#029 - The 6th Ever Job Search Q&A

Teal’s AI-powered job search platform helps you tailor your resume (or ‘CV’ if you’re this side of the pond), track your applications, write a cover letter that’s actually effective, optimise your LinkedIn, and more. Their all-in-one tool has already helped over 800,000 (!) people and you can get started for free here.

(As you know, I’ve talked about Teal approximately 978 times across LinkedIn and in this newsletter since I found out about the great work they do. I’m excited to be partnering up with them.)

What’s in today’s newsletter:

• Your job search FAQs (the protein)

• How they got their new job (NEW) (the carbs)

• The PSs (the dessert)

Here are the questions we’ll be looking at today:

1. “10 months have passed since I was laid off from work. When is it time to give up on a career path?”

2. “I’d generally love to hear about the process from networking into getting referrals in the newsletter. Thank you!”

3. “Within previous years I have been sourced for roles within my industry. I have progressed within my industry, but I get no InMail notifications for new roles with my open to work on as well and with my InMail messages being on too. Is there something I’m missing on my Linkedin?”

4. “How can a job-seeker protect himself from bias against unemployment in hiring? I was laid off as part of a company reorganization very recently, but I'm concerned about my prospects if it takes more than a couple months to find a position.”

5. “What do you think about using ChatGPT to help you write cover letters? I tried it and it is quite impressive. Do you think recruiters can identify if a cover letter is written using AI and if they do, how is it usually perceived?”

6. "What's your secret sauce for acing job interviews and making a lasting impression?”

7. “Do you think it's really necessary for individuals looking for a new job to "buy" resume templates for the job they want?”

1. “10 months have passed since I was laid off from work. When is it time to give up on a career path?”

The truth is this is going to be one of those ‘it depends’ answers.

If you’re out of work but have enough money or support to keep going, then you’re at least financially okay to keep going.

If you’re out of work and are running out of financial runway, there’s nothing wrong with being like Ross from Friends and pivoting. As we’ve talked about before, your bills don’t care about what industry you work in. They don’t even care about what job you’re doing. Trust me, I checked.

Your dream job isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Neither is your dream industry. It’s okay to get a job in the meantime - any job, by the way - pay the bills, give yourself room to breathe, and then continue on your dream job search when you’re a little bit more stable.

(Whether you’ve just been laid off or it happened a while ago, have a read of this: What To Do When You’ve Just Been Laid Off: The Ultimate Guide)

2. “I’d generally love to hear about the process from networking into getting referrals in the newsletter. Thank you!”

The best place to start networking and getting referrals is your current network. The non-corporate version of that is ‘people you already know.’

Think about it: would you be more likely to help a friend with their job search or a stranger? Same thing with people you once worked with, people you know a little bit from who-knows-where, even people you’ve just met once.

You’re more likely to help someone you already know. That’s what you have to remember when it comes to networking.

So, start reaching out. To your friends, to people you used to work with, to people you met once and had a good connection with, people whose email or number you have but you haven’t spoken to in a while. You get the idea.

Another thing you can do is to search for and follow LinkedIn creators in your desired industry and start engaging with their posts. Don’t just ‘like’ their posts. Don’t just comment ‘great post!’ Comment something thoughtful. Ask them a follow-up question about something they’ve said or written. Write an example of what they said in their post actually working.

Do this consistently and then - and only then - slide into the DMs. As someone who gets a lot of DMs - and I know people who get a lot more than me - if someone has consistently engaged on my posts for a while and then sends a DM, you’re more likely to get a response (especially if you keep your message short, personal, and specific).

Something to remind yourself of often: ‘Cold’ networking is a long game. Longer than the longest Welsh town name (Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch). So when you’re reaching out to strangers, the ultimate strategy is probably this: be kind, be patient.

(To be clear: please start with your current network. I reckon you’ll be surprised at who they know.)

3. “Within previous years I have been sourced for roles within my industry. I have progressed within my industry, but I get no InMail notifications for new roles with my open to work on as well and with my InMail messages being on too. Is there something I’m missing on my Linkedin?”

Because there have been so many talented, capable people laid off over the past 12 months or so, a lot of companies might just be relying on inbound applications. There are probably a ton of very qualified candidates applying.

So.

It could be nothing is missing on your LinkedIn at all. It could just be you need to be more proactive with your job search if you want to keep moving forward with your career.

Saying that, here are some things your LinkedIn profile might be missing:

• An easy-to-understand headline. Your current job title is fine. If you don’t have a job right now, use the job title you’re looking for. (No adjectives or weird nouns like ninja or wizard.)

• A properly-filled-out experience section. Job titles and companies are a good start, but we need more. What did you do while you were there? What did you achieve? What softwares did you use?  (Just write it the same as you would your CV/resume.) If you have job titles and companies and nothing else, a recruiter might just move on to the next.

• Any activity whatsoever. Are you active on LinkedIn? Do you post anything? Do you comment on other people’s posts? Do you repost great content? 

• Any info in your ‘About’ section. Not a dealbreaker but seeing as it’s in your control, you might as well write a good one. Write this as if you’re writing your summary on your CV/resume. (Example here.) If you get stuck, just think, “What does my future hiring manager want to read?”

4. “How can a job-seeker protect himself from bias against unemployment in hiring? I was laid off as part of a company reorganization very recently, but I'm concerned about my prospects if it takes more than a couple months to find a position.”

Some hiring managers will be biased against unemployment no matter what. Even though there have been literally hundreds of thousands of layoffs in the past 13 or 14 months, they’ll still find a way to be like, “Yeah but if they were laid off they can’t be very good, right?”

This, of course, is ridiculous. They’re blaming the individual rather than the company, for some reason. To be clear: I’ve spoken to so so so so many candidates who’ve been laid off and they’re some of the most kind, skilled, genuine people I’ve ever met.

Anyway, you don’t want to work for someone who has this kind of bias. And thankfully, in my experience - and it’s the same for many recruiters I know - this kind of bias seems to be dying out. (Slower than we’d like, perhaps, but still.)

First, as always, control what you can control. If you do all the things we talk about in this newsletter and treat getting a new job like it’s your job, that’s your best chance of getting a new job as quickly as possible (meaning you don’t have to worry about unemployment bias).

Second, as part of the above, stay up to date with your industry. Take a course to refine your skills. Work on a personal project related to the roles you’re applying for. If you get asked, “So what have you been up to since your last role?” it’s best to have a good answer.

(I’m not saying you should be asked that, btw. I’m just saying you might be.)

5. “What do you think about using ChatGPT to help you write cover letters? I tried it and it is quite impressive. Do you think recruiters can identify if a cover letter is written using AI and if they do, how is it usually perceived?”

Did you write this question using ChatGPT?

It’s pretty obvious. But the reason it’s obvious is that most of these cover letters are full of buzzwords that mean nothing. They're generic. They might as well say, “I am a person who is alive and I want to work at a company that employs people.”

Basically, it’s less about the cover letter being written by ChatGPT and more about the fact the cover letter is adding no value at all to the job application.

(If you want to use AI to write a cover letter that’s actually good, use Teal.)

6. "What's your secret sauce for acing job interviews and making a lasting impression?”

I don’t know if there’s a “secret sauce” - every company, hiring manager, and interviewer is different - but I do think there’s one thing that’s valued almost universally:

Listening.

Radical, I know.

First, show you’ve “listened” to the job description. “I can see you’re looking for [x]. In my last role, I did [x].” 

Second, show you’ve listened to what was talked about in the interview by asking related questions at the end. “Earlier, you mentioned [x]. Could you tell me a bit more about how that works?”

I mean, think about it: when was the last time someone made you feel truly heard? It’s rare, isn’t it? To give that to someone, well, not a bad way to go about leaving a lasting impression. 

Plus, actually listening and being present to the moment in front of you - rather than to your inner monologue or any nerves you might be feeling - will give you the best insight into what the hiring manager, role, and company are actually like. 

Win-win.

7. “Do you think it's really necessary for individuals looking for a new job to "buy" resume templates for the job they want?”

In a word: no.

If someone is selling you a CV/resume template that guarantees you interviews, run away.

If someone is selling you a CV/resume template that they used to get interviews at Google, Amazon, Netflix, or your dream company, you don’t have to run, but you should definitely walk fast.

Why run? Why walk fast? Why not buy?

Because - as we talked about last week - the content is more important than the template. Far more important.

You can just Google ‘simple CV templates’ and loads will come up. You can copy the template I shared in last week’s newsletter. And if you want to try a few out for size to see which best shows your experience, Teal has a whole bunch you can use. For free.

How they got their new job

Lessons right from the horse’s mouth (or, more accurately, a former jobseeker)

PS What did you think about the new ‘How They Got Their New Job’ section? Thumbs up, thumbs down?

PPS Have you tried Teal yet? If not, here are just of the things you can do with it:

• AI CV/resume builder

• Job application tracker (no more Excel)

• Autofill job applications (thank goodness)

• LinkedIn review (most profiles need it)

• CV/resume checker (it has to match the JD)

• Summary generator (love a good summary)

PPPS It’s free!