Ask Steph: Standing out when you've been laid off
I've been unemployed for a while, and I'm feeling awful about it.
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How do I stand out in such a competitive hiring field right now? After being laid-off earlier this year, I’ve struggled a lot more than I thought I would to land a new gig, and it’s starting to hit my confidence. I’m feeling like an impostor more than ever: if no one will hire me, maybe my last job was right to let me go. The hits have just kept coming this year, and I’m really running out of steam.
—LAID_OFF
It’s no secret that it’s been a brutal year for the tech job market. I posted a Twitter thread and LinkedIn post after Google laid off 12,000 in January that many found helpful. For the folks that I worked with in a 1:1 coaching setting, what’s below has been what I’ve told each and every one of them. I’ve worked with some incredible engineers that I was shocked to learn were on the market for more than a second. These are the strategies that have worked to get them to the interview and offer stages.
Accept rejections. EasyApply on LinkedIn is great, and it can make you feel really productive by applying to dozens and dozens of jobs per day. Until you also start getting a lot of automated rejections every day. That… doesn’t feel great to anyone. I recommend incentivizing your rejections. Get yourself something to celebrate each one. I’ve seen friends make rejection bracelets with a bead for every email. Another friend drew a comic panel poking fun of the job hunt for each “we regret to inform you.” A third decided to give his dog a belly rub for every “more qualified applicant.” Another ate a blue m&mYou get the picture.
Humans over algorithms. Most employers are going to make you apply online these days. I know that. Just don’t stop at the online application. Your resume is now in a digital pile, and if you want to make it to the group that gets a phone screen or an interview, you’re still best off seeing if you know anyone who could make a referral.
Why are referrals usually such a strong hiring signal? Because companies often are making hiring decisions based on a very limited amount of information: a resume, maybe a couple hours of talking to you, possibly a portfolio. Hiring decisions can be expensive to get wrong, and so anywhere companies can get more signal to increase their confidence in a decision, they usually do. So if a trusted employee they already know really well can vouch for you, that can maybe help contribute to getting you an interview.
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