In this issue:

• Why you should focus on the fundamentals of your job search instead of looking for a magic pill

• Updating your resume

• Updating your linkedin

• Tapping into your network

• How to apply to jobs

• Building out your networking

• Sourcing your own jobs

Before we begin, a word from our sponsor (and the very first one for this newsletter 🥳)

There are no “absolutes” when it comes to job search advice. There is no “magic pill” that will land you a job immediately.

Why it matters: The more you focus on doing the right things, the more you increase your chances of success.

And that’s what it’s all about.

Baseball is a funny sport. I’m not a fan by any means (basketball & football guy), but it has the best comparisons to your job search by far.

A lot of failure and trial & error are apart of baseball. You only need to hit .250 to be considered “average”. If you hit .300, you’re a hall of famer.

Imagine only having to be right 3 out of every 10 times to be considered one of the best of all time?

That’s like your job search. You’re going to get rejected a lot. Rejected applications. Ghosted from recruiters. Failed Interviews.

But just like in baseball, you only need to get it right a few times to be successful.

You have to keep doing the right things time and time again. Day in and day out. And eventually you get on base. Once you get on base, you increase your chances of scoring a run. Hell, you may even hit a home run one of these days. Or maybe you hit an RBI and help someone else score in the process, sending good karma your way eventually.

And that’s what it’s all about. Focus on the fundamentals. Focus on getting on base. And eventually you will score.

The main point is that there is no secret sauce.

While

So how do we “get on base” you ask? Let’s dive in 👇

Hitting A Single

Let’s focus on a few activities that will help you get on first base. Simple stuff you already know how to do that will set up the overall success of your job search.

1: Update Your Resume

The foundation later of your job search. You’ll want to tackle this first. Even if you have a good network, you’ll eventually be asked to send your resume to someone, somewhere and you’ll want to be able to do that as soon as possible.

So let’s figure out your resume first before we go over everything else.

Update it with a good, readable format and don’t focus on that fancy template crap.

Make sure every experience answers three questions:

• What you did, which should include a brief description of LOB/Project along with responsibilities

• How you did it, the hard skills you’ve used to do you what you did

• What you achieved, the outcome of your projects. Do your best to quantify this to show your direct, measurable impact that will separate you from the rest of the pack

Here’s a basic example of what I’ve used to place the strong majority of my 700 candidates. It doesn’t have to be this exact format, but point being there are no bells and whistles. Just easy to read and to understand.

2: Update Your LinkedIn

Your LinkedIn is almost the first thing every recruiter and hiring manager will look at.

Two pieces of general advice:

• It should mirror your resume (titles, some of the bullet points, and tenures at each job). If it doesn’t, some recruiters and hiring managers may consider that a red flag.

• You should fill it out as much as possible, it will help us find you faster when we are running searches to source candidates via Linkedin Recruiter.

What most people don’t know is that recruiters don’t use the same linkedin website you use to find candidates. LinkedIn Recruiter - our version of linkeidn premium - mimics a job board similar to dice, monster, indeed etc.

So just like job boards - we use keywords, boolean, titles, and everything in between to find candidates.

The more information you add in - including bullet points like on your resume - the more you allow the linkedin algo to pull your resume into a search when we’re sourcing for your skillset.

If nothing is filled out - then there’s obviously nothing for us to find.

Advancing To Second Base

Now it’s time to advance to second. These activities will put you in scoring position. The more you do this, the more you can either advance to third to further increase your chances to score a run, or maybe someone else hits one deep to right field allowing you to score off an RBI.

3: Tap Into Your Current Network

Most of you reading this have a decent network without even realizing it.

Think of all the people that you used to work with. Whether they were former colleagues at your current company, or former colleagues at your previous company. Same goes with your managers as well.

You’d be surprised how willing these folks are to help you out. Think about it. They already know your body of work, who you are personally, so chances are they’re more likely to refer you into a position.

Start reaching out to these folks and see if they’d be willing to lend a helping hand.

4: Apply to jobs online

While this is self-explanatory, there are some helpful tips you might have overlooked:

• If you see a job you’re interested in via job board/linkedin, try to track it down and apply directly onto the company website

• Try to track down the specific job poster via linkedin. When you do reach out to them, make their job easy and let them know the specific job ID you applied to OR the literal URL if the ID is not available

• If you can’t find the job poster, reach out to a recruiter or hiring manager who fits the LOB listed in the job description and repeat the step above

• Spend a few minutes tweaking your resume to emphasize the keywords listed in the requirements on your resume

Advancing To Third

Now we’re really doing things that can

5: Build Out Your Network

Whether you have a network or not, you should always be looking to add onto it.

Why? IMO your job stability isn’t found in your job. It’s found in your network. If you got laid of right now, you should be able to reach out to at least 3-5 people who can help refer you into an interview.

We went over previous colleagues above which is the first place where you should start.

Another great option is reaching out to former college alumni. My network - which started from 0 in 2014 - was originally built upon this practice and still is to this day.

Finding a “point of commonality” is extremely important when trying to network because it gives something you both can relate to. And college is a great way to start, because who didn’t have fun in college?

Use the alumni tab on your alma matter and the various search filters to find people in your location & niche then reach out to them.

6: Source your own jobs

Instead of using the “jobs” tab on linkedin, you can use the same type of boolean search strings we use in the search bar on linkedin.

This is important for two reasons:

• If someone’s posting about a job, chances are it’s an urgent need

• If they’re posting it, chances are they’re also a decision maker

You can use chatgpt to help figure out a boolean search for you, but a basic one can be like:

(“Title” OR “Alternative Title”) AND “Hiring” AND “Skill 1” AND “skill 2”

There you have it - focus on these fundamentals and you’ll eventually land something.

If you’re looking for some extra & bespoke advice, book a call with me here

If you’re hiring for roles & need my recruiting support, let’s book a call here

If you’re a recruiter looking to level up your game, check out my other newsletter, The Rainmakers here