Social Media Helped Him Land 50 New Jobs

Daniel Seddiqui is living one of the most interesting career experiences anyone has ever had, and last week, The Obvious Expert had the pleasure to interview him about the 50 new jobs Social Media has helped him land.

An Obvious Expert lands 50 jobs in 50 states

Daniel’s story begins with a degree in Economics from USC … next  came the 18,000 resumes he sent in search of a job and his 40 failed job interviews. And somewhere during his three-year unsuccessful job search, homelessness became part of his story, as well.

Everyone told Daniel he needed more experience. But of course, what do you do when it takes more experience in order to get more experience?

Then Daniel met a man on a train who offered him a job that required him to relocate to Florida. But during the conversation a light bulb of a very different nature came on for Daniel Seddiqui. He had one of those “ah-ha” moments that can turn reasonable people into visionaries and entrepreneurs.

What if, he thought …

What if, he had 50 jobs in 50 states in 50 weeks?

And from this vision, www.livingthemap.com was born. Before he even started his quest, Daniel managed to get a front-page article in his local newspaper and to his surprise, his idea didn’t just take off, it snowballed, going out to the newswire with a poll that people responded to from all over the world (he even heard from China). Apparently, the experience of job-hunting, needing work experience in order to get work experience, and the desperation of joblessness and homelessness in this economy hit home with a lot of people.

But Daniel’s vision of Living the Map, which has turned out to be so successful for him, wouldn’t have worked in the age of snail mail and newspaper ads for jobs; it wouldn’t even have worked for someone relying on the internet and posting online job applications. No, this took New Media and Social Media.

Daniel’s website made it easy for people to find him, and because of web accessibility, Daniel has given over 800 media interviews this year (compare that to the mere 40 job interviews he had racked up after more than 3 years of job searching). Currently, Daniel has more job offers than he can handle. He also has book offers from 12 major publishers. Most importantly, he has work experience in 50 different fields.

So how did he turn this idea into a reality?

Google played a big part in it.

Daniel googled to find jobs in every state, looking for an area-specific experience in each state. He wasn’t looking for just any job. He tried to make the job fit the locale. For example, Daniel worked on a thoroughbred horse farm in Kentucky; for a wedding planning company in Las Vegas, Nevada; for an incorporations company in Delaware; at a meatpacking plant in Kansas; the border patrol in Arizona; and even as seafood cook in Maryland.  We aren’t just talking jobs here, we are talking slice of life opportunities. (See Daniel’s full work resume here.)

As he went on, things got easier. The marketing company for which he worked in NYC insisted he get a Twitter account, which boosted traffic to his website. Facebook helped him find one of his first places to stay and through his Facebook page he now has a ton of friends, as well as offers for accommodations, and a lot of young women who have contacted him “just because”.

The Obvious Expert caught up with him in New Hampshire where he was working for the Democratic party and meeting with President Obama.

Next stops for Daniel: Alaska and Hawaii (life is clearly looking better for this young man these days). And as the 50-state tour comes to an end, Daniel is transitioning to speaking engagements he already has booked. No one can call him inexperienced anymore. Daniel Seddiqui has become The Obvious Expert on working across America—even in hard times—and proving that through perseverance, networking, and hope, anyone can accomplish his or her goals.

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