One Door at a Time
How Good Work and the Right People Build a Career
Dozens of applications. Almost no replies. Every job he ever held came through a person who had seen his work.
Sent away from medical school for want of fees, Ibrahim Halkano Abduba lived on bread and water in Dar es Salaam until his classmates’ news led him to a trainee job in technology. He went on to lead enterprise systems rollouts across Africa, in as many as twenty-three countries at once. Then his hotel failed, and he took a job at 15 per cent of his old pay.
Looking back, he found the pattern. Not one door had opened because of a cold application. Every one had opened because of a person.
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Skills get you in the building. People open the doors inside it.
One Door at a Time is a practical guide to the two things that build a career: work good enough to be noticed, and the people who notice it. It is written for graduates who have heard nothing back, young professionals unsure where the next job will come from, and managers knocked off course. Every chapter tells one true story and ends with a tool you can use the same week.
Thirteen tools for every stage of a career
Each one comes from a door in the author’s own story, from a first job to a step down and back up.
The Next Open Door
When a plan fails, ask what is open to you right now, even if it is smaller than what you wanted.
The 24-Hour Rule
When someone gives you a lead, act on it within 24 hours.
Make Your Manager’s Week Easier
Every Friday, ask what you finished without being chased, and what problem you solved before your manager had to.
Count Before You Trust
Before you hand anything over, set up a count of stock, cash or work done, checked on a fixed day.
Enlarge the Role
Every quarter, find the problem next to your role that nobody has claimed, and deliver it.
Leave Every Project With a Friend
At the end of every project, thank people specifically, in writing, for what they did.
The Safety Net Test
Before any leap, ask how many months your household could live if it ended tomorrow.
Visible Work
Name what you are known for, and show proof, not adjectives.
Build the Road Before You Burn the Bridge
Before you resign, make sure the new thing is proven and the household agrees.
Inboxes and Decision-Makers
Applications go to inboxes. Referrals go to decision-makers.
The Long Way Up
Offered less than you deserve? Ask whether it keeps you working, among the right people.
Pay the Door Forward
Pass on every relevant opportunity you hear about, the same day.
Be Seen Without Being in the Room
Working remotely, over-communicate in writing, and use AI to sharpen your work, never to fake it.
From the introduction
I found my job hunt in my sent emails.
Not long ago I was looking through my sent emails for something unrelated. Instead of what I was looking for, I found my job hunt.
Screen after screen of sent messages. Each had a CV attached. Each was signed with a title I had spent years earning. There were dozens of applications, for roles I was qualified for, sent between January 2018 and March 2019. Beside almost every one, the same reply: nothing.
Sitting there, I traced how I had found every job I ever held. Not one of those doors opened because of a cold application. Every one opened because of a person.
Who this book is for
Graduates and job seekers
Sent out applications and heard nothing back? Learn how jobs really reach people, and how to be the person they reach.
Young professionals
Good at the job but unsure where the next one will come from? Build the work and the relationships that open the next door.
Mid-career managers
Knocked off course, or ready for a higher role? Find a way back, or a way up, one door at a time.
