I have a friend who’s great at beating slot machines.
You know when you’re at a casino or a hotel, and every now and then you’ll hear a stack of coins come crashing down while some guy cheers?
Well, he’s usually that guy.
And it’s because he knows a “secret”.
You see, according to him, slot machines aren’t as random as most folks think. The more cash you put into them, the more likely they are to pay out.
So what he does is, he’ll grab a coffee, sit down near some machines, and read his newspaper. He watches discreetly as people put their cash in and he bides his time. And when he senses a machine is ripe for a payout, he’ll move in, pour $20-30 dollars into it until it pays out handsomely.
Now, I don’t know how true this is.
(Maybe he wants to keep his secret — and he just fed me a load of BS.)
So I wouldn’t go following this advice and betting your own money.
However, there’s a reason I wanted to share this with you.
It reminds me a lot about how the job market works.
You see, we often receive emails from folks who’ve shown up to a job interview, given their absolute best, and missed out on the job — and, not only are they disappointed, but they feel like it was all a waste of time.
But it wasn’t!
Because the job market is like a slot machine — and, by showing up to an interview and giving their best, they’ve just put a huge stack of dollars in.
Does this mean they’re going to get a job from this interview?
Maybe — or maybe not.
Does it mean they’ve increased their chance of landing a job next time?
Absolutely it does!
They probably can’t see it — you rarely can from up close — but they’re improving their skills, increasing their confidence, and raising their perceived value. This alone increases their chances of “winning” next time around.
You have to play the job market like a slot machine.
The more interviews you put in, the greater the chance of a payout.
Remember that next time you need some motivation.
