#017 - The 3rd Q&A Edition

The 3rd Q&A Edition

The 3rd ever Q&A Edition. What a time to be alive.

Before we get like Michael Phelps and dive in (I don’t know any current swimmers), I want to talk about how you respond to getting rejected.

I’ve had to reject two candidates this week. Well, more than two. But these two stood out. Why? Here’s why:

• The first candidate responsed with a nearly-700-word diatribe on how they shouldn’t have been rejected and that it was unfair and that the hiring manager should really reconsider because they were clearly and undeniably “wrong.”

• The second candidate expressed their disappointment but said they loved meeting the team, the recruitment process and communication was great (I’ll take it, thanks) and they still see the company as somewhere they really want to work for one day.

I understand the first candidate. I don’t agree and I don’t recommend you do this, ever, but I do understand them. To get rejected from a role you really want can feel disappointing, frustrating, disheartening, annoying, infuriating, exasperating, vexatious, pestiferous, and any other adjective I have to look up to make myself sound smart.

But.

Unleashing an aggressive email onto an unsuspecting recruiter is not the way to deal with rejection. Unfortunately, all we think and all the hiring manager thinks is, “Wow, we dodged a bullet.” They never, ever say, “You know what? They’re right. Let’s put them through.”

Never. Ever.

And now, unfortunately, like the one in London in 1135, the bridge is burned.

But the second candidate? The second candidate will get a reply from me if they apply to a similar role or even just reach out to me to check in.

Okay, onto the Q&A. Here’s what we’ve got today:

1. Do you have any tips or advice for someone who’s looking for a job but is unable to be public about it due to a current job?

2. How do I frame my experiences section after being promoted a few times but basically still doing the same job?

3. How do you see RTO / Hybrid mandates impacting job seekers?

4. All I'm looking for is an entry-level job. Why can’t I get one?

5. One thing that really concerns me is how to connect with people on LinkedIn without being a nuisance. How do I do it effectively?

1. “Do you have any tips or advice for someone looking for a job, but unable to be as public about it due to a current job? For example, I am pursuing a transition into gaming, but my current company/coworkers are very active on Linkedin, so I feel that any major changes/edits/posts/comments that I could attempt to network/revamp my Linkedin might be risky; however, I also feel at a disadvantage compared to those that can be more forward.”

As always, start with your current network. Ask people you know if they know anyone in gaming. You might be surprised at what they come back with. Your current network is almost always going to be your biggest ROI because you’re much more likely to get replies and intros from people you already know (provided you’re not a total dick, which I’m sure you’re not).

Commenting on posts from an industry you’re interested in shouldn’t raise any concerns. However, will it raise concerns? Maybe. People might make comments to you like “I see you’re more active on LinkedIn” or even say things like “Oh are you leaving us?” in a joking-but-not-really way.

This might make you feel uncomfortable. That’s understandable. Is this a reason not to do it? That’s up to you. Me? I think you should do it. And if you’re still not sure, think about it like this: are you really going to let a few comments and some uncomfortable feelings stop you from pursuing a job in your dream industry?

You can also start building a gaming-industry network on LinkedIn. Find gaming influencers and creators and engage with their content. Find people in the gaming industry who are doing the job you want to do, connect with them, and reach out to them.

As for editing your profile, you can turn public updates off. That way, the only way people would know you’ve updated your LinkedIn profile is if they regularly check it. Which, great as you no doubt are, is unlikely. An updated profile - including your Experience section, which so many people miss for some reason - will make it more likely that recruiters reach out to you. Do it.

2. “I have a question regarding how best to frame the experiences section. I've been promoted multiple times while being a project manager at my company, but all that really changed was my title (assistant, junior, etc...) and salary. Should I separate those to showcase my progress or is it best to combine those into one, since my actual responsibilities haven't changed and there aren't enough achievements in the earlier positions to justify separating them? I'm also afraid that when job description asks for "5+ years of PM experience" they would overlook the earlier positions, not counting them toward my overall experience as a project manager. What do you think?”

I think you can make it clear on your CV/resume you’ve been promoted a few times. A hiring manager will probably like that. If your job titles have been weird, feel free to make them work for you. In other words, make sure they properly market you to new employers. For you, if you’re looking at project manager roles, you could start with Junior Project Manager, then Assistant Project Manager, then Project Manager. Something like that.

And yes, you could put all your achievements and responsibilities under the most recent title of Project Manager. If I were you I’d still put the first two junior titles on there because, again, it shows you’ve performed well enough to be promoted. But if you’re applying for Project Manager / Senior Project Manager roles, the hiring manager will probably be most interested in what you achieved most recently anyway.

To your last point, again, if you need to change your job titles so they market you correctly then change them. Not to the point of outright lying - you don’t want to get caught out doing that, believe me - but if you had weird titles when you were more junior but you were still doing project management work, then I think it’s okay to change them to what I’ve said above. That way, it will be obvious to companies you do indeed have the 5 years of experience.

3. “How do you see RTO / Hybrid mandates impacting job seekers? Will WFH be mainly for senior people with a lot of experience or niche skills or a tactic for smaller companies to compete with bigger companies?”

Just like the whole pineapple-on-pizza thing, this is proving divisive. With much lower stakes, of course, but still.

There are way less remote roles now than there were in 2021 and 2022. That is a fact. Another fact is there are way, way more hybrid roles now than ever before. Some of these hybrid roles are 4 days in the office per week, some are 3, some are 2, some are once a month, some are once a quarter. There’s huge variation, so if you’re holding out for a remote role - not because you need one, but because you want one - I’d strongly suggest you consider a hybrid role.

If you’re senior or have a niche skillset - something that’s dictated by the market, not you - negotiating or simply being offered to work from home will probably come easier for you. Why? Because, as Cal Newport would put it, your skills are “rare and valuable” and are therefore worth more in the market. That means you have more negotiating power. (I don’t make the rules.)

As for small, less well-known companies, it might end up being a great recruitment strategy. I’m, sure a ‘work-from-anywhere’ policy would go down pretty well with a lot of candidates. (Although, a smaller company might not have the resources to let people work from anywhere - there are all sorts of tax and legal costs to consider.)

It’s hard to predict where this will end up. There might not even be an ‘ending-up.’ It might just fluctuate depending on whether it’s a candidate-short or job-short market. Hybrid might be the way forward, with people working 2 or 3 days in the office per week. We might all end up back in the office all the time in a few years, as some on LinkedIn are predicting (I hope not).

As ever: be prepared.

4. “All I'm looking for is an entry-level job. Do I need to study MORE? Make MORE projects? Earn MORE certifications? Those things take hours and hours and hours... and is it just me or even tailoring a resume and cover letter to each job you apply for takes hours? It's tough out here!”

There’s an old story in which a singer gets an audition, sings her heart out, and then gets told right away that she’s not getting the part.

She’s taken aback. Angry. “What? Are you saying I’m not good enough? I just sang my heart out! Weren’t you listening?”

“Yes, I was listening,” the show director says. “You’re good. You can sing. And normally, that might be enough. But I’m sorry, we’ve heard singers who are just better.”

The singer still isn’t happy. “I don’t believe you,” she says.

“Okay,” says the show director, a patient woman. “Come with me.” They walk to a room in which another of the singers is rehearsing.

“Hello,” the show director says. “Could you sing a bit of one of your songs for us?”

She starts singing and the first singer, the one who has been told she isn’t quite good enough, realises she might indeed not be good enough. This new singer is unbelievable. She’s never heard anything like it. No microphone, poor acoustics, and still, shivers.

The show director turns to the first singer. “Good, right?” The singer nods. “Yeah. She’s one of the backups.”

The point here is that you might be good enough, but you also might not be good enough right now. And no, I don’t mean from an inherent human worth point of view. That’s unwavering. But are your experience and skills good enough, right now, in this job market, to warrant an offer? Or even an interview? For your dream role in your dream industry, the answer might be no.

Some entry-level candidates - particularly for highly-desirable and competitive industries like gaming, tech, consulting - have got great grades from one of the best universities in the world, they’ve done relevant side projects and have an extensive portfolio, they did an internship and got amazing feedback and a recommendation. That’s your competition.

It doesn’t mean they’re better than you. It doesn’t mean they’ll have a better career than you. But does it mean they’ll have an easier time getting their foot in the door for their dream role in their dream industry? Yes, probably.

So no, perhaps your entry-level job won't be exactly what you imagined. That’s okay. As long as it’s something where you can learn and get better and improve your craft and achieve some things and hey, maybe even enjoy yourself, that’s a win.

Is it tough out here? Yes. You’re right. It is. But you’re equal to the task. It just might take a bit more time than you expected. (Doesn’t everything?)

5. “One thing that really concerns me is how to connect with people on LinkedIn without being a nuisance. I'm always afraid of bothering people on LinkedIn when I send them a connection request. However, connections are a must-have on LinkedIn. Is there a rule to not sound robotic or too annoying? Or am I just overthinking it? If you have already made a post or a newsletter about this, could you please link it to me?”

The only connections I get bothered by (but only for about 2 seconds) are the ones in which someone asks me to review their CV/resume for free or they ask me to find a job for them. (Remember: recruiters find people for jobs, not jobs for people.)

But yes, you’re probably overthinking it. That’s okay. I think a lot of people overthink it and they let that stop them from doing anything, which is a shame. If you’re wanting to connect with someone, I suggest writing a short message when doing so. If you’re using a desktop, click on the ‘Connect’ button and then click on ‘Add a note.’ If you’re on mobile, go to their profile and then click on the button with three little dots and click ‘Personalize invite.’ If you don’t do these, you won’t be able to send them a short message. That might not matter, but I think it can be a nice touch.

Depending on who you’re connecting with, you could say any of the following:

• “Hi [name]. I can see you work at [company] as a [role]. Big fan of [company] and hoping to work there at some point. Would love to connect!”

• “Really liked your post on [x]. Would love to connect.”

• “Can see you’re a [role] at [company]. That’s awesome. Any words of wisdom for me on how I could do that one day? Even if you don’t have time to reply, would love to connect.”

• “Hi [name]. We used to work together at [x]! Would love to connect.”

  • Remember to add people you’ve worked with before. Or know from university. Or went to school with. Or people you just somehow know randomly. People tend to forget the biggest ROI in terms of ‘networking’ will probably come from your current network (aka people you already know).

In general, a little specificity goes a long way. We all want to feel a bit special and unique. Tap into that.

In Conclusion

Speaking of Q&As, I want to (finally) do that newsletter-subscribers-only live Q&A. I think I mentioned this approximately 176 months ago so thanks for your patience. I’ll also do them semi-regularly from here on out.

Here are the details so you can put a reminder in your diary:

• Date: Thursday 2nd November

• Time: 5pm GMT / 6pm CET / 9am PT / 12pm ET (too many acronyms, I know)

• Location: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8735877431 

• Duration: 40 mins (because that’s what the free Zoom plan allows)

Come along and ask questions, learn from others, meditate on our common mortality, or just lurk and learn.

See you there.

Cheers!

PS Here’s last week's newsletter: How To Actually Tailor Your CV/Resume To The Role

PPS Please don’t share the above Zoom link. It’s only for my newsletter subscribers (aka cool people).

PPPS Put a reminder in your diary for Thursday 2nd November. Now!

PPPPS Me and my girlfriend just finished Top Boy. Wow. Thoughts?

PPPPPS Is this a new record?