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How my tattoo led to a job offer | Nonfiction

Write Dumb: Writing Better By Thinking Less by James Dowd

In 2022, I got a tattoo that (surprisingly) led to a job offer.

I’ll start from the beginning…

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I’m twenty-eight years old.

There’s a Creative Director I really admire.

His name’s James Dowd.

James writes a book called Write Dumb: Writing Better By Thinking Less and promotes it on LinkedIn.

I click.

I buy.

I read it cover to cover.

Write Dumb becomes one of my favorite books on creativity—and completely changes my approach to writing.

I can’t stop thinking about this one line:

“Don’t overthink it. Get it tattooed on your wrist if you have to.”

So, I do.

Well, I go for the forearm.

Later that night, I send James a message on LinkedIn.

I tell him I had been stuck in a creative rut for months, overthinking every word I wrote, and I couldn’t come up with a good idea to save my life.

I explain how Write Dumb turned everything around for me, helped me get out of my own way, and gave me the headspace to execute one the best campaigns I had ever worked on:

What Do You Think We Are, A Bank?

I tell him I wrote ads on billboards, subways, busses, taxis, and windows all over New York. My client requested to put me on retainer. I was named Employee of the Month.

I thank him for writing Write Dumb.

And I tell him about the tattoo.

“Dude…really?!”

“Yeah.”

A few months pass.

My tattoo heals.

I’m still in a good head space.

James and I haven’t talked in a while.

I’m scrolling on LinkedIn when I get a notification.

The CEO of, let’s call it, “Creative Consultancy I Really Love” posted something. He wants to hire a few writers. I click. I see that James tagged me in the comments. And later, recommended me for the position.

A few interviews later, I get an offer.

How?

Well, isn’t it obvious?

I proved my loyalty to James by getting a tattoo.

(Kidding.)

I have no idea.

I never asked.

But if I had to guess, I’d assume James liked me, and thought my work was decent. I’d also assume he was tired of getting bombarded with superficial requests to connect, overconfident fluff, and unsolicited pitches on social media. I’d also assume that it’s only gotten worse since ChatGPT.

If I had to guess, I’d assume James bought into me because I bought into him.

Which reminds me of something my ad professor, Martin Bihl, said to me:

“When you look for a job, you get advice.

When you look for advice, you get a job.”

And when I read Write Dumb, I was not looking for a job.

Hope this helps,

Jake

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P.S

Here’s your link to Write Dumb.

P.P.S

Here’s your link to my free course The Challenger Copywriter’s Blueprint.

Thanks for reading.

See you next week,

Jake