How To Get A New Job #005

Part 1: Intro

Part 2: All your Qs, all my As

Part 3: In Conclusion

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Intro

If you read the egregious amount of PSs I put in my emails, you already know what this newsletter is going to be about. Lots of Qs, lots of As.

I’m away from the 16th to 23rd and the last thing I wanted to do was leave you without the latest edition of How To Get A New Job.

(Well, maybe not the last thing. The last thing I wanted was for our flights yesterday to be cancelled and to have to rearrange our whole holiday in the space of about 25 minutes. So maybe not sending the newsletter was the second-to-last thing.)

As ever, feel free to skip straight to the parts that interest you the most. I’ll put all the questions below so you can pick and choose.

Enjoy!

1. What are the best practices when transitioning careers?

2. What’s the best way to explain your job and achievements in your CV / resume?

3. Should we limit the size of our network?

4. What should we do if we’re overqualified for a role?

5. How do we break into an industry if we don’t have any experience in that industry?

6. What weight do referrals carry?

7. What are some good LinkedIn messages to send to hiring managers?

8. How important is a LinkedIn presence to getting a job?

9. Should we write cover letters and tailor our CV for every application?

10. How do I get across my depth of experience when interviewing? I keep getting rejected because of this

1. “What are best practices when transitioning careers? Especially into tech. I'm going through an AI/ML programming bootcamp, but I feel like I need to do more than just get my certificate. What are the most important things to actively do and/or try to accomplish when trying to land a job when making a career change?”

A lot of you are asking about transitioning careers. I get it, and I love it.

I have to stress that transitioning careers isn’t easy. It’s 100% possible, but it does require work.

One thing you can do is look at the job descriptions of the new roles you’re trying to get into and match up your current experience to each bullet point that’s listed. If you have a responsibility or achievement that’s even a little bit related, that’s great.

Another thing you can do - and I know I always talk about this - is network. First, ask your current network if they know anyone who does the role you’re trying to do, or works in the industry you’re trying to get into.

Can I be honest with you? The amount of people that skip this step or are a bit resistant to it baffles me. You are so much more likely to get an answer - and actual help - from your current network than you are reaching out to a random stranger on the internet.

Should you do both? Yes. But your priority should be your current network.

Maybe someone from your current network can refer you to a role (we’ll talk more about that later). Maybe they can introduce you to someone who’s doing the role you want to do. In that case, you can ask the person questions about their day-to-day work, what challenges they come across, what skills are vital, and what they’d want to see in a candidate who’s transitioning from another industry.

And yes, you can (and should) also connect with new people on LinkedIn. Who should you connect with? People who are doing the role you want to do, of course, as well as potential hiring managers and recruiters.

When they connect - or even when you send your connection message - you can say something like, “Hi [name]. Trying to get into [role or industry] and I can see you’re doing that now. Would love to connect. Thanks!”

You could also say:

“Hi [name]. I can see you’re a [role] at [company]. Trying to get into that myself. Is there one short, small piece of advice or wisdom you have for me? No rush to reply. Thanks!”

Make it easy for them to respond. No homework and no writing paragraphs or a wall of text. Short and simple, please.

2. “I’m having issues with explaining what I do at my job. Don’t want to have a long description, it’s hard for me to come up something very concise but not over explaining. Not sure if bullet points are a good idea, I don’t personally think so but I could be mistaken. As you can see I’m overthinking it lol. What do you think is a great way of explaining your tasks/job description area in your resume? Is bullets point good to use?”

Bullet points are best. Always. It not only helps the recruiter and hiring manager be able to easily identify what you’ve done, but it just makes your CV / resume much easier and more pleasant to read. Like it or not, that’s important.

I’m not looking for a new role right now, but here are some of the bullet points that would be on my CV:

• Hired an average of [x] new employees per month with a retention rate of [percentage]

• Carried an average of [x] open roles for 2 years

• Delivered hiring manager training to over [x] hiring managers and received an average score of [x] out of 5

Could I write a lot more for each one of these? Yes. Is there context missing? Of course. But I think it’s important to remember that the purpose of a CV or resume is to get an interview. Nothing more, nothing less.

The recruiter and hiring manager need to think, “Yeah, this person is worth interviewing.” They don’t need to think, “This person has told me every single detail about every single one of their roles.”

You might need to practice writing your CV bullet points out a few times. You might need to edit them. You might need to get a trusted (and qualified) friend to look over it and help you. You might need to search for examples online of well-written CVs.

Practice makes perfect. (Or at least good enough, which is all that actually matters here.)

3. “It takes a lot of time and energy to develop and maintain your network. Do you suggest we also limit the size of our network so we have more time to keep in touch with those people we already know?”

Yes. As we’ve talked about, you’re much more likely to have your current network be able to help you and vouch for you compared to trying to get a random stranger on the internet to do that.

If you need to set reminders to check in with people, do it. Most people won’t do this. Why? I don’t know. Time? Energy? Probably.

If you’re the one that does this, you’re the one that will stand out. You’re the one people will think of when it comes to opportunities. You’re the one who people will refer.

Especially if you check in with them when you don’t actually need anything and only because you’re genuinely interested in how they're doing and what they’re up to.

4. “What about the 'overqualified" syndrome? People may hit the ceiling, decide to step out for any reason from a high profile role at a certain point and often face "too senior for that role", "overqualified" etc. What would be your expert advice on how to pivot into a different industry, while avoiding this?”

I think it’s important to remember that being ‘overqualified’ isn’t necessarily a benefit. There can be worries about how long you’ll stay in the job, how happy you’ll be in the job, whether or not it’s going to impact the current team dynamic, whether you’ll be genuinely okay with a (potential) drop in salary, etc.

So, you’ll need to allay these fears. Don’t be too afraid to bring them up when you’re interviewing, or even on your CV / resume.

And yes, it might be nice to talk about all the things you’ve done as a leader or in a senior position, but unless it’s 100% relevant to the position you’re going for, I’d leave it out. Focus only on the job you’re applying for.

Finally, a referral in this instance can do wonders. Or at least having someone vouch for you. (There’s that whole ‘network’ thing again.)

5. “How can someone break into gaming industry if they don't have previous experience in the gaming industry? I have experience in the tech/SaaS world, as well as the beauty industry, but I've never worked in gaming. Not in a professional capacity, anyway.”

I hire for a lot of corporate roles in my day job and we’ve hired way more people without gaming experience than with gaming experience.

It can seem like this big intimidating thing when you’re trying to break into a very popular industry. But in my experience, it’s more about whether or not you can do the role at hand rather than your previous industry experience.

Another thing that can help is doing some research on the gaming industry. One, to show you’re willing to develop an understanding of it, and two, to compare any similarities to your previous industries. If the hiring manager or interviewer has any doubts at all about you not having gaming experience, doing this will help.

6. “What weight do referrals carry in the job application process? Do you have any other general advice on referrals?”

They carry a lot of weight, and can be particularly helpful if there are a ton of applicants for a role and if the industry is really competitive. Referrals are usually prioritised no matter how many applicants, and if there are hundreds of applicants then it might only be the referrals that get looked at.

So, if you’re in a position to ask for a referral, please do.

If you know someone well, just ask them. You get a foot in the door and they’ll get a referral bonus if you get the role. Win win.

If you don’t know someone that well but you’re in touch a little bit, you could always ask them if their company does referrals. If yes, you could then ask them if they’d be willing to refer you. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.

If you don’t know someone, it’s probably unwise to ask for a referral.

Also, recruiters can’t give referrals, so there’s little point in asking them. If we could, I’d probably make triple my salary. *cries in pound coins*

7. “What are some good examples of LinkedIn messages to send to hiring managers after you have submitted your application?”

“Hi [name]. Just submitted my application for the [role]. Is there anything else I need to do or should I wait to hear from the recruiter?”

“Hi [name]. I saw [company] is looking for a [role] - I just applied! Is there any chance you could let me know who the recruiter is and I’ll connect with them on here? No rush to reply and I hope you’re having a good day.”

“Hi [name]. Just applied for your [role]. I have [x] years of experience, have worked on [specific thing mentioned in the job spec], and have got [skills] I also saw mentioned in the JD. If you think I could be a good fit, I’d love to hear from you. Take care and talk soon!”

“Hi [name]. Just applied for your [role]. I have [x] years of experience, have worked on [specific thing mentioned in the job spec], and have got [skills] I saw mentioned in the JD. If you think I could be a good fit, would you be able to give me the name of the recruiter and I’ll try connecting with them on here? Thanks and no rush!”

8. “How important is a LinkedIn presence to securing a job? I’m an artist and I think my portfolio should be good enough for at least an interview but it’s been a deluge of rejections for all positions. My biggest weak points are likely my resume and LinkedIn profile.”

I think you’ve answered your own question here.

Your portfolio can be great but if your LinkedIn and CV / resume aren’t inspiring people to look at your portfolio, then you’re doing yourself a disservice.

I’d also say to seek out feedback on your portfolio. It can be very hard to judge our own work, particularly when you’re so close to it. If you can seek out feedback from trusted friends and advisors - i.e. people who are actually qualified to critique your portfolio - then they might spot a thing or two that can be improved.

If nothing else, they can confirm it’s good enough to get interviews and then you can get to work on your LinkedIn profile and your CV / resume.

9. “Something I’d love your take on in the newsletter is cover letters. Always a conflicting topic amongst the masses - 50% find them valuable, 50% find them to be a waste of time. What’s your stance? Should job seekers be pouring their adjective-heavy hearts into a tailored CV with every application? Or simply relying on their (hopefully updated and correctly formatted) resumes and profiles to do the talking exclusively? Should a CV differ for each role when applying for more than one position within the same organization?”

“Adjective-heavy hearts” made me laugh.

Cover letters are most useful when changing roles and / or industries. If you’re doing both, a cover letter can really help. If you’re changing role, a cover letter can help. If you’re only changing industry, it might help and it might not.

If you’re going to write one, two or three paragraphs of 4 or 5 lines each is enough. You don’t need to write a huge wall of text or two whole pages. That likely won’t get read. A few paragraphs that are clear, concise, and relevant to the role? A much better chance of getting read.

(A small ‘hack’ is to put the 1-page cover letter in the same document as your CV / resume. So, page 1 is the cover letter and pages 2 and 3 are the CV / resume. Doing this will mean it’s more likely to get read because it kind of ‘forces’ it to be read.)

If the roles you’re applying to are different then you absolutely need to tailor your CV. Once you remember the purpose of a CV is to get an interview - not to simply showcase everything you’ve done - this becomes obvious. Why would a recruiter choose a CV that wasn’t relevant to the role? Especially when there are plenty of other CVs that are?

Tailoring your CV can obviously be time and energy-consuming, which is why it’s best to focus on one type of role. Two at the most. You’re probably only qualified for only one or two different roles anyway, and then you only need one or two Master CVs that you adapt to each role you apply for.

10. What advice do you have for people who keep getting told “you came across well [in interview] but we’re looking for someone with more depth of experience”?

It sounds like you’ve got the ‘soft skills’ down. That probably means you’re communicating well, answering their questions in a clear and coherent way, and asking good questions.

And you obviously have at least some of the experience they’re looking for otherwise you wouldn’t be invited to interview.

My suggestion is to write down all the relevant experience you’ve got, all the relevant achievements you’ve got, and go beyond the surface level.

Why did you achieve it? What stakeholders did you have to engage? What challenges did you come across and how did you solve them? What other teams did you have to get involved? What skills came in handy? What did you learn?

And remember to use the STAR method (situation, task, action, result). It’s tried and tested. It works. Not only does it make it easy for you to share your depth of experience, but it also makes it easy for the interviewer to follow and truly understand what you’ve done.

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In Conclusion

What did you think of this Q&A-only issue? I really hope it was helpful. I’d love your feedback so hit reply and let me know.

Now, to the airport for the second time in two days. Wish us luck.

Cheers!

PS I found out yesterday that when your flight gets cancelled and you have to go back through passport control and security and all that, it’s called being “decontrolled.”

PPS I wish I didn’t know that.

PPPS Still, it’ll make for a good dinner party anecdote one day. Maybe.