Standing out in a sea of 500

Why playing it safe is the riskiest move you can make

Aug 21, 2025

"How do I know you?"

That's what Erica Brush asked me when she let me into the u&u. Recruitment Office last night for my IABC Queensland presentation. We spent two minutes trying to figure it out.

Turns out, we'd played netball against each other 27 years ago. Same team, actually, in a Queensland U15s schoolgirls netball tournament in the country town of Roma.

Twenty-seven years.

But here'swhat hit me harder than that coincidence: Erica shared her recruitment wisdom, and opened the event by dropping a stat that should terrify anyone coasting on autopilot.

Nine out of ten jobs are never advertised.

Let that sink in.

And for the one job that does get posted? Hundreds of applicants. Sometimes 500, like the story I'm about to tell you.

The quarter-life crisis that changed everything

It’s 2008. I'm drowning in corporate life at Accenture, having what you'd generously call a Quarter-Life Crisis.

My best friend Camilla is right there with me in the QLC club.

Then she reads this article in Frankie magazine about a company called Wicked Campers.

They're hiring a "Wicked Evangelist" – part marketing, part pure enthusiasm. Neither of us had marketing experience. Both of us wanted that job desperately.

Five hundred people applied for one position.

Somehow, miraculously, both Camilla and I made the shortlist. Her interview was Tuesday. Mine was Wednesday.

Now it's getting awkward.

But instead of playing it safe, we did something that felt completely insane at the time.

We borrowed a Wicked camper van from a local backpackers in West End Brisbane, drove around town filming backpackers, and created a two-part documentary series.

Camilla played volume one in her job interview. I showed up the next day with volume two.

John, the founder, was so impressed that he hired both of us. For a job that was supposed to be for one person.

Part of our role ended up being travelling around Australia and New Zealand filming road trip videos. Some of those videos are still on YouTube, looking gloriously grainy by today's standards.

Camilla and I during our first Wicked road trip adventure, filming in Alice Springs.

The pattern interrupt that creates opportunities

When John advertised the position, he wasn't even thinking about video content.

But our job interview approach didn't just get us hired – it shaped the entire direction of their marketing strategy.

In our first week of work, he sent us off to buy a neat iMac and all the video gear, microphones, etc.

We created the job we wanted.

That's what happens when you stop asking "What do they want?" and start asking "What can I bring that no one else is thinking of?"

But here's the part that made me pause during my presentation last night (btw, read this excellent wrap-up of the IABC Work Fame event, written by Helen Goodwin).

A common theme kept surfacing: people being scared of standing out.

The safe choice is the dangerous choice

I get it. Standing out feels risky. It feels pushy. It feels like you might be "too much."

If you want to be safe and belong, keep doing what you're doing. Be content with the results you're getting.

Or accept that playing it safe is actually the riskiest move you can make.

When there are 500 applicants for one role, blending in is a death sentence. When nine out of ten opportunities never see the light of day, waiting for the perfect posting is a losing strategy.

The people who build real Work Fame – the kind that creates opportunities instead of chasing them understand that standing out isn't about being loud or obnoxious. It's about being memorable for the right reasons.

It's about asking yourself: "If I were hiring for this role, what would make me stop scrolling and pay attention?"

It's about creating your own opportunities by doing things that demonstrate your thinking, your way of being….Not just your credentials.

Sometimes that means making a video when everyone else sends a resume. Sometimes it means reaching out with a thoughtful insight when everyone else waits for the job posting.

Sometimes it means being willing to look a little foolish in service of being genuinely useful.

So here's my question for you: What are you doing to build your Work Fame?

Because while you're waiting for the perfect opportunity to be advertised, someone else is out there creating their own.

Speaking of amazing opportunities…

Join the live experiment this Wednesday 28 August (12 hours only)

I've been sitting on this idea of hosting a 2-day conference for solo consultants next year (placeholder name: Con Con).

You decide whether this happens or not.

I think the consulting world needs more opportunities to connect, learn, and elevate the profession, mixed in with a dash of tropical courage.

On 16-18 June 2026 at the Gold Coast, Australia, I’d love to bring 50 brilliant consultants together.

There are over 50 people on the waitlist and the “Should I host this?” tickets go on sale Weds 28 August at 8am AEST for 12 hours only.

You need to be on the waitlist, to get the link to purchase a ticket that day.

If I sell 15 tickets on Wednesday?

Con Con is on.

If I don’t?

Con Con is canned… hahaha.

Okay… curious? Get on the waitlist!