This week’s inspirational #MusicMonday song is “The Skills To Pay The Bills” by The Beastie Boys.

Sometimes it’s too easy to forget how good you are while you’re out of work, as there aren’t as many people on a daily basis telling you how much you rock. Which you do. I don’t think The Beastie Boys have ever had this problem.

As one of the most influential hip-hop groups ever, they’ll be the first to tell you how dope their rhymes are. Which they certainly do, in “The Skills To Pay The Bills”.

Issued in 1992, the song was originally the name of a “Pass the Mic” Japanese bonus track remix, but The Beastie Boys liked the name so much they decided to make a separate B-side song out of it, with the help of a sampled beat from a former Jimi Hendrix drummer (Buddy Miles Express “Train”).

It’s important to understand and remember your best skills, not just on paper. When the interviewer asks you to tell them about yourself, you need to be able to tell them you bring more to the table than just “the Futterman’s rule”. I know it’s tough sometimes to silence the voice in your head saying ”just get a job, just get a job, just get a job” (Believe me, I know!), but I’ve found that my best foot forward was to know myself forward and backwards - what I was about and what I was good at, ultimately not wasting your time or the interviewer’s time. 

Make yourself the obvious choice to put your resume in the follow-up pile. Know yourself. Know your skills. Time to rock the mic.

By Jeff Fryer, 405 Club Member with mad skills to pay his bills.

Read more of Jeff’s weekly Inspirational Music Monday posts here.