#career stuff

If you've just been laid off or are going to be

If you still have access to your old work's systems, grab what you need.

Get yourself the Laid Off/Let Go Checklist from Never Search Alone. Even if you don't sign up for NSA, this is helpful.

Never Search Alone is a mutual support group for job hunting that is supposed to help you figure out your alignment and purpose (Job Search Council). It feels very silly that we do not run these things in general, because it was actually extremely helpful when I found my JSC.

If you feel like you're spinning your wheels and trying to figure out what's next, this might be helpful for you. It's a lot of work, but I think if you put it in it will help you.

(I joined a JSC that kinda fizzled out so if you have questions, happy to answer them. Also if you want to do a JSC but don't have the money for the book, I can help you with that.)

I found Overqualified through a promoted post on LinkedIn (lol) and it has been useful small bites of information about things I don't want to think about much (like AI in hiring and marketing yourself on LinkedIn). The videos are short (under 5 minutes) and still helpful even if they're a little... yeah.

Give yourself a little bit of time to decompress if you can. You’re probably suffering at least a little bit of burnout.

**MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR UNEMPLOYMENT IS RUNNING OUT.** (This totally didn't happen to me. Nope.)

The Actual Hunt

Sites to use Hiring.cafe is an aggregation searcher built by Redditors that allows you to filter by lots of parameters, including ease of application, tech stack, cognitive load on the job, mobility, and physical labor required. It has a robust Boolean search that allows you to exclude companies you don't want to work with.

Welcome to the Jungle is for jobs with startups/smaller companies funded by VC (defined extremely broadly: Khan Academy is considered one). This is good if you have a tech stack and/or skill set you're proficient in.

Indeed is what I've been using because it allows you to filter on actually important things, like whether or not a job has a posted salary and allows you to hide companies/positions you're never going to apply for. Also locations that are too goddamn far despite trying to properly dial in what a reasonable communitng distance is. (Ahem.)

Flexjobs is a site that has fully remote positions with people who vet them and make sure they're real. To support this, the site is pay to access. Try the cheap version first--it might not have enough of the types of jobs you're looking for.

The best thing to do if you really want to be considered is to apply on the company's website if possible. Yes, I know it sucks and is way harder than just clicking a couple buttons. But that's a calculation you have to make about effort vs convenience.

Sites to avoid

I have an anti-rec for LinkedIn because it gets so much traffic and you can't exclude companies. Also the jobs get stale really quick because they get so many applications.

Lensa and Wiraa are weird scammy reposters that I have never been able to figure out. Do not sign up or click on links from them.

Pay

You're never going to remember hourly > salary conversions. Keep a note on your computer or a sticky note with relevant numbers:

Minimum wage in your state When you're applying to remote positions (which vary wildly in pay) you do not want to aim for anything less.

Minimum wage in the biggest city close to you (if it's within commuting distance) The reason I say this is because there can be a HUGE difference. Washington state minimum wage is ~$16 but varies greatly by locale. You don't want to concentrate on jobs in places that pay $4 less an hour if you could commute to a place that has to pay way more.

The hourly equivalent of your unemployment benefits Don't even bother applying for anything lower than this if you still have them.

Hourly > salary conversions for round numbers (like $50K, $60K) This might just be me but it was helpful to see the equivalents

Posted salaries

Personally I never apply to anything without a stated pay rate. In my state (Washington) it's illegal to post a job listing without one if your company has more than 15 employees. Lots of places will attempt to weasel around this by posting pay ranges that encompass whole-ass tax brackets. It sucks and those companies should go on your shit list.

Be aware of your rights regarding soliciting salary histories. It's illegal in Washington to ask for that, but may not be in your state. Some state labor and industries departments also have databases of businesses who have been cited for violating wage laws by employees.

You will quickly learn to feel in your bones Chris Rock's commentary about minimum wage.

Ghost jobs

Some companies leave job listings up for ages and/or aren't actually hiring. These are called ghost jobs and they suck. You'll learn to spot these as you become familiar with what's normal for your market. This list compiles some companies that do the ghost job thing. Which is not to say they're all fake, but this aligns with my experience.

(There are many legit reasons for posting jobs that may not actually be hiring, but we're not dealing with those here.)

Networking

I have a whole post about networking for introverts here. I think it is applicable to even those of you who are not. It also contains a bit of stuff about how to tweak your LinkedIn profile.

Resumes

If you need Word (or other Office apps), you can use it online for free. The only annoying thing is you can't save .doc/x files to your computer, so get used to putting everything in PDF or ODT.

Layout should be barebones. Do not buy the cute little templates from Etsy. I recommend finding any random ATS-friendly template and making sure it degrades gracefully. No columns, minimal formatting (bold and italic, font sizes). Or make a plain-text version. This guy used to do recruiting for Google and has lots of excellent advice.

This is how you should construct your resume. Nobody gives a shit about the things you did, but rather what you accomplished while you were there.

Construct bullet points in this way, so they flow together and create a coherent picture of what you did. This is also a great place to keyword stuff.

The wait

Honestly I would not expect to hear back. Some people keep track of the number of applications > declines > interviews > offers, but I think that will drive you batty. I have found that if people want you to interview, you'll find out within a couple weeks or not at all.

The thing I was super surprised by? The lower-paying jobs like retail and food service are the ones I hear back from the least. If I'm lucky they eventually close the position and I get notified that way.

The grind. The fucking grind.

You will get a lot of rejections. Try not to take it personally, although I know it's easier said than done.

Like, I got turned down for a job that I was approached for, in that an HR person forwarded my resume to this other person, we talked for 90 minutes and I had an interview, and I still didn't get picked. That was kinda rough.

You will also run across a lot of entitled bullshit in job postings. You do not need to do a video interview or write a goddamn essay to stand out. This is how they identify the desperate.

Please leave time for processing all this, with or without a JSC. You cannot hunt well if you're all up in your head about how much something sucks, and it does suck.

That being said, come up with some boilerplate answers for common questions on applications like "Why do you want to work here?" It will make you feel less like dying of pure resentment when you already have an answer.

Do not be tempted to halt all searching if you get an interview. It fucks your momentum and makes it more difficult to pick back up if you get rejected (and you will).

A lot of feelings and attitudes will come up about how you perceive work, class, and "skilled" labor. Do not shy away from these, because examining this stuff is how we break down and interrogate how we come by these beliefs. Try and be a little dispassionate about it--you can't think clearly if you feel ashamed about having this stuff in your head.

Interviews

(I don't have a lot to say about this because I haven't had enough numerically to see if they're different from the usual advice.)

This is a conversation. You're just getting to know someone new for 20-30 minutes.

But also, STAR, STAR, STAR. You need to be able to think of times in your past where you have demonstrated qualities hiring people think you need to succeed in this job.

Interviews are farces, but that doesn't mean you get to opt out of them. Put on that jobsona, practice it until it feels more realistic. If you have a career center or unemployment office available, ask to mock interview there or with your friends.

I think one of the most important things to do is to ask questions of your own (lots more good lists at the bottom). Not only does it make you look engaged, it also gives you so much information about how the person sees the company and their role in it.

For example, a question I always ask is "What do you like about working here, and what would you change?" If somebody can't answer something as simple as that, it tells you a lot. I interviewed twice at a company with a dress code. Neither person went for the easy answer about abolishing the dress code, instead addressing a more substantiative issue that affected their work. I also interviewed with a consulting firm where the recruiter couldn't figure out a goddamn thing about what she'd change at the company.

Other random things:

It doesn't hurt to ask ideal timelines

Be a little wary of processes that seem to move too quickly

Misc advice

Keep doing it, be consistent, show up. 

If you think you're being annoying, you're probably not the type of person who is actually being annoying.

Wherever you stop, that's probably a place you need to ask for help.

FIN

OK that was very long. Here is a picture of a bulldog in a stroller for scrolling to the end.

Networking does not have to happen in person or at Those Types of events. It can happen anywhere you speak to somebody about your goals: catching up with a friend, at the hairdresser, in the line at the grocery store.

And networking is generally not the same as trying to get leads or potential clients. It is about building on a connection you make at one of these events.

Things you need to network

An elevator pitch/value proposition.

This is basically a short spiel (30 seconds to a minute is what I've heard) that gives a person:

A clear, strong sense of purpose for you/your org

Where you're going/what you need

What you're trying to accomplish

What you're trying to look for

Who you want to meet (a specific person, "someone who X")

A goal for a networking event

This can be as big or as small as you like. Examples:

Meet two to three (or just one!) people you'd like to follow up with

Practice your elevator pitch on someone (or multiple people)

Identify potential collaborators/partnerships

Find somebody/an org who can X (solve a problem you have, has expertise in an area you want to learn more about, etc)

A friend/accountability partner/cheerleader (optional but helpful)

Knowing somebody you know already will be there helps soooo much

Extroverts are extremely helpful here because they will drag you with them to meet new people

Sometimes we're not good at gassing ourselves up but our friends/colleagues will do that for us happily

Updated contact info/website/socials

You want people to be able to get ahold of you and see your best online self!

Business cards/business card app (HiHello was mentioned, I've never used it)

Spruced up LinkedIn (yes I know, I know; also more LinkedIn info below)

How to follow up after networking to build relationships

Lots of tiny touches build relationships

Have genuine interest in others, what they do, and what they care about

Connect on Linkedin

Message a note of thanks and next steps

Schedule a time to reconvene (possibly on a regular basis)

Share resources (or follow up on a resource/connection that was offered to you)

If something reminds you of someone definitely let them know. People love knowing other people are thinking about them

Let people help you. It makes them feel good towards you

Find tools that will help you do that

Your brain is not a container and should not be treated like one. Record that shit down somewhere you can access it later

Hubspot email templates/CRM system

Boomerang

Calendly

Task management software (set recurring reminders)

Administrative work (or somebody doing it instead of you) can be a form of care and regard.

LinkedIn tweaks

(idk anything about how to do this, it's just stuff I wrote down)

Do not use the #opentowork frame. Insights from Premium customers say recruiters will actually avoid clicking on pictures with it.

Have a nice up-to-date headshot/profile pic

Your headline follows you around the site so make it a good one. This is a good place for your elevator speech/value proposition

It's a free portfolio in a high-traffic place. Put things you want to feature! Also you can link to projects/white papers/wev in your experience sections

Get recommendations for skills and rec other people for theirs