Back To Career News

3 Career Lessons From Batkid

Topics:

By now, everyone with an internet connection and need to restore their faith in humanity has read the story of Miles Scott, better known as Batkid, the pint-sized cancer survivor who saved San Francisco from evildoers, with a little help from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But what you might not know is that Batkid can also help save your career.

 batkid

(Photo Credit: photogism/Flickr)

First, a little background, in case you spent last week in a (bat)cave: the Make-A-Wish Foundation put on a citywide role-playing game for 5-year-old Miles, whose wish was to be his hero Batman for one day. Patricia Wilson, head of the foundation’s Bay Area headquarters, put out a call for help to make his dream come true. She got so many responses, she had to turn volunteers away.

Do You Know What You're Worth?

Someone donated a Lamborghini Batmobile. Actors dressed up as Batman, several of his nemeses, and a damsel in distress. Even better, thousands of people turned out to cheer on Batkid, filming and tweeting his exploits. Even President Obama took time to send his congratulations, saying, “Way to go, Miles. Way to save Gotham.”

So what can we learn from Batkid?

1. Give people a chance to surprise you.

A few weeks ago, if someone had asked you if an entire city would stop what they’re doing for a day to make a kid’s dreams of being Batman come true, what would you have said? And yet, look at the turnout for Batkid. That’s more inspiring than catching the Riddler.

2. Use social media to build your brand.

Chances are, you heard Batkid’s story from your Twitter feed, or some other social media outlet. #batkid was a trending topic on Friday. As Boston Globe writer Shalise M. Young tweeted, it might be Twitter’s finest moment.

3. Ask for help — and ask big.

Patricia Wilson could have found a few folks to donate their time (and snazzy car) to the cause, but instead, she put out a larger call — and got thousands of San Franciscans to play along. As a result, one little boy’s dream came true. And the rest of us feel a little better about mankind.

Tell Us What You Think

Who is your favorite unconventional career hero? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt
Read more from Jen

Leave a Reply

avatar
  Subscribe  
Notify of
What Am I Worth?

What your skills are worth in the job market is constantly changing.