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7 Ways To Reimagine Your Job Search, with Katie Silver

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Spending 40+ hours per week applying to jobs is not a job search strategy; it’s a default position that too many people rely on. But with hundreds of people applying for some job within days of listing, you need to do more than apply. Find Your Dream Job guest Katie Silver says you need to narrow down your search to those things that bring you joy. You’re more likely to stay with a company longer if you enjoy working there, says Katie. And don’t be afraid of doing contract or fractional work, as it opens up opportunities for growth, experience, and expanding your network. 

About Our Guest:

Katie Silver is the co-founder of the Southern Pass Company.

Resources in This Episode:

 

Transcript

Find Your Dream Job, Episode 476:

7 Ways To Reimagine Your Job Search, with Katie Silver

Airdate: November 13, 2024

Mac Prichard:

This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.

I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.

Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to get the work you want.

Many job seekers have one approach to looking for work.

Send out lots of applications.

Every day.

Stop putting all your eggs in one basket, says today’s guest.

You can get much better results if you follow multiple strategies.

Katie Silver is here to talk about seven ways to reimagine your job search.

She’s the co-founder of the Southern Pass Company.

It’s a consulting and search firm for both employers and candidates.

Katie joins us from Portland, Oregon.

Well, let’s jump right into it, Katie. Many people looking for work, they send out applications, and they don’t do anything else. What do you think of this strategy?

Katie Silver:

Well, I think, in many ways, that’s what we’ve always been taught to do. You’re looking for a new job. What do you do? You look on LinkedIn, you find jobs that might be interesting to you and that you might be qualified for, and you apply.

But in today’s market, we’re seeing large numbers of applicants for many, many jobs, and many job seekers who I talk to will spend hours on end applying for anything that looks like they might even be remotely qualified for or remotely interested in, only to get little if any response. Frankly, that can be a bit exhausting and frustrating.

Mac Prichard:

One challenge with that approach is that you’re competing with lots and lots of other people who are doing the same thing, so a recruiter might have dozens or even hundreds of applications. What are the other challenges with that approach, Katie, of just sending out applications alone?

Katie Silver:

Well, it can certainly be very time-consuming. If you think about the time that it takes to tailor your resume or cover letter for dozens, if not hundreds, of jobs, you can only imagine how much time that would take. Also, it can just be a bummer to not get responses from jobs that you’ve applied to, particularly if you think you might be really qualified, and to your point, Mac, there could be hundreds and hundreds of applicants to any given job within a week of it being posted, and some of those applicants are going to be just as qualified, if not more so, than you.

It can be demoralizing to see that limited response rate. Especially if maybe you’ve never had to look for a job before or you’re not used to not getting an interview.

Mac Prichard:

Every time this topic comes up, I’ll talk to a candidate who will say, “Well, gosh, it’s a numbers game. If I send out enough applications, in the end, I will get interviews, and I’ll eventually get an offer.”

You’re a recruiter, Katie. You’ve worked in this space for a long time. What do you say to somebody who thinks it’s a numbers game and, in the end, the strategy will work?

Katie Silver:

A high-volume approach to applying for jobs can be a part of your strategy. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t apply to a high volume or a variety of jobs, but it can’t be your only strategy. The reason for that is, again, the market right now, in many cases, is what I would call an employer’s market.

There are so many candidates applying for every job that even when you’re taking that high-volume approach, the probability of getting an interview and landing the job is really a little bit lower than it’s been in the past. So, again, that can be part of your strategy, but it can’t be the only thing that you’re doing.

Mac Prichard:

What about unadvertised jobs, Katie? What percentage of positions out there aren’t being posted, and why do employers do that?

Katie Silver:

Oh, that’s such a good question. You know, I don’t know an exact percentage, but if I had to guess, I would say 50% or above. A lot of the reasons that employers don’t advertise their job, they may be in a time crunch, they need to find someone right away. They might have someone already in mind for a position. Maybe there’s internal mobility happening. Oftentimes, when we don’t see jobs posted, it’s because the employer needs someone right now, and they’re just going to go to the people who are in their network that they know.

Mac Prichard:

I know that there are ways to tap into those positions, and we’re going to talk about that, so let’s turn to your list of 7 ways to reimagine your job search. Let’s go through them one by one.

Your first suggestion is to step back and think about what kind of work brings you joy instead of focusing only on salary and title. What do you have in mind here, Katie?

Katie Silver:

Yeah, with the folks that I work with, I really recommend taking a more focused and targeted approach to your job search by, again, focusing on the things that make you happy, that you enjoy doing because, ultimately, that will keep you in a job longer, when you’re finding joy in your work.

Take a step back and prepare for your search by brainstorming all of the things that you really want, might need to have in a job, your nice-to-haves and non-negotiables, and then I challenge you to revisit that list and really think about, “Do I need everything on my needs list?”

If a job fits your needs list by 70%, but 30% of the things that you’re saying you really need aren’t on there, would you turn it down? Especially if it was something where you knew you’d enjoy the work, it would bring you happiness, it would bring you joy, it would create opportunities for you to learn. Oftentimes, that can be so much more meaningful than salary or title alone.

Mac Prichard:

But I’m not hearing you say that you should rule out salary or title. This is in addition to.

Katie Silver:

In addition to. Exactly.

Mac Prichard:

What happens when all you do is focus on salary and title in your job search, and you don’t consider these other factors?

Katie Silver:

Oh, you miss so many opportunities, Mac. There is so much out there. Different companies use different titles; they have different salary ranges available to them, based on whether they’re a public sector client or private sector client, and you never know what you could learn from an opportunity, or what the culture of the organization might be, or how you might be able to stretch and grow if you’re turning away from opportunities that don’t have that perfect title or perfect salary range.

If a job looks like it might pique your interest, it might bring you joy, it might help you add value to an organization, have a conversation about it. Explore, and you may find that the things that that position can offer beyond simply salary and title are what’s really going to make it the right fit for you.

Mac Prichard:

Number two on your list of seven ways to reimagine your job search is to create a list of must-haves, nice-to-haves, and then edit. Why is it important to do this, Katie?

Katie Silver:

Yeah, I mentioned this in our first point as well, and I think it’s really important to do that because, often, when we start a job search, our list of must-haves is really long. It must be a certain salary range, it must be a certain title, it must be fully remote, it must be a place where I can learn and grow, and on and on.

And in today’s economy, you really have to ask yourself, is that realistic? I challenge people to go through the exercise of brainstorming everything that you want, that you think you must have, that it would be nice to have, that is a nonnegotiable, and then look back at that list and really challenge yourself.

You want to be fully remote. Well, if the job was a great fit for you and created space for you to advance in your career, but you needed to come into an office twice a week, would you consider that? Ask yourself the tough questions that allow you to cast a wide net while still being really focused on what you ultimately want to do with your career trajectory.

Mac Prichard:

When you edit, you’re taking things off your list. What would you say to a listener, Katie, who says, “I don’t want to do that. I want to keep my options open. I want to be open to all possibilities”?

Katie Silver:

Well, I think it depends on where these things are on your list. I think it’s wonderful if you have a really long list of nice-to-haves and wants, that’s great, but if your list of must-haves, Mac, is incredibly long, twice or three times longer than your nice-to-haves, wants, you’re actually not going to be broadening your search. You’re going to be narrowing it.

Mac Prichard:

Terrific. We’re going to take a break, Katie.

Stay with us. When we return, Katie Silver will continue to share her advice on seven ways to reimagine your job search.

We’re back in the Mac’s List studio. I’m talking with Katie Silver.

She’s the co-founder of the Southern Pass Company.

It’s a consulting and search firm for both employers and candidates.

Katie joins us from Portland, Oregon.

Now, Katie, before the break, we were talking about a list of seven ways that you encourage candidates to follow to reimagine a job search. We went through your first two points.

Let’s go to number three on your list. You recommend that candidates consider contract and fractional work. Why should you do this, Katie?

Katie Silver:

I am a huge advocate of contract and fractional work. I love it because you never know what’s going to happen with a contract. You could see a job that’s posted that’s a three-month contract that becomes a three-year contract.

There are so many opportunities out there that begin as contracts. It’s a way for you to get your foot in the door with an organization, learn the company, and, oftentimes, again, those positions can extend, and even better, you now know the company. You have a foot in the door so if a full-time position opens up, you’ve got an established relationship there.

It’s also a great way to try on a company, and, again, in the market, like it is today, a lot of companies have experienced layoffs, and oftentimes, the first jobs that they bring back when they need to add capacity are contract positions.

When you set up your LinkedIn profile, make sure that you’re open to both contract and full-time. You’re closing yourself off to what could be an incredible opportunity by immediately shutting the door on contract or fractional work.

Mac Prichard:

What’s the best way to position yourself when doing a contract or fractional job for a full-time or permanent position?

Katie Silver:

Well, I think if you’re contracting with a company, build relationships. Even if you’re working remotely, take the time to get to know other people at the company who maybe work in the department or functional area that you’re interested in. If you’re really enjoying your time with a company, make it really clear that you love being there and that you’d love to be a part of their team full-time.

Then, also really tactically, sometimes people will ask me, “How do I represent contract work on my resume or on my LinkedIn?” Just represent it as a contract or a consulting gig. That’s not uncommon at all. Employers won’t shy away from you if you’ve done contract work. In fact, it shows that you’ve had the opportunity to learn in a lot of different places.

Mac Prichard:

Your fourth suggestion of seven ways to reimagine your job search is to think about your job search as a job. What’s the best way to do this, Katie, and how is it going to help you?

Katie Silver:

Sure, some of your listeners might be thinking, “Well, I do think of my job search as my job. I am in front of my computer 8 hours a day, looking at LinkedIn job postings and applying and doing all of the things.”

But what I really mean by this is, if it were your job, you might have a schedule. So, create a schedule for yourself, and maybe you break your time into research, networking, applying for positions, and tweaking your cover letters, but schedule out your time, and take breaks. That will help you to avoid burnout. Again, if you were at your job, you’d probably have a lunch break. Think about giving yourself a break throughout the day.

Your day should also have a start and end time to it. Maybe you stop at four or five o’clock. Celebrate the small wins along the way.

Did one person get back to you?

Did you learn about a new company that you didn’t know about before?

Did you have a great networking conversation?

Take time off so that you can recharge and hit the ground running when you’re ready to start searching again.

Mac Prichard:

How does practicing these good habits help you in your job search?

Katie Silver:

It helps you bring more energy to your search, and particularly when you get to the stage when you’re interviewing. You really want to be fresh, you want to be focused, you want to be able to demonstrate your enthusiasm about the position, and if you’re burnt out from spending hours, and hours, and hours in front of your computer, sending applications, you’re not going to be your best when you show up for that interview.

Mac Prichard:

Number five on your list of seven ways to reimagine your job search is to work with recruiters and lots of them. Why should you do this, Katie, and what’s a good way to do it?

Katie Silver:

Yeah, I can’t speak for all recruiters, but I really think, Mac, that most of us are in this profession because we really love helping people. Different recruiters, especially if you’re partnering with a third-party recruiter or an agency recruiter, we have different opportunities.

Let’s say that you reach out to me and establish a relationship with me. Well, I have different clients than my buddy, who’s a recruiter down the road, so you want to connect with as many recruiters as possible because you never know what we have. If we don’t have something that’s right for you today, you don’t know what we’re going to have next week.

You want to be top of mind when you’re talking to a recruiter, so when we do have something that piques your interest, we’re going to think of you.

Also, consider recruiters part of your network. We want to learn about you. What you’re looking for, what’s most important for you, what you can bring to a job, and again, we want to help, so don’t hesitate to ask a recruiter for an introduction, for tips on your resume, for anything that we can do to help you move forward in your journey.

Mac Prichard:

What’s the best way to find the recruiters in your industry and then approach them?

Katie Silver:

I think the best way is just Google. Just search for local recruiting firms and staffing agencies, ask people who you know who have maybe worked with a recruiter, who did they work with, do they have anyone that they can recommend? And then, just like you would with any networking opportunity, approach with authenticity. “Here’s who I am. Here’s what I’m looking for. Here’s the type of help that I’m looking for.” Don’t be discouraged if not everyone gets back to you.

Ultimately, a recruiter’s job is to focus on helping candidates and filling jobs, so there might be times when you don’t hear from us right away because we’ve got a fire that we’re putting out or something like that, but just be authentic. What’s going on with you? What type of help do you need? And ask for time.

Mac Prichard:

What’s the best way to maintain that relationship after identifying someone, reaching out to them, making the initial contact, and then staying in touch?

Katie Silver:

I always encourage people to check in with me, follow up with me, maybe once a month. Sometimes, it’s more often, but I think a monthly cadence makes a lot of sense, and then let us know when you land somewhere because we want to celebrate with you, especially if we’ve been part of that journey at all.

Checking in, most of us are on LinkedIn all the time, so checking in through LinkedIn messages or emailing us, or however, you contacted us in the first place, and monthly feels about like the right cadence.

Mac Prichard:

Number six on your list of seven ways to reimagine your job search is to follow a mix of proactive and passive activities. What do you mean by this, Katie?

Katie Silver:

Sure, and this is a bit of a summary of everything that we’ve talked about so far. Proactive would be taking that time to apply for jobs and networking, and I can’t say enough about networking, but spend a lot of time networking, with people you know, with people that you don’t know, and we can talk more about that, and building relationships.

Then passive is that time that you spend building connections with recruiters, following companies that you’re really interested in, and signing up for job alerts. The idea of passive activities is that you have jobs coming in to you because you signed up for alerts or because you signed up with a staffing agency.

Now, that should probably be about 30% of your time. I think you want to skew your time on the more proactive work, but having that passive approach as well will make your search effort much more well-rounded.

Mac Prichard:

The last item on your list of seven ways to reimagine your job search is to make your resume easy to tailor. Why is this important, Katie, and how do you do it?

Katie Silver:

The reason that it’s important, Mac, is that I think a lot of people think the first filter with your resume when you apply for a job is AI or a bot, and sometimes it, and sometimes that tool or technology, is looking for keywords.

More often than not, it’s a recruiter, and frankly, we’re not experts in every functional area that we recruit for. You sort of have to hit us over the head with why you’re qualified for the job. Being able to customize and tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for is important, but you don’t want it to take hours and hours and hours. It has to be something that you can do fairly efficiently. I recommend people really think about the summary portion of their resume and even their LinkedIn page, as a space where they can tailor.

Look at the job description. Not only what are the keywords, but what are they asking for a candidate to do? What are the responsibilities? What are the problems that they’re trying to solve? Then, look to tailor that summary of your resume to speak to how you’ve solved those types of problems before, or how you’ve led the functional areas that they’re asking you to lead, or whatever it might be.

The summary section is the easiest to tailor.

Mac Prichard:

Well, it’s been a terrific conversation, Katie. Now, tell us, what’s next for you?

Katie Silver:

Well, Mac, I’m going to continue running the Southern Pass Company. We’re having a great time doing it and working with candidates and companies all over the states. What’s next for me right after this call is talking to a job seeker, and I hope to continue doing that, and hopefully I’ll be filling up my calendar with time with lots of your listeners.

Mac Prichard:

Well, I know people can learn more about you and your work by visiting your company’s website. That’s the Southern Pass Company at southernpassco.com, and that you also invite listeners to connect with you on LinkedIn, and when they do reach out to you, I hope that they’ll mention that they heard you on Find Your Dream Job.

Now, Katie, given all the great advice you’ve shared today, what’s the one thing you want a listener to remember about your seven ways to reimagine your job search?

Katie Silverman:

I think the one thing is just to really think about a job search as the art of the possible. Keep an open mind, focus on the things that are going to make you happy and bring you joy, and don’t close yourself off to anything that could get you one step, even if it’s not linear, closer to your ultimate career goal.

Mac Prichard:

Next week, our guest will be Stephen Lozano.

He’s the founder of Vitaes.

It’s an online platform that helps young people make better career choices by sharing the work journeys of professionals of color.

Mentors matter when you look for work.

Learning from the experience of others can help you get your next job faster and easier.

Join us next Wednesday when Stephen Lozano and I talk about top career tips from more than 200 professionals of color.

Until next time, thanks for letting us help you find your dream job.

This show is produced by Mac’s List.

Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media.

Our sound engineer and editor is Matt Fiorillo. Dawn Mole creates our transcripts. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo.

This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.