Part 1: How To Use Self-Interest When Going For A New Job

Part 2: Q&A (salary expectations, what do recruiters look for, when will the market shift, networking, and more)

Part 3: In Conclusion (live audio and video events)

Part 1: How To Use Self-Interest When Going For A New Job

If you follow me on LinkedIn or TikTok, you’ll know that I often talk about the following statement:

“A company isn’t going to hire you because it’s a great opportunity for you; they’re going to hire you because it’s a great opportunity for them.”

Yes, I hope it’s a great opportunity for you as well, and I’m not telling you to compromise on your non-negotiables - but when you’re going for a new job you’ll do much better if you do everything you can to make the company think, “It would be a great business decision to hire this person.”

Remember, hiring managers aren’t usually in the business of giving people a chance or handing out opportunities; they’re in the business of hiring people who can do their role and, ultimately, make their lives easier.

(Two semi-colons already. I’m on a roll.)

However.

Can you remember the last job description you read?

Did it make you want to read on or was it a chore to get through it?

Did it ‘sell’ you on the role and the company? Or was it just a piece of writing in which the company told you about themselves and how great they were and then gave you a whole list of requirements you need to have to join them?

Imagine if you went on a date and the person talked about themselves the whole time and then told you a list of 20 things you need to do every day to be with them. Would there be a second date? There would not. There’d be a blocked number followed by the sweet feeling of relief.

What I’m saying here is that I feel for you.

You’ve probably been spending your time reaching out to recruiters and hiring managers and telling them all about yourself and you’re probably hearing nothing back and wondering why and growing resentful and frustrated. You might be doing the same thing in interviews, thinking you’ve done really well, and then being told you’re not progressing.

And I get it. As we just discussed, companies spend most of their job ‘ads’ telling you how great they are and then listing everything you need to do for them should you be lucky enough to join them. Why wouldn’t you reciprocate?

But the thing is, a ‘company’ is just a group of people – people who have just as much self-interest as you. So, whether the hiring manager or recruiter knows it consciously or not, they want candidates to appeal to their self-interest.

They want to look at your CV or resume and think, “This person could help me.” They want to interview you and leave the interview thinking, “Hiring this person would make my life so much easier.”

I’ve worked in recruitment for a while now and trust me when I say that when I’m talking to a hiring manager about a candidate, I’ll have a much higher chance of success - not to mention it makes me look better (there’s that ‘self-interest’ thing again) - if I can tell them all the ways in which the candidate can help the company, rather than saying “let’s just give them a chance.”

As a hiring manager commented on a recent LinkedIn post of mine:

“I instantly gravitate towards CVs with actionable results - they really stand apart from the generic “descriptive” applications!”

A quick example: if I was to apply for a role as a Senior Recruiter (which I did to get my current job), you tell me which of the following is more likely to pique a hiring manager’s attention:

• Responsible for sourcing candidates and placing them into new roles

• In 2021, placed 21 project managers into e-commerce, digital agency, and app-based company roles

An easy choice, right? (You don't need a percentage or a number, but you do need some kind of result. Achievements > responsibilities, so add them where possible.)

I know job descriptions can be boring and, in general, a lot of companies don’t do a great job of selling themselves to you. It would be great if this changed overnight but I doubt it’s going anywhere any time soon.

So, it’s time to shift your mindset.

It’s time to shift from a mindset of self-interest to appealing to the self-interest of others.

It’s time to shift it from ‘How do I get a job?’ to ‘How do I become someone employers want to hire?’

Taking the above Senior Recruiter example, does an employer want to hire someone who’s been responsible for sourcing candidates and placing them into new roles? Or do they want to hire someone who can show demonstrable success in sourcing candidates and placing them into new roles (not just on their CV or resume but in their interviews as well)?

If you were hiring someone, what would you want? What would make your job easier? What would make you look good to your manager?

People hire people based on self-interest. Appeal to that self-interest - without compromising on your non-negotiables - and it’ll only be a matter of time before you break through.

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Part 2: Q&A

Every week, I’ll answer three of your questions. I can no longer get to every question in my DMs or on Email so this seems like a great solution to me - you get the answer, and so does every other person who reads this newsletter. (Aren’t we all so generous?)

1. “What should I say when they ask for my salary expectations? I don’t want to sell myself short”

There are a couple of things you can do here:

First, don’t share what you’re currently making. Why? Because it’s irrelevant. If the role should be paying 100k, then they should be offering you 100k. Whether you were on 50k or 80k before should make no difference.

Second, make sure you’ve done your research. There’s a lot of salary information out there that’s Google-able, so make sure to check at least a few websites to get an accurate range. Then, when they ask, you can confidently give a range. “Based on my skills, my experience, and the research I’ve done, I’m looking for between X and X. Depending on benefits, bonus, equity, vacation days, working hours, remote / hybrid / office, etc, I can be open to negotiation.”

Third, you can turn the question back around. “I’ve done my research on what my skills and experience and this type of role should be paying, but can you share the salary range with me?” If they don’t share it or ‘can’t’ share it, it’s a potential red flag. (I probably wouldn’t even get on an initial recruiter screening call if I didn’t know the salary range.)

2. “When sourcing for candidates, do recruiters only look for people who currently have jobs?”

No. This myth has been around forever and unfortunately, at some point, it might’ve been true. There certainly would’ve been recruiters and hiring managers out there who engaged in this kind of bias.

However, in recent years - especially with hundreds of thousands of jobs being made redundant in the past year alone - it seems that this myth is dying, thank goodness.

None of the good recruiters I know would discount people who were out of work or who have the ‘Open To Work’ banner on LinkedIn (another stupid myth). Being out of work can be an advantage, anyway. A lot of hiring managers want their new employees to be able to start ‘yesterday’ and having no notice period is the next best thing.

Saying that, a lot of people who are out of work right now have the ‘Open To Work’ banner on LinkedIn but haven’t properly filled out their Linked profile.

A recruiter is unlikely to reach out to you if your LinkedIn profile doesn’t give them details about what you do. If needs be, copy and paste the details from your CV or resume. But please, do yourself a favour and make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete.

3. “When will the market shift? I know there are more candidates than jobs at the moment, but when will that change?”

I wish I had an answer for you. I really do.

Unfortunately, I do not. And I’d be wary of anyone who says they do.

Will it change? Yes. The market always does and probably always will. When will it change? Who knows.

I get that the market being this tough can feel really frustrating and disheartening. I hear from a lot of people who feel this way and I can feel their desperation and hurt through the screen. I hear you, believe me.

Still, it’s out of your control. It just is what it is.

This is why it’s a good time to mention the following concept: Alive Time vs Dead Time. It’s something the authors Ryan Holiday and Robert Greene talk about and it’s basically this: Are you going to use your time? Or are you going to let time use you?

The market is tough. Okay, cool. Accepted. Understood. Not in your control. But there are still plenty of things that are in your control - one of which is networking.

Seeing as the best time to network is before you actually need anything, this might be your best time to do it. (I’ve posted a lot about networking and I’ll be talking about it a lot more in this newsletter.)

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Okay, I’m going to answer two more because you asked great questions and I can’t help myself:

4. “Who best to target within an organisation to network with? Other than recruiters & hiring managers”

Any potential decision maker.

Let’s say you’re looking for a marketing role. People with ‘Marketing Executive’ or ‘Marketing Specialist’ as their job title probably aren’t going to be decision-makers, but anyone who has the following job titles might be:

• Marketing Manager

• Marketing Lead

• Senior Marketing Manager

• Marketing Director

• VP Marketing

• Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

Search for these people on LinkedIn. Send a personal message with the LinkedIn connection request, showing you’ve read their profile. If they post regularly on LinkedIn, even better - click the little ‘Bell’ on the top right of profile to be notified of whenever they post and start commenting on all of their posts with thoughtful, intelligent, engagement-creating comments. Do that a few times and then send them a DM saying you loved one of their posts and what you loved about it. Be genuine and keep it short.

Most people won’t do this, and therein lies your opportunity.

5. “Do you have any insights or examples of what it means to show a hiring manager that you’re a potentially good business decision? Is it skill level, personal branding, attitude, skill diversity, or some mix? Something more?

Despite job descriptions being somewhat boring and far from any sort of advertisement, they do literally list what the company - and hiring manager - is looking for.

Where appropriate, use the same language that’s in the job description for your CV or resume. And for your interviews. You’ll show you’ve actually read and are familiar with the job description and it’ll make it easier for the hiring manager to trust that you can do the role - thereby making it a good business decision to hire you.

Also, before you speak to a hiring manager, you’ll likely have spoken to the recruiter. So, ask the recruiter what the hiring manager wants in this role. Write down the answer and prepare a few examples to get across to the hiring manager.

Again, a lot of candidates don’t do this - even though it’s so simple as to be laughable. Be the one to do this and you’ll be the one to stand out.

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Part 3: In Conclusion

Is there something you’ve always wanted to know about the hiring process but just haven’t had the opportunity to ask? Is there anything on your mind having just read Edition 001? Reply to this email and I can answer it here in the newsletter.

Finally, not only do I appreciate you being here, but I respect it. A lot.

Do you know how many people try to go it alone? With no advice, no guidance, slowly trudging along, never getting anywhere, frustrated, resentful, and deep down desperate for help?

That’s not you. Give yourself credit for that.

Cheers!

PS What do you think about me doing a once-a-month live audio or video session in which I do a Q&A for jobseekers? It would only be for my newsletter subscribers so that we can keep the numbers down. It’s just an idea at the moment but reply and let me know if you’d tune in.