For my coaching clients
Your job search, one step at a time
I wrote this guide for the people I coach. It covers the questions that come up most in our sessions, in roughly the order they come up: where you're heading, what your resume and LinkedIn say, who to contact, what to write, how to follow up, and how to keep going when the search runs long.
Start at step 1 if you're at the beginning. If you've been searching for a while and it's wearing on you, start with keeping your confidence in a long search, then come back. If you came for one thing, like your LinkedIn headline or a follow-up message, jump straight to it below. Each page gives you the short answer first, then the steps, then a few questions to think through on your own or before your next coaching session.
This guide stops where interviews begin. Interview preparation, offers and negotiation are outside its scope for now; they're things we work on in sessions.
The five steps
Step 1 of 5Get clear on direction
Pick a direction to test before you polish anything.
Step 2 of 5Build your materials
Make your resume and LinkedIn profile say what you want next.
- Write resume bullets that show impactLead each bullet with a result, a number and a timeframe, aim the summary at the employer's problem, keep the file simple, and answer the application form with care.
- Build a skills list that gets searchedList hard skills in two or three labeled lines, tailored to each posting, prove your soft skills in your bullets, and fill in LinkedIn's Skills section too.
- Set up your LinkedIn headline, photo and settingsUse your 220-character headline well, put searchable titles in your Experience entries, add a photo strangers can see, and fill in Open to Work carefully.
- Write a LinkedIn About section that sounds like youWrite 150 to 250 words in the first person, open with a strong first two lines, add proof, and say what you want next.
- Tell the story of your change, and explain a gapWrite a three-sentence story of your career change and a one-line answer about any gap, so the question stops feeling like a trap.
Step 3 of 5Choose your targets
Pick a short list of companies and the people inside them.
- Pick 10 to 15 target companiesBuild a short list scored on fit, want, signal and access, so your effort goes where it has the best chance.
- Find the right people to contactFor each target company, find two or three people, starting with warm links and the likely hiring manager.
- Use mutual connections on LinkedInFind shared connections on profiles, in search and on company pages, and turn them into introductions.
Step 4 of 5Reach out
Write messages people answer, and pair them with applications.
- Write an outreach message people answerOpen with them, add one line of proof about you, link it to their problem, make one small ask, and pick a channel that reaches them.
- Pair outreach with your applicationsIf a role is posted, apply early and then write a direct note. If it isn't, reach people first. If you know someone, ask before you apply.
- Follow up after you apply or interviewWhen to nudge the recruiter after an application, what to ask at the end of an interview, how to say thank you, and what to do if another offer comes.
- Time your messages and follow upSend on a weekday morning in the recipient's time zone, follow up once after a week with something new, and then let it rest.
- Keep a simple outreach trackerTrack who you contacted, how, when, when to follow up and what happened, so nothing slips and you can see your progress.
Step 5 of 5Keep going
Hold a weekly routine and your confidence through a long search.
- Build a weekly job search routinePlan your week in fixed blocks, with four outreach slots, applications as strong roles appear, one review session and real time off.
- Keep your confidence in a long searchA long search is common and silence is rarely a verdict on you. Here's what the numbers say, how to look after yourself, and where to get help.