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11 Strategies To Strengthen Your Mindset to Land Your Next Job

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What is one strategy to strengthen your mindset, and improve your chances of landing your next job?

To help job-seekers strengthen their mindsets, we asked recruiting professionals and business leaders this question for their best advice. From practicing a visualization exercise to setting aside time for yourself, there are several strategies that may help you strengthen your mindset and improve your chances of landing your next job.


Here are 11 strategies to strengthen your mindset:

  • Practice a Visualization Exercise
  • Get Ahead of Your Imposter Syndrome
  • Set a Deadline
  • Develop a Confident Mindset
  • Be Specific About What You Want
  • Treat the Job Search Like a Job
  • Challenge Yourself Every Day
  • Create a Personal Narrative
  • Tap into Your Network
  • Forget Accomplishments and Focus On Growth
  • Set Aside Time Outside of Job Searching

Practice a Visualization Exercise 

A strategy that I’ve coached students on is a visualization exercise. Each time he or she receives an invitation to interview, they should visualize themselves also receiving an offer. This exercise should include details on how they will feel when they receive this offer, how much they’ll be making, and the excitement they will feel sharing the good news with loved ones. This small exercise can help you to dispel limiting beliefs and feel confident in your ability to perform the job.

Kristine Thorndyke, Test Prep Nerds

Get Ahead of Your Imposter Syndrome

When job searching, it’s common to get overwhelmed when you aren’t seeing as many results as you would like. This can take a hit on your confidence and can allow for imposter syndrome to kick in. When going through the application and interview process, do what you can to help get you into a positive mindset. Believing in yourself may seem like a platitude, but genuine confidence and resilience in the job hunt process are necessary. To get in the right frame of mind listen to your favorite song, wear your favorite shirt, give yourself a pep talk! Whatever you can do to help give you that confidence will reward you in your next interview.

Tom Mumford, Undergrads

Set a Deadline

Give yourself a career timeline. It can be very helpful to establish a deadline. Then, write down baby steps you’ll take along the way in order to reach your goal. Maybe you’ll apply for a specific number of jobs each day, as an example. This can help boost your confidence that you are able to follow through on your daily tasks. In turn, this will strengthen your mindset about your job search.

Shaun Price, MitoQ

Develop a Confident Mindset 

Most people think about job hunting in terms of skills and experience, but that’s only half the story. The other half is your mindset—the thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs you have about yourself and the process of job hunting.

If you go into the process with a negative or defeatist mindset, you’re much less likely to succeed. But if you approach it with a positive attitude and a belief that you can get the job done, you’re far more likely to be successful. So work on developing a strong, confident mindset and see how it impacts your job hunt.

Claire Westbrook, LSAT Prep Hero

Be Specific About What You Want

It’s essential to be specific about what you want. When someone is confident and determined in their goals, current challenges can be used as motivation. Hiring managers are attracted to candidates who are positive and self-assured, and a candidate who can be assertive in their goals will stand out in the application process. Not only does this strengthen your mindset, but you will also start to believe in yourself and take initiative in tasks to succeed in the long run.

Corey Ashton Walters, Here

Treat the Job Search Like a Job

In my work with candidates, the ones who consistently secure new jobs fastest are those who give their search the same time commitment and mental energy as they would bring to a job. This includes setting actionable goals and outlining the steps to get there with the same detail you’d bring to completing any other project.

This shift in mindset can also help to alleviate anxiety and other negative emotions that can arise when you’re searching for work. It changes your perspective on tasks like updating your resume or checking job marketplaces. These feel more productive when you know the specific goals you’re aiming for and how those actions are helping you get there. Similarly, this mindset shift encourages you to be more intentional with your process, using the same self-analysis and improvement approaches you would bring to a work project, rather than sinking into feelings of hopelessness and other unproductive negativity if your search doesn’t yield results right away.

Jon Hill, The Energists

Challenge Yourself Every Day

Make personal development a daily practice. That can mean reading a book by an inspirational figure, finding time for physical activity every day, practicing mediation, or learning a new skill. When we continually improve and challenge ourselves, we gain confidence to pursue our goals. Find something every day to help you become the person you want to be.

Sumeer Kaur, Lashkaraa

Create a Personal Narrative

A narrative is the story you tell yourself and others about who you are and what your life means. It can be an effective strategy for communicating your strengths, accomplishments, and value to employers. A powerful way of developing a compelling narrative is highlighting challenges you have overcome or lessons learned from work-related situations where you excelled. These narratives are essential tools that clearly define your worth to future employers.

Marc De Diego Ferrer, MCA Assessors

Tap into Your Network

Realize that you have a network of people willing to help you land your next job. Don’t be afraid to reach out to those around you. The more people you make aware that you’re looking for a new job, the better. Lean into your relationships with past coworkers, employers, acquaintances, friends, and family. You never know where your connections may take you.

Natalie Waltz, Tabu

Forget Accomplishments and Focus On Growth

Adopting a growth mindset over an accomplishment-based mindset is a game-changer in terms of professional success. An accomplishment-based mindset frames an individual’s value around their successes, which makes for a risk-averse approach to life because any potential failure carries with it the threat of lowering our perceived value.

Reframing to a growth mindset takes the unnecessary personal threat out of risk, allowing us to see that there is valuable experience gained in both success and failure. If you’re a job seeker, this will make your strengths look more impressive because a candid acknowledgment of weaknesses shows that you’re capable of addressing rather than avoiding them. Be an applicant that is unafraid of uncertainty, confident in the face of challenge, and always seeking to improve.

Charles Hua, Poised

Set Aside Time Outside of Job Searching

It can be tempting to fully dedicate your time to nothing but job searching, but this mindset can quickly trap you into a rut. By spending all of your time on job searching, you forget to care for yourself first and foremost which will deteriorate your mental state and even potentially overlook a potential job or make an error during the application process. It’s key to spend time for yourself, even if it’s something as simple as going on a walk for a half-hour. Having time away from the search keeps you refreshed and ready to tackle the challenge head-on.

Bill Lyons, Griffin Funding

Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published. 

12/14/21 – The Perfect Job in 2022

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Career Connector’s CEO and founder, Jessica Pierce delivers a riveting presentation – “The Perfect Job in 2022”.

Written by Sherri Kerr

The year of 2021 has become a candidates’ job market due to the great resignation! “The term “The Great Resignation” was coined in 2019 by Anthony C. Klotz, a professor at Texas A&M University. He predicted workers would start to resign in masses following the pandemic due to burnout and working remotely would trigger a shift in people’s identities and workplace expectations. The year 2021 has caused 4 million people to leave their jobs monthly, 55% of American Workers plan to Look for a New Job, only 20% of the Global Workforce Is Engaged, and Americans want to Continue Working Remotely. Americans desire to continue to working remotely and do not see the need to go into a traditional office. Four Million people are leaving their jobs per month due to unhappiness at work. Workers want to find a company that is a good match for them and desire to work remotely so they can live anywhere and work. The remote workforce is not going to chance and the good news to this there are openings that companies need to fill.

This shift has created new jobs opportunities and it’s important to comprehend how employers can find You! Jessica outlines six keys to help job seekers to unlock employer’s hiring doors. These keys include: hiring process, marketing/networking, competence, character, chemistry, and culture match.

Hiring Process

Looking for a job requires a new mind set. This new mindset jumps into the hiring manager brain and swims in their recruitment thought process. In past, job seekers would use job boards, see a job that fits, apply for the position, and hear nothing from the company. This new looking for a job mindset is not a linear process. In fact, this process is more circular. Jessica encourages job seekers to think like a hiring manager. The hiring process is a recruitment life cycle: identification and understanding, sourcing, screening, initial interview, final interview, feedback, short listing, verification, officer, joining formalities.

Marketing/Network

Connections! What can you do to make connections? The recruiter needs to fill a position with a person that fits the company’s culture, has the right character, chemistry, and competence. The recruiters have to go through many steps to find the right candidate. The job seekers need to connect with the company of interest and begin to NETWORK. The whole purpose of networking is to find a new friend. It is important to also think, “who do I know?” It’s important to reach out to friends and family and tell them you are looking for a job and the type of job you desire. Ask your friends and family – “who do they know?” Companies find great people by first looking internally as they are “known” people. Jessica encourages jobseekers to ask for meetings with friends or to touch base with former colleagues. The next steps recruiter and hiring managers take are to reach out to prior work relationships. They will seek internal referrals from the employees they know. The final step recruiters make are researching online job postings which are a higher risk. Unfortunately, most job seekers start at the bottom by using the online postings. Yet, the recruiter could already have multiple candidates from their known network.

Simply using LinkedIn to network with people works. Make sure your LinkedIn page is full of key words and phrases. If you are not on LinkedIn, Jessica encourages the attendees to join. This leads to the next point – Social Media. LinkedIn is the number one source companies to recruit and find solid candidates. Companies will Google your name to find information on their candidates. It is important not to post anything related to illegal drugs, alcohol, guns, or political opinions on your social media because companies possible could use that against you. Therefore, make others aware not to take certain pictures. Social media is a tool to use in looking for a job. Besides networking and social media online job boards are helpful. Indeed, crawls and scans multiple job boards. As you find jobs of interest on Indeed, go to the company’s website to find out more information on the company. These job boards give a job seeker an idea of what positions are out there. Staffing firms and niche staffing firms for example engineering are excellent resources.

Competence

Do you have what it takes? Do you have the qualifications and experience? Employers seek candidates with the right qualification, experience, education, certification, and training. Think of the job you are actively purposing, or you plan to apply. Jessica recommends printing the job description and print your resume. Then read the job description and highlight the main things what the person is looking for in a candidate. What are the main qualifications from the job description? Then make sure your resume addresses each of the main qualifications and your transferable skills. It’s important for the words from the job description to match on your resume because this is how your resume gets through an applicant tracking system (ATS). The ATS scours for the key words. Also make sure key words and accomplishments are on LinkedIn. What do you need to do to up level your game? You can volunteer for any organization you want and that will allow your skills to be developed.

Character

Research! What is the company’s culture? It is very important to the company, what are the values, what does their social media state? Do your research through your network. Find out about their culture and find out if they won awards and these are culture indicators you can address with the company. Think about the key traits you are looking for? You want to work for a company that matches your behavior traits. Besides investigating the company’s character and values, an applicant can take the DISC assessment. The DISC assessment helps a job seeker update the resume and helps identify natural gifts and talents. The DISC assessment can be found on the Career Connector’s website and is free. The terms from the DISC assessment can be added onto your resume, used on covered letters, or during an interview. Jessica stresses the importance of picking a company that honors who you are and what you are about.

Chemistry

It’s important to have a STELLER first impression. In person a firm handshake or fist bump with COVID, smiling, and be kind to everyone because they are part of the interview process. Mirror the interview’s initial response. Connect with the employer on LinkedIn. After the interview write a Thank You card or email.

Interviews

Qualifications – have your resume on hand to help jog your memory during an interview. An In-person interview arrive five – seven minutes early. A Zoom Interview it’s okay to be a little early too – one or two minutes. Answer questions with fact based experience, if an employer hires you, they feel like you can do the job. This I how I’ve done this type of work before.

Behavioral Interviews – “Tell me about your time you had to have a difficult conversation with someone.” Be ready to answer these types of questions as the employee is wanting to know if you can handle conflict and what do you do.

If the position is a remote position make it a point that you have a designated work space to work. Employers will want to know that information.

References – talk to a few former managers, colleagues, subordinates, and personal and ask if these individuals will be a reference for you. Let them know if you know the company will call them for a reference. You can help them be prepared.

Do you have a connection with the people that are interviewing you – connect with them on LinkedIn.

Culture Match

Competence, Character, and Chemistry

Today we are saying goodby to Sheila Coulam who has faithfully served as the Career Connectors Director of Operations for 7 years – she will be sorely missed!

Hiring Companies

Sun Health
Erin McKee, Talent Acquisition Manager

Sun Health is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving the community for 55 years. Founded in 1966 as Sun City Community Hospital to bring critical healthcare resources to the West Valley.

Mission: We champion superior health and wellbeing through philanthropy, inspired living and wellness programs.
Vision: We envision a world where people live longer, healthier, more purposeful lives.
Core Purpose: To empower people to enjoy living longer.
Vibrant Values:
• Big-hearted
• Thorough
• Invested

Not your typical employee benefits:
• Benefits for part-time employees
• Paid training programs
• Education Opportunities & Scholarships
• Employee Health and Wellbeing Programs
• Discounts-The Employee Network
• Career and Leadership Development
• Volunteer through S.H.I.N.E. (Sun Health Involvement Never Ends)
• Annual recognition events- Years of Service and Vibrant Living
• Employee Referral Bonus program

How to Apply: https://www.sunhealth.org/careers

Open Positions

Salaried:
• Finance
• Senior Accountant
• Life Enrichment
• Director of Life Enrichment
• Nursing
• Director of Nursing, Director of Quality Management, RN Weekend Supervisor
• Real Estate & Construction
• Senior Director of Environmental Services

Hourly:
• Administrative (Hourly)
• Staffing Coordinator, Operations Clerk, Sales Assistant, Marketing Coordinator, Corporate Receptionist
• Dining
• Cooks, Lead Cook, Kitchen Stewards, Café Attendant, Servers, Lead Servers, Dining Room Supervisor
• Environmental Services
• Housekeepers, Floor Care Specialists, Maintenance Techs, Housekeeping Supervisor,
• Nursing
• Assistant Caregivers, Certified Caregivers, C.N.A.s, L.P.N.s

Follow us on social media!
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• TikTok
• YouTube

Legal Zoom
Joe Lawrence, Technical & University Recruiter

And we’re here to democratize law.

We’re for the many. The many people determined to succeed, the goals that motivate them, the loved ones who inspire them.

We’re for technology that makes it easy, attorneys and tax experts who make it seem effortless, and trusted partners who make the next hurdle feel like less of a leap.

We’re for opening doors, opening a second location, and opening eyes to what’s possible. We’re for empowering people to take the first step and every step after. We’re for making sure everybody gets a fair shot.

For the many people who want to start a business properly, for the many families who depend on them, for the many ideas they need to protect, we’re LegalZoom. And we’re here to make it all official.

Our Values:
• People First: We’re all about people—both inside and outside the company—and we’re committed to their continued wellness and success.
• Unstoppable: We think big and work tirelessly to deliver the best experience for customers—and the best environment for employees.
• Purpose-driven: We’re united by our mission to democratize law, and we strive to improve people’s lives in everything we do.
• Simplicity: This is a complex industry, and we’ve made it easier for customers and employees to get work done while facing fewer roadblocks.

Strength in diversity:
Our employee network groups are at the heart of how we foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. Having a workforce that is welcoming to all can only mean better products, better service, and better ideas to best serve our customers and community. This is why—starting from our hiring practices, all the way to how we forge partnerships with other companies—we are fully committed to celebrating our differences, hearing every voice, and honoring all cultures. Because as much as tech is what drives our business, being human is what fuels it.

Position Open:

Inside Sales Representatives
Our Sales Representative role is the customer’s initial point of contact with LegalZoom, taking a consultative approach to the customer relationship by gaining a deep understanding of the customer’s business needs to pair services and strategy for long-term success.
• $19/ hour + Bonuses
• 100% Remote
• Extensive Medical/Dental/Vision (includes mental & fertility coverage!)
• 401k
• Profit-Sharing Opportunity
• Wellness Credit (for eligible expenses such as gym equipment, fitness classes, marathons, etc.)
• Paid Family Leave
• Vacation – 15 Days (13 Days + 2 Floating)
• 10 Paid Holidays

Freedom Financial Network
Lindsey Ardale, Employment Branding and Recruiting Marketing Lead

Our Core Values:
CARE (for everyone)
We show compassion and contribute to the well-being and growth of those around us. We only pursue products that improve the financial lives of our clients.

GET BETTER (every day)
We innovate, iterate, and improve each day. We are creative, take thoughtful risks, and ultimately learn and recover from failures.

ACT WITH INTEGRITY(every time)
We take the right action even when it is hard and even when no one is watching. We treat our employees, clients, and communities the way they wish to be treated.

COLLABORATE (with everybody)
We strive to work together toward a common purpose by proactively sharing information and inviting participation. We recognize the perspective of various groups and embrace healthy, constructive debate.

There Are Benefits To Working With Us:
Balance at Work
• Vacation time
• Paid sick time
• Monthly appreciation lunch
• Employee discounts
• Employee recognition program
• Café on-site
• Company sponsored volunteer events
• Holiday party

Stay Healthy
• Medical & Dental benefits after 30 days
• LTD and life insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Legal Plan
• New parent leave up to 12 weeks
• Employee mental health resources

Financial Health
• 401k with company match
• Employee Assistance Program
• Freedom Family Fund
• PTO for volunteer work
• PTO for your birthday

We are hiring for a variety of roles

Apply at FFNJOBS.com

• Customer Services & Sales
• Sales Representatives
• Sales Managers
• Bilingual Customer Service Representatives
• Mortgage Underwriters
• Loan Officers
• Managers of Loan Servicing
• Junior Loan Consultants
• Tech & Marketing
• Software Engineers- Java, Node, PHP
• Data Analysts
• Sr. Python Developers
• Lifecycle Marketing Specialists
• InfoSec
• Test Engineering
• Sr Growth Managers

The Entrepreneur’s Source
Anna Schulaman Brambilla, Career Ownership Coach

She helps professional seek a better fit in their profession. She is a career coach and desires to help others. She has helped 100 clients explore career or franchise options.

9 Quality Resources For Professionals In Career Transition

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What is one resource you would recommend for professionals in a career transition? 

To help professionals in a career transition, we asked business professionals and leaders this question for their insights. From pinpointing your work identity by reading to seeking out membership opportunities, there are several resources for a career transition.

Here are nine quality resources for professionals in career transition: 

  • Pinpoint Your Work Identity by Reading
  • Assess Your Skill Sets
  • Discover Your Dream Career with Online Interactive Tools
  • Join Organizations for Career Professionals
  • Get in Touch With a Recruiting Agency
  • Leverage LinkedIn for Upskilling
  • Reach Out and Connect with Your Alumni Organizations
  • Hire a Career Coach
  • Seek Out Mentorship Opportunities

Pinpoint Your Work Identity by Reading

“What Color is Your Parachute” by Richard Bolles is one of the best guides for professionals transitioning careers. The book provides a self-assessment that helps readers pinpoint their work identity and main professional motivators and find the most suitable roles. This reference also offers up advice about resumes, interviewing, and salary negotiations, among other job-seeking topics. “What Color is Your Parachute” is an all-inclusive handbook for folks looking to switch jobs and find a more meaningful career.

Michael Alexis, TeamBuilding

Assess Your Skill Sets

Being in the midst of a career transition is the perfect time to assess whether your skillset is as marketable as it can be. One way to do that is by getting certified. Getting a certification could help you show prospective employers that you’re knowledgeable and trained enough to take on the duties of the positions you’re applying for. You can visit CareerOneStop to find certifications in skills you already have, and since there are thousands available, it’s a great resource.

Ryan Nouis, TruPath

Discover Your Dream Career with Online Interactive Tools

VirtualJobShadow.com enables people to discover, plan and pursue their dreams without leaving the comfort of their own home. With a unique video-based career planning platform providing interactive tools to help students and job seekers alike develop new career paths.  With hundreds of careers to choose from, you may discover your dream career waiting for you!

Amit Raj, The Links Guy

Join Organizations for Career Professionals

These can provide great networking opportunities. Industry-specific groups also often provide support for people looking to make career transitions. They can offer excellent resources and keep you up to date about the latest news and trends in the industry in which you are interested. It’s also a great way to be introduced to people who can hire you in the future.

Brittany Kaiser, Gryphon Digital Mining

Get in Touch With a Recruiting Agency

Get in touch with a recruiting agency with positions related to the industry you are interested in. You might as well, in case it might take a while to find a permanent job as you’re trying to break into a new field. You never know – If you perform well in a temp job, it could become permanent.

Joaquín Roca, Minerva

Leverage LinkedIn for Upskilling

If you’re considering a career transition, chances are that you are already on LinkedIn. I recommend joining LinkedIn’s premium membership program as it opens up unlimited classes you can take that will align with your new profession. Upon completion, you can post about the new skills you’ve acquired to help yourself become more marketable in your career transition and eventual job hunt.

Meryl Schulte, Markitors

Reach Out and Connect with Your Alumni Organizations

Connect with alumni from your alma mater. Many colleges and universities offer resources for alumni or a directory or other easy ways to reach out to alumni. Getting in touch with alumni to bounce career ideas off, can work well. They may be willing to set up an informational interview with you and can help answer questions for you related to the career you might be interested in transitioning into. Making those connections can take you far.

Sarah Pirrie, Healist Naturals

Hire a Career Coach

Those in a career transition could benefit from seeing a career coach. Career coaches can help people with readjusting resumes and coming up with well-written and convincing cover letters in order to convey connections between previous careers and new careers. The career coach may even give advice about volunteering or internship opportunities to start their new careers. Seeking guidance from a career coach during this time can help career transitions not appear so abrupt to hiring managers.

Mike Clare, Mood Health

Seek Out Mentorship Opportunities

Connect with someone in your community or industry that inspires you from a business perspective and learn more about what they’ve done to be successful in their career. Ask them for advice and be open to feedback!

Jenna Hinrichsen, Advanced RPO

Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published. 

8 Considerations for Late in Life Career Transitions

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Late in Life Career Transition

What is one consideration for a later in life career transition?
To help you make the best decision about a later in life career transition, we asked business professionals and leaders this question for their insights. From prioritizing your passion to factoring in your mental health, there are several things to take into account before making a later in life career transition.
Here are eight things to consider for a later in life career transition:

  • Align Career Goals with Life Goals
  • Review How You Stack Up
  • Develop a Career Transition Plan
  • What Next Should Become Whom Next
  • Prioritize Your Passion
  • Take Stock and Be Strategic
  • Design Your Final Chapter
  • Factor in Your Mental Health

Align Career Goals With Life Goals

If you’re at this sort of juncture, I would say you need to think about what it is you’re searching for in a career change at this stage of life. What is your motivation? Are you trying to prove something to yourself or to others? If at all possible, make sure that your career transition goals align with your life goals to ensure you the least stress and the best chance at success.
Jon Schneider, Recruiterie

Review How You Stack Up

Are you as competitive a candidate as you can be? You need to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. If you’re moving into a new industry, companies might prefer younger candidates with more specialized experience; can you compete? You’re also facing the prospect of other candidates changing careers at the same stage in life; how do you stack up against them?
Ryan Nouis, TruPath

Develop a Career Transition Plan

When considering a career transition, the most important thing is recognizing that there is a need for something new. Every change begins with the realization that the current circumstances no longer serve us. My advice is to develop a career transition plan with things you want to learn before starting, people you want to reach out to for support or mentoring, and events you plan to attend.

Orienting yourself in the industry takes time and shouldn’t be rushed through. You can start by learning more about the specifics of your new career path and expand your knowledge and skills in that direction. Learning new skills through online courses or YouTube videos is a great way to start. These activities will help you acquire industry knowledge and feel more confident when looking for new job opportunities. You can also begin engaging in specific online communities to find out more about career development possibilities and gain firsthand experience from experts in your new field.
Dorota Lysienia, LiveCareer

What Next Should Become Whom Next

These days, when executives start to consider career transitions, they often see their legacy as being a “thing” — e.g., their great invention, their name on a building, or the healthy trust fund. It would benefit society as a whole, later in life, if successful executives considered a career that involved identifying and nurturing future business leaders, one that focuses on the “whom,” not the “what.” Also, the “whom” must be inclusive of people of color and people with disabilities, who will make up such a large percentage of society in the future.
Denise Meridith, World’s Best Connectors LLC

Prioritize Your Passion

Life is too short to be miserable. If you find yourself in a dead-end job or career, it may be time for a change. Use your years of experience to find a job that you are passionate about. It should be one that you are excited in the morning to wake up and get going to. Money should not be the deciding factor because hopefully, money will come if you are happy.
Paula Harvey, Schulte Building Systems

Take Stock and Be Strategic

You will find plenty of opportunities out there but you should not ever make a move out of desperation. If you are considering a career change, then look for the motive. How it will help you grow, how it will shape your career, and build it better than before. If it matches your skills and interests and if you think it will advance your career then you should definitely go for it.
Sanket Shah, InVideo

Design Your Final Chapter

When considering a career transition later in your career success, I like to pose three questions:
Does this opportunity have the potential to be the final chapter for your career successes?
Will this opportunity potentially set you up for another transition?
Are you ready for some re-inventing in this stage of your career?
Career transitions later in your career have the potential to be invigorating and set a new stage for success. What a beautiful way to finish your chapter!
Diane Fennig, The Gallagher Group – Executive Search & Leadership Advisors

Factor in Your Mental Health

No career is worth your mental health. It used to be a taboo topic. More and more companies and individuals are opening up about mental health in the workplace. When proceeding with a career transition please make sure you factor in your mental health and any strain your current role has on you and your potential transition. It is easy to get lost in the pretty frills of a new career or a counteroffer from your existing role.
Andrew Aziz, The Breeze Performance Model

Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published.

12/2/21 – LinkedIn Navigation = Career Success!

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What is the problem with my job search? Why is it so hard? Why are so many people making moves and I’m still not getting interviews or a new role?

Take Control of Your Job Search and Create Opportunities

Trevor on the cover of Forbes

Written by Julia Churan

Trevor Houston, host of Who Ya Know – Job Networking Show, was the keynote speaker for this event sharing techniques for job seekers to get noticed, create opportunities & take control of the financial impact of job loss. Trevor’s podcasts can be downloaded from Apple, Pandora, Spotify and other popular streaming sites. His approach was most recently featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine

Trevor cites that job searches today have been de-humanized!

No longer are the days of walking into a business and handing a real person a resume or saying “Hi – I’d like to apply for a job.” Job searches today are all about “click to apply,” applicant tracking “black holes,” phone interviews, recruiter ghostings, and searches for “purple squirrels.”

The result is fewer interviews for qualified candidates. The current process leads to an average of one interview per month. Experts say a job seeker should be prepared for the search to take one month for every $10K in salary expected. Therefore a person looking to make $100,000 will be searching for 10 months with only 10 interviews. Not only is this overwhelming, it is totally discouraging.

Getting Control Back

Trevor’s techniques are all about taking back control, increasing your activity, and getting noticed so you decrease search time. The goal is to go viral within a company but you may have to reach outside of your comfort zone to get there.

Don’t – send short text messages via LinkedIn Inmail! You are not unique to the recruiters that may be getting a hundred or more a day.

Do – make your LinkedIn activity personal. Check out the recruiter’s activity – are they active, do they post? Try an approach that has an 87% response rate — post a personalized “video comment” to their post by using some of his favorite tools.

Tools to Stand Out

Trevor holding speech bubble

Small Whiteboard – pick one of these up at a discount store or online retailer. Put your hiring target’s name or a nice message on it and post this in your message or as a post comment.

Video Messaging App – currently there is only one tool that is recognized by LinkedIn with integration – BombBomb. Trevor recommends exploring this in one of the many YouTube videos or instructional videos on their website before starting your 14 day trial. Practice creating small 30 sec or less personalized “raw” clips to test with your “accountability partner.” Think of these as video voice mail. “Thank you so much for your post on XYZ. I’d love to have a conversation about this. Here is a connection request and a link to my calendar. Let’s connect.”

Evergreen Videos – Small videos that aren’t personalized but congratulate an individual on a promotion, a new job, a work anniversary. You can use these over and over with your connections. These evergreens clips will also help get you noticed by connections of your network and help build an audience.

Embedded “Call to Actions” (CTA) – Respect the recipient’s time and avoid the hassle of going back and forth to set up a meeting. Use is a simple calendaring tool like Calendly to make setting up a virtual coffee meeting or real-life lunch as easy as the click of a button. You can sign up for a free version which should provide enough features for basic job seeker use and integrate with the most common calendaring systems like Outlook and Gmail

Auto Text Expander – this is a basic Google Chrome Extension that allows you to save snippets of text that you can include in your video link, calendar link, or other messaging to save time in posting responses or evergreen messages.

Email Signature – BombBomb has a feature that allows you to make an interactive email signature including your photo, contact info, link to schedule a meeting or phone call, or reply with a video. This will really take your emails to the next level of professionalism.

Trojan Horse – This means making a video message rather than just an email expressing your interest, clarifying any points from your meeting and calling for next steps. This is like the namesake virus, the “trojan horse” because after the recipient opens the email, they will be so wow’d by your unique form of communication, they will forward it to others who also spoke with you, other team members and on up the organization line. You’ll become internally famous for standing out.

Hiring Companies

Freedom Financial Network

Laurel Pendle was representing the Freedom Financial hiring team. She is newer to the FFN team but shared enthusiasm about her experiences with the culture and opportunities within the organization. FFN is a leader in the debt consolidation industry and has been named “Best Companies to Work For in AZ” for 10 years in a row. This San Mateo-based company now has 2600 employees and growing with offices in California and Tempe, AZ. Many of their employees are now remote or hybrid.

Diversity & Inclusion are important to their culture with employee resource groups, webinars, mentoring and development programs to support their growing staff. As Laurel shared, FFN Walks the Walk. They are currently hiring for approximately 85 roles in Tech, Marketing, Customer Services, and Sales. See the full list of postings at FFNJobs.com

They encourage seekers to connect with their recruiting professionals on LinkedIn:

Ian Ingersoll: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-ingersoll-b89871b4/
Maya Blake: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-blake-a21a2316a/
Melissa Whitlatch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissawhitlatch/
Rama Parandekar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rama-p-53242b2/
Loretta O’Donnell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loretta-o-donnell-b401b41a/
Kevin Morris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-morris-43555a4b/
Lily Brezler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-brezler/

BCBSAZ

Due to technical difficulties, they were not able to join the event, but have many openings throughout the organization at https://jobs.azblue.com. Be sure to also follow them on LinkedIn.

Resources

Jessica Pierce, Founder, and CEO of Career Connectors, closed out the event by encouraging everyone to expand their networks by connecting with other attendees, speakers and former co-workers via LinkedIn.

Many thanks to the speakers, staff, and volunteers who make these events possible. Also, thanks to all who supported the organization through generous donations on Giving Day and throughout the year.

Be sure to take advantage of the many services available to job seekers through the website and various sponsors. Check out opportunities for assessments, coaches, professional photos, and future events on the Career Connector’s website. Also, be sure to read past blogs and highlights of other HR experts.

Upcoming Events:

Our resident networking expert, Jessica Pierce, will finish off the year’s events with a virtual experience Tuesday, December 14th about “Land Your Perfect Job in 2022.” Hiring companies will include Sun Health, Freedom Financial Network, and The Entrepreneur’s Source. Get registered and continue to follow us for information about future career events both virtually and in-person. Stay tuned!