How To Get A New Job - Edition #004

Part 1: How To Crush Your Job Search Without Getting Burnt Out

Part 2: Q&A (sending videos to recruiters, being ghosted after interviewing, waiting on an offer, and more)

Part 3: In Conclusion

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How To Crush Your Job Search Without Getting Burnt Out

I feel for you, jobseeker.

You’re probably tired of tailoring resumes, tired of trying to “network,” tired of trying to appeal to recruiters and hiring managers when they make no effort to appeal to you.

You might even be burnt out.

I’ve been there. It sucks.

Here’s what I’ll say about getting burnt out (that I learned in therapy):

More often than not, burnout doesn’t come from working too hard; it comes from a lack of boundaries.

When it comes to your job search, you can set boundaries with a few things:

1. The people you follow and take advice from

2. The jobs you apply for

3. Networking

4. Your time and energy spent on looking for a new job vs not looking for a new job

Let’s talk about them!

The people you follow and take advice from

You might’ve noticed there are quite a few people out there posting about how to get a new job.

Some of these people, unfortunately, have either very little or literally no experience when it comes to recruitment, hiring, or the job search process.

Why, then, do they post about helping you get a new job?

Great question, friend. If I’m being kind and giving them the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they mean well and genuinely want to help people. Maybe they think they genuinely are helping people.

However.

Some of the advice I’ve seen these people give ranges from useless to dangerous. For example:

1. Asking “Do you have any hesitations about hiring me?” is the ONE question that got me hired.

2. Tell your current manager that you’re looking for new opportunities

3. Have a bunch of buzzwords at the top of your CV / resume so that the hiring manager “knows what you’re about”

4. Copy and paste the entire job description, put it at the bottom of your CV / resume, and make the text white

5. Ask anyone who works at the company for a referral

6. The whole ‘create a fake job on LinkedIn’ thing

7. Giving generic advice that seems like it’s written by AI

8. Saying ‘always do this’ or ‘never do this’

It can be hard to discern who’s legit and who isn’t. I get that. What I’d suggest doing is looking up the person on LinkedIn to see if they’ve ever actually worked in recruitment, or at least as a hiring manager. And, ideally, if they’re out there giving advice to jobseekers, they should probably have more than just a few years of experience.

Better to follow and take advice from a few people you know, trust, and like.

The jobs you apply for

As I write this, in July of 2023, the job market is still a bit - what’s the word? - bonkers. The hundreds of thousands of layoffs at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 are still having a ripple effect. Plus, layoffs are still happening. Not as many, thank goodness. But still.

The point here is there are a lot of candidates on the market who are vying for the same positions. When it comes to the ‘sexier’ industries that people want to be in - tech, entertainment, gaming, etc - there are far more candidates than there are jobs.

So, if you’re not very qualified for the roles you’re applying for, it’s going to be difficult for you to break through.

For example, I had someone the other day tell me they’d applied to a few different roles at a certain company. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that but this person had applied for a marketing role, an IT role, and a corporate strategy role.

At the best of times, this is probably an ineffective strategy. With the market the way it is right now, it’s probably a complete waste of time and energy.

There’s no way someone is very qualified to do all of these roles. No way.

Now, in a market in which there’s a candidate shortage, maybe, maybe you’d get a look in at two of them. Even so, I’m sceptical.

In this market? Not a chance.

I know it can feel tempting to apply for loads of roles to give yourself the best possible chance of getting one. I really do get it. Unfortunately, it’s very, very likely to backfire on you and lead to burnout because you’ll be putting a ton of time and energy into your job search and seeing barely any results.

Perhaps no results at all.

And you don’t want that. And I don’t want that for you.

I also totally get that you might be wanting to change roles or break into one of the ‘sexy’ industries. Your dream industry, maybe.

This might not be the market for that. I know that might feel really disappointing or disheartening or frustrating to hear, and I don’t necessarily love telling you it; I just always want to be as realistic as possible with you.

Narrow your search. Apply only for roles you’re very qualified for.

Networking

Yes, networking is important. Vital, even, in this market or any other. But I’m hearing from a lot of you that you’re reaching out to new people on LinkedIn, day after day, trying to connect with them and never hearing back.

That’s going to take a toll on you and probably make you want to give up on networking. It might even lead you to think it’s not even useful or worth your time.

This is false.

We tend to think of new people when someone talks about networking, but it’s your current network that’s going to be most beneficial to you.

First, you’re much, much more likely to get a response from someone you already know. Even if it’s been a little while since you spoke to them. Second, they’re much more likely to want to help you. After all, you’d want to help someone if they reached out to you, right? You might even be flattered. Don’t deprive others of that feeling! How selfish can you be! (Only half joking.)

If you’re going to prioritise anything, prioritise your current network. You never know where it might lead. It might lead to an opportunity you never thought of that turns out amazingly, or it might lead to an opportunity in your dream industry.

Don’t ask? Don’t get.

Go through your emails, go through your texts, go through your WhatsApp, go through social media (and LinkedIn in particular) and reach out to everyone you know. If you think of anyone you want to reach out to but you don’t have their contact details, find them on LinkedIn.

Keep it short and casual, ideally. “Hi [name]. Been a while! What’s new with you? I’d love to hear from you but no rush.”

The key here is to be genuinely interested in them and what they have to say, rather than just trying to ‘get’ something from them. That’s what you’d want if the shoe was on the other foot, right?

When it comes to boundaries with connecting new people, rather than DMing a load of people, try commenting on people’s posts. Pick a few hiring managers and recruiters in the industries you’re trying to get into, turn their post notifications on, and comment on their posts. Then, once you’ve done that a few times, go ahead and slide in the DMs and say hello. Try to resist the urge to ask for anything.

Networking with new people is a long game. Remembering that might be the best networking boundary you can set.

Your time and energy spent looking for a new job vs not looking for a new job

It’s crucial to look after yourself when looking for a job.

I say this because it’s tempting to spend literally all day every day searching for a job and that, my friend, is unsustainable. That’s exactly what leads to burn out, which leads to not looking for a job, which can lead to feelings of guilt and anxiety, which only exacerbates the burn out.

It would be unwise to not give yourself a break, whenever that break is. Maybe you want to job search 8 hours a day Monday to Friday and take the weekends off; looking for a job is your job, after all. Maybe you want to spend a few hours a day every day job searching and then spend the rest of your time seeing your friends and family and doing your hobbies.

As the great Nedra Tawwab says, “It’s your responsibility to care for yourself without excuses.”

You got this.

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If you set boundaries around who you follow, what jobs you apply for, who you network with, and your time and energy spent on the job search, it will be pretty much impossible to get burnt out.

You’ll come to your job search invigorated, ready to give your best.

The less you do on your job search - because of the boundaries you’ve set - the less time you’ll spend job searching.

Because you will have accepted an offer.

Enjoy that paradox.

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Q&A

1. “I’m sure that you’ve heard this question a ton, but I just wanted to ask for advice on how to best find a way into the gaming industry from an entry-level standpoint.”

I spoke to a group of students yesterday so this topic is on my mind.

First, focus only on entry-level roles, internships, apprenticeships, or any other ‘early careers’ role that doesn’t require experience. Seems obvious, I know, but not all entry-level candidates are doing this.

Second, keep working on your portfolio. Every day, hone your craft. There’s really no replacement or alternative to being really, really, really good at what you do. No, it won’t happen every night. But if you chip away, day by day, it’s inevitable that you’ll get better and better and it will become nearly impossible for you to not get a job.

Third, start building your gaming network. A practical way to do it would be this:

• Find a few recruiters and potential hiring managers on LinkedIn who post regularly

• Like and comment on their content whenever they post (you can turn notifications on for specific people so I’d advise doing that)

• After doing this a few times, slide into their DMs and say hello and maybe say something you like about their content

• Then, when a role comes up you want to apply for, message them and let them know you’ve applied and is there anything else you need to do or could they perhaps intro you to the right person

It might not be as quick as you’d like, but if you do the above then it’s all but guaranteed that you’ll break into the industry at some point.

2. "What are your thoughts on personally crafted video presentations? Should we be sending these videos to people responsible for recruiting? Is that a thing that makes people stand out positively?"

In general, I think recruiters would rather a short, written message than a video message.

A short, written message might take a few seconds to read. A video message might be 1 or 2 minutes long (especially as they almost always end up longer than you intended. Don’t believe me? Try it.)

But, as with almost everything relating to your job search, the real answer is “it depends.”

Maybe you catch a recruiter or hiring manager on the right day. Maybe you’re able to send a short, punchy video and come across really well and you get a foot in the door. Maybe the video isn’t great but they like the effort and check out your LinkedIn profile and see you have the right experience and invite you to interview.

Do a bit of A/B testing. Try it with a few people and see if it works. My only advice would be that if you are going to send a video, try making it as short as possible.

3. “Do you have any tips for people that are not social network extroverts or blog writers, and would like to stand out for their actual skills (both hard and soft) rather than for their social network activities?”

First, let me ask you this: when it comes to standing out, if you’re not putting your work in front of people, to whom exactly are you standing out?

(That’s grammatically correct but it’s so weird, isn’t it?)

If you want to apply for roles while doing zero networking, the best advice I can give is this:

• Make sure your CV / resume is simple, clear, easy-to-read, relevant, and focusses on things you’ve actually done or achieved.

• Make sure your portfolio (if you have one) showcases your best work and that it’s easy to navigate and understand.

• Make sure you’re working on your craft every day and make sure your portfolio shows that.

Also, perhaps you’re more of a DMs person than a posting-on-social-media person. That’s okay. You can just ‘network’ via LinkedIn DMs and build professional relationships that way. A good way to do this is to tap into the mentor/mentee dynamic. For example:

“Hi [name]! I know you must be busy and I want to respect your time, so my question is a quick one. I want to get into [role/industry] and I’m asking a few experts for a small bit of advice on how to do that. Would you be open to sharing a short bit of advice for me? Would love to hear from you but no rush.”

You get the advice of an expert, they get to feel like the expert they are.

Win-win.

4. “I have a question for you, what does it mean when a recruiter cuts contact with you after you didn't get the job? Did I interview really poorly, is it a company policy, or really nothing I should take personally?”

It’s never anything you should take personally.

Maybe they forgot. Maybe they suck at being a recruiter. Maybe they went to reply and got distracted. Maybe they don’t know how to maintain a relationship with a candidate after rejecting them (i.e. they suck at being a recruiter.) There could be a million reasons they cut contact with you.

And yes, I know it feels personal. That doesn’t mean it is. You have to train yourself to not take these things personally because taking it personally is only going to lead to disappointment, resentment, and burnout.

Also, feel free to follow up. “Hi [name]. Just a friendly follow-up here. Would you please be able to give me some feedback on why I didn’t get the job? Also, I’d love to stay in touch for future roles that come up. Let me know if that’s possible. Thanks!”

Now, if you consider them cutting contact to be a red flag - which it might be - then you can just see it as a bullet dodged.

But if it’s a company and role you’re really interested in, maybe give them the benefit of the doubt. A lot of recruiters - believe it or not - love people and want to help them. Maybe they just dropped the ball on this one. It happens, believe me.

So, no, it’s nothing you should take personally. And if you want to follow up, follow up.

5. “How long do you wait for a job offer decision before walking away...you're invested in the company, people and role but start to feel like you aren't a priority or the 1st place candidate, so at what point do you move on emotionally?”

I think it depends on how much you want the role.

If you really, really want the role and love the company and enjoyed getting to know people throughout the interview process and know you could come in and do a great job, then it’s probably okay to wait a little longer.

Even if you aren’t the priority or first place candidate - which is an assumption that should be challenged, because it’s unlikely you know this for a fact - so what? If they end up offering you the role, you can go in there and be the best investment the company ever made. Make them say, “Wow, I can’t believe they weren’t the 1st place candidate! How lucky are we?”

If you are waiting, follow up. Let them know you really want the role but that you aren’t necessarily going to wait around forever. You could write something like:

“Hi [name]! I wanted to confirm I still have a strong interest in the role. I really enjoyed meeting [names] and I feel confident I could come in and do a great job for [company]. Would it be possible to get an answer by the end of the week? This role is my priority but I am involved in a couple of other processes. Let me know, thanks!”

Gentle but firm.

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 In Conclusion

Thank you for reading. I really hope this was useful to you. I just had a moment while I was sitting here writing the Q&A section when I thought to myself, “this is so much fun.”

I hope you’re getting as much out of it as I am.

As ever, please let me know if you have any feedback - questions, thoughts, suggestions for improvements. All are welcome!

Cheers!

PS Next weeks newsletter will be a Q&A only newsletter. I’ve taken 10 questions on things like transitioning careers, how to interview well, being overqualified, examples of good LinkedIn networking messages, and more. I’ve done this because I’ll be away all of next week but didn’t want to leave you with no newsletter.

PPS Speaking of which, as you’re reading this I’m probably sunning myself by the pool or gorging myself into a coma at the all-inclusive buffet. Just FYI.

PPPS I can’t help myself with these PSs.