam]

I love it

[@Ace12341]

Nigga i work at fast food industries, how the fuck am i suppose to pull this shit off?

[@morehn]

YounG Take a cheeseburger out of your case. Maybe it'll help. Can't hurt. Let me know how it went.

[@demonbadger666]

+YounG That's where bettering yourself through education comes in to get out of that position.

[@JasonfromMinnesota]

+YounG there is trash all around the grounds > i will pick it up

[@kristopherryanwatson]

+YounG time to get a real job, nigga.

[@Jaked500]

Just use this stuff every time a promotion opportunity presents itself, they`re so used to dealing with high school kids and stoners that you`ll get it no problem. Rinse and Repeat till you`re corporate. Take every paid training opportunity available and try for the ones that aren`t. That or go work in a real industry, learn a trade or something, pays better than burger flipping

[@GuitaristInProgress]

This doesn't work at all! Last time I tried this, I brought my briefcase to the interview, and when they asked how much I wanted, I opened my briefcase, and - THERE WAS NO PIECE OF PAPER WITH THE SOLUTIONS TO ALL THEIR BUSINESS PROBLEMS! At all! It was humiliating!

[@setnaffa]

You must have brought the wrong briefcase...

[@BillyVatcher]

GOLDEN

[@AndreTeow]

I think it applies more to independent contractors rather than employees FT

[@grimview]

Great now that I know what to do, I can do it myself, rather then hire some else to to it.

[@lshave24]

As someone who conducts interviews on a weekly basis, any candidate who came in thinking they understood the complexity and potential solutions to the problems my company deals with would come across as ignorant and arrogant - not the kind of person I would hire.

[@Panglos]

@lshave24 Obviously, the optimum solution is a combination of showing competence in determining areas for improvement and proposing well thought-out solutions. But proactively making an attempt, even an erroneous one, puts a candidate way ahead of the vast majority of applicants. You, on the other hand, appear to be a negative thinker. I wouldn't accept a position working with such a person. There's too much opportunity, and life's too short, for that.

[@thewhitewolffl]

@lshave24 No wonder you interviewing on a weekly basis.

[@jjester7777]

Sounds like its a case of Hippocratic Method. ;)

[@donwebber2524]

Maybe you are right in some instances, but you are essentially saying here that if YOU don't have the solutions, then NO ONE else is capable of producing them. THAT is ignorant and arrogant.

[@AchHadda]

no he is saying that if you are the one to bring them up as an outsider it means you are an expert in that and he will be more comfortable to hire you than another person

[@JasonfromMinnesota]

"I'm going to show you this technique, but before I do let me show you some of the results my readers have gotten.." Anyone else notice he uses the briefcase technique on us before showing us the briefcase technique?

[@AJ29BaseballPlayer]

This video uses the briefcase technique to sell us on using the briefcase technique lol it's easy to pick up